Tracing Paleoamerican adaptations to South American Tropics: new data from lithics analyses in Brazil

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent archaeological findings in the neotropical region of South America are central to understanding the early adaptations of Paleoamerican populations to diverse ecosystems, especially tropical areas, between 14,000 and 9,000 BP — a period marked by significant paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic shifts. This study focuses on the critical role of lithic technology in unraveling the subsistence strategies of the first human groups. Recent 3D morpho-technological analyses on lithic assemblages from cerrado and Amazonia biomes have revealed a variety of toolkits, including bifaces and multifunctional unifacial artifacts, highlighting a deep-seated relationship with the region's ecological mega-diversity. These new data, particularly concerning "plano-convex" artifacts, indicate not just a culture significantly geared towards plant exploitation and medium game hunting, but also the potential engagement in early soil and forest modifications, showcasing previously unknown levels of adaptability and technological sophistication. Our presentation will further explore these groundbreaking discoveries, offering a nuanced perspective on Paleoamerican adaptations during a critical period of human settlement, emphasizing the complex interactions with diverse neotropical biomes during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. This research invites a reassessment of the historical understanding of settlement processes in South American tropical regions, adding depth to the depiction of early human adaptive strategies and technological advancements.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40356.0