Fire and feasting. The role of plants in Brazilian shellmounds funerary rituals.

Summary

Shellmounds occurring along most of the Brazilian coast, locally named "sambaquis", testify of an occupation dated from at least 8000 to c. 1000 years BP. Although traditionally considered as waste deposits, they are now largely recognized as funerary sites constructed by sedentary fishers. The development of archaeobotanical studies in the Southern/Southeastern Brazilian coast is demonstrating the consumption of a wide variety of wild and domesticated plants, pointing to a system of mixed economy, where fishing and gathering might be associated with horticulture. Archaeobotany has also pointed out to the importance of plants as funerary offerings and/or its consumption in ritualistic or feasting ceremonies. Concurrently, anthracological studies highlight the importance of fire as a central element in sambaqui builder’s life, one which connects the worlds of the living and of the dead. Hearths and fire remains, invariably present around the burials, and the large amount and diversity of charcoal in funerary areas suggest that ritual hearths were continuously or permanently held. The mounds, which for their size, monumentality, and funerary role are already considered as landmarks and memory places, became by means of the ever-burning flames even more visible in the landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Use of Plants in Ancient Rituals: New Perspectives from Paleoethnobotany   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16279