Research at an archaeological site near Laguna questions the hypothesis that Southern Jay ancestors displaced communities that built shells and mounds (sambaquis) along the coast of Santa Catarina state for more than 5,000 years.
Brazilian researchers have reexamined the history of ancient sambaqui builders in Santa Catarina, showing that, contrary to previous beliefs, they were not replaced by Southern Je ancestors, shedding new light on their culture and interactions.
Researchers from the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo (MAE-USP), supported by FAPESP, revisit an important episode in the history of human settlements on the Brazilian coast.
In an article published in the journal PLOS ONEA group that included researchers from the state of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil, and other countries (the United States, Belgium, and France) found that builders sambaki Galeta IV, archaeological site in Laguna (Santa Catarina), was not replaced by southern Je ancestors as previously believed.
As the article explains, sambacs They are middens that are “evidence of long-term occupation.” They consist of mounds composed of layers of mollusc fragments, human and animal bones, plant and hearth remains, stone or bone vessels, and other debris. They were used for burial and shelter, as well as to delimit territory.
“Among these average builders [sambaquieiros] and the proto-je population, as we call them, had much less interaction than thought. Their funeral traditions and pottery were different. In addition, Sambaqueiro “They lived there from birth, and they were descendants of the people who lived there,” says Andre Strauss, MAE-USP professor and penultimate author of the paper.
Re-evaluating cultural change
The theory that one ethnic group replaced another arose in part because sites such as Galeta IV marked the end of construction. sambaki . Pottery sherds found in the most recent mound layers at these sites resemble the ancestral pottery of the southern Je, Kaingang, and Laklano-Xokleng indigenous groups. This is another reason for the old belief, now disproven, that builders are builders. sambakiCoastal dwellers were replaced by people from the highlands of Santa Catarina.
“We don’t know why the construction was done” sambaqui discontinued Possible explanations include contact with other cultures and environmental factors such as changes in sea level and salinity; This may have led to a decline in shellfish stocks and therefore the raw material of mussel mounds,” says Jessica Mendez Cardoso, first author of the study. The study was carried out during the preparation of her doctoral thesis at MAE-USP and the University of Toulouse in France.
Cardoso reanalyzed material collected by another team at MAE-USP and the Heritage and Archeology Research Group (GRUPEP) at Universidad del Sur de Santa Catarina (UNISUL) between 2005 and 2007, when the skeletons of the four individuals were exhumed. In doing so, he measured isotopes of strontium, carbon and nitrogen, determining that fish and other seafood made up 60% of the group’s diet. Analysis of the bones also showed that the individuals were not buried after cremation, a funerary practice used by the Southern Proto-Je.
He also analyzed faunal remains (animal parts in the material record), particularly fish. sambacs. Unlike other sites, it also contained bones of seabirds such as albatross and penguins, and bones of mammals such as fur seals.
“These animals were not part of their daily diet, but were consumed seasonally during migration, or perhaps they were feeding locally. They were probably part of burial rituals, as no one lived there. It was a burial ground,” says Cardozo. In one cemetery, for example, there were 12 albatrosses.
The new dates showed that the site was older than previously thought, suggesting that the site was built and visited between 1,300 and 500 years ago. The previous estimate was 1170-900 years ago.
badge stone
Analysis of pottery found at the archaeological site also suggests that Proto-Je may have been merely the cultural influence of the builders. sambaki . Of the 190 pieces found here, 131 were large enough to be examined and analyzed.
“The pottery is very different in shape and decoration from those found in the Santa Catarina Highlands, but is similar to those found elsewhere on the coast in the north and south of the state, suggesting that these items may well have been transported from somewhere.” from coastal location to another. These are the oldest pottery remains found in the state and date back 1,300 years, while pottery found in the mountainous regions is approximately 1,000 years old,” says Fabiana Merencio, the paper’s second author. During her education, she became a doctoral student at MAE-USP with a FAPESP scholarship. She is currently a doctoral student at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC).
“Nearly 1,000 years ago, we uncover a new expression of coastal human materiality in the form of a shift. sambaki Places without mollusk shells but with ceramics. This site is the Rosetta Stone that helps us understand these connections,” says Strauss.
A new research team will now return to the region to study another site (Jabuticabeira II) in a new project supported by FAPESP and led by MAE-USP professor Ximena Villagrán.
Source: Port Altele
