New Approaches to Sambaqui Archaeology in Brazil

Summary

MaDu Gaspar and Paulo DeBlasis

Sambaquis (shellmounds) have attracted attention since colonial times due to their monumentality, and to the presence of human burials and stone sculptures. Discussions on their natural or human origin dominated up to the 1960s, when debate shifted to cultural history and diet, and moundbuilders were taken as nomadic bands with shellfish-based subsistence. The 1990s, a time of changing paradigms in sambaqui archaeology, coincides with the coming of Suzy and Paul Fish to Brazil. They helped to open new research perspectives as regards site formation processes and interpreting the sambaquis into their landscape and symbolical context. This paper will highlight some advances related to that.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Regional to International Collaborations in American Archaeology: The Legacy of Suzanne Fish and Paul Fish

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 13291