A ocupação humana antiga (11-7 mil anos atrás) do Planalto Meridional Brasileiro: caracterização geomorfológica, geológica, paleoambiental e tecnológica de sítios arqueológicos relacionados a três distintas indústrias líticas

Abstract

Com o objetivo de ponderar conexões entre quadros naturais e a ocupação humana pré-colonial, caracterizou-se os artefatos e a contextualização geomorfológica e ambiental de quatro sítios líticos vinculados a antigos registros de grupos caçadores-coletores do sul e sudeste do Brasil, associados a três distintas indústrias líticas. Elencou-se associação dos sítios com terrenos de baixos declives e altimetrias em seus respectivos contextos (terrenos mais estáveis para fixação humana), adjacentes a córregos e próximos de faixas do terreno que registram maiores inclinações e desníveis verticais, mais propensas a apresentarem afloramentos rochosos (fontes potenciais de matérias-primas para a confecção de ferramentas lascadas). Elencou-se fontes de matérias-primas nos entornos de cada sítio e as matérias-primas associadas aos artefatos, e ponderou-se a correlação entre os dois conjuntos de dados. Analisou-se a relação dos padrões tecnológicos de artefatos líticos com a caracterização petrográfica das matérias-primas, verificando-se quais silcretes semelhantes foram usadas para produção de artefatos distintos. Ainda, verificou-se que alguns dos produtos líticos de um dos sítios analisados mostram padrões tecnológicos semelhantes, mesmo quando obtidos a partir de silcretes distintos. Caracterizou-se ausência de variação significativa dos atributos tecnológicos dos artefatos registrados em diferentes posicionamentos verticais nos perfis das unidades de escavação nas quais foram registrados, mesmo quando mostram-se associados a registros paleoambientais distintos (alternâncias entre climas mais secos que os atuais e condições caracterizadas por incrementos de umidade no intervalo de 11 a 7 mil anos atrás).Palavras chave: sítios arqueológicos líticos; Holoceno Inicial, paleoclimas, ameríndios, geoarqueologia The ancient human occupation (11-7 thousand years ago) of the Southern Brazilian Plateau: geomorphological, geological, paleoenvironmental and technological characterization of archaeological sites related to three distinct lithic industries A B S T R A C T In order to discuss connections between the natural landscapes and pre-colonial human occupation, were characterized the artifacts and the geomorphological and environmental contextualization of four lithic sites linked to ancient records of hunter-gatherer groups from the south and southeast of Brazil, associated with three distinct lithic industries. The association of sites with low slopes and altimetry in their respective contexts (more stable terrains for human settlement), adjacent to rivers and close to terrains that register greater inclinations and vertical unevenness, more likely to present rocky outcrops (potential sources of raw materials for making chipped tools) was listed. Were characterized sources of raw materials in the surroundings of each site, the raw materials associated with the artifacts, and the correlation between the two data sets was considered. The relationship between the technological standards of lithic artifacts and the petrographic characterization of the raw materials was analyzed, verifying which similar raw materials were used to produce different artifacts. Also, it was found that some of the lithic products from one of the analyzed sites show similar technological patterns, even when obtained from different raw materials. There was a lack of significant variation in the technological attributes of the artifacts recorded in different vertical positions in the profiles of the excavation units in which they were recorded, even when they are associated with different paleoenvironmental records (alternations between drier climates than current and others characterized by increments in the moisture between 11 to 7 thousand years ago).Keywords: lithic archaeological sites; Initial Holocene, paleoclimates, amerindians, geoarchaeology

Early anthropic occupation and geomorphological changes in South America: human–environment interactions and OSL data from the Rincão I site, southeastern Brazil

“…There are two possible sources. The first are the so‐called primary supply sources (Luedtke, 1979; Churh, 1994; Batalla, 2018), represented by sandstone outcrops of the Botucatu Formation, of known use in lithic industries in the south and southeast of Brazil (Araujo, 1992; Araujo & Correa, 2016; Batalla, 2018; Batalla et al, 2019; Cheliz et al, 2020). The second are secondary sources out of the alluvial plains, such as the block fragments of sandstone from cliffs, 10 km south of the Rincão I (e.g.…”

“…Alice Boer and Caetetuba) of the aforementioned lithic industry. These environments are characterised as being located in the foothills and on hillslopes with low–intermediate altitudes in relation to the dominant Cuestas geomorphological domain (Almeida, 1964), close to river channels, and a few kilometres from areas with slopes above 30° with rocky outcrops that can provide sources of raw materials (Cheliz et al, 2020).…”

“…The early human occupation of South America is a subject of continuous debate, including topics concerning how the early groups interacted with the natural landscape, the antiquity of the settlement in each segment of the continent, and the speed of human spread (Ab'Saber, 1994; Araujo, 2015; Bueno et al, 2013, 2021; Dillehay et al, 2015; Suárez, 2018; Batalla et al, 2019; Williams and Madsen, 2019; Cheliz et al, 2020; Prates et al, 2020; Gruhm, 2020). Bueno et al (2013) note that in a wide area of eastern South America (e.g.…”

“…According to these authors, records of human occupation prior to 10 ka were sparse and with less consensus (especially those dated to the Late Pleistocene, or older than the Clovis Culture, in the US – Williams and Madsen, 2019; Politis and Prates, 2019), at least for some sectors of Brazilian territory. Indeed, Prates et al (2020) point out that there are no archaeological sites older than 10 ka in the southern Brazilian Plateau area (which includes the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná and São Paulo – Cheliz et al, 2020) that meet their criteria to suggest human presence during this time period. This would imply that this part of the continent was one of the most recent in the process of human occupation of South America.…”