Microarchaeology of Lapa do Santo, a paleoindian rock shelter from central Brazil

Summary

The site of Lapa do Santo (state of Minas Gerais, Brazil) is a key location to understand the mundane and ritual activities of early South Americans. Radiocarbon dating placed its occupation between 7.9 and 12.7 cal kyBP. Rock art from the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary was found beneath 4 meters of sediment, and 26 human burials revealed unique mortuary practices involving mutilation, defleshing and decapitation. In this work, we focus on the stratigraphic sequence from the early Holocene, where most human burials were recovered. The microarchaeological study involved micromorphology and micro-FTIR of thin sections from the archaeological site coupled with an experimental hearth and several control samples. Our results express the need for reference samples and multi-analytical studies in site formation analysis. The identification of a large amount of burned clay aggregates mixed within the ashy sediments could only be achieved by the combination of micromorphology and micro-FTIR. The micromorphological study revealed intact and reworked combustion features plus evidences of the use of termite mounds for heating or cooking. The combined input of geogenic and anthropogenic sediments characterizes site formation and must be taken into account when comparing occupation intensities with other rock shelters in the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage