Change and continuity in prehistoric human groups from Ribeira de Iguape Valley (São Paulo and Paraná): applying evolutionary theory to bioarchaeology and material culture

• Grant number: 18/23282-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2019
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Prehistoric Archaeology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Mercedes Martinez Okumura
• Grantee: Maria Mercedes Martinez Okumura
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Artur Chahud ; Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo ; Bruce Arlan Bradley ; Cláudia Inês Parellada ; Fabio Parenti ; Gabriela Sartori Mingatos ; Glauco Constantino Perez ; João Carlos Moreno de Sousa ; Kendra Ann Sirak ; Renata Pedroso de Araújo ; Ron Pinhasi
• Associated research grant(s): 20/00900-5 - The ecology and cultural evolution of ancient populations in the southern hemisphere, AP.R SPRINT
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/05877-4 - The pleistocene-holocene vertebrate fauna of the Abismo Ponta de Flecha (Vale do Ribeira de Iguape, Iporanga, SP): the potential role of human groups in their formation and changes in their composition over time, BP.IC; 20/07873-3 - Cranial morphological diversity, microevolution and occupation of the Ribeira de Iguape Valley by human groups in the Holocene, BP.IC; 19/08870-0 - Cultural evolution and diversity in hunter-gatherer groups from Eastern Paraná and Uruguay Basins, BP.PD

Abstract

The Ribeira de Iguape Valley, located in the south of the State of São Paulo, is one of the rare Brazilian regions that presents prehistoric human occupations, preserving both human skeletal remnants and their material culture, throughout the Holocene. Therefore, this place presents itself as an ideal one for understanding long-lived human settlement, including issues of contact, identity, as well as cultural and biological change, to be explored from the analysis of both human skeletons and material culture. The aim of this project is to explore the biological and cultural diversity of the Ribeira de Iguape Valley, based on an evolutionary and interdisciplinar approach applied to both human populations and the artifacts produced by these populations. In the case of bioarchaeological analyzes (based on skeletal remains), biodistance methods based on both cranial morphology and paleogenomic analysis (ancient DNA) will be used. On the other hand, the studies of material culture, focused on the formal artifacts, will be based on theoretical approaches, such as Evolutionary Archeology and Cultural Transmission Theory. It is hoped that the union of these bioarchaeological and material culture studies can generate knowledge about prehistoric human biological and cultural diversity over time in this region. (AU)

Scientific publications

(17)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. The presence ofPanthera oncaLinnaeus 1758 (Felidae) in the Pleistocene of the region of Lagoa Santa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, AUG 2020. (18/23282-5)

MORENO DE SOUSA, JOAO CARLOS; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. A new proposal for the technological analysis of lithic points: Application for understanding the cultural diversity of hunter gatherers in Eastern South America. QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL, v. 562, p. 1-12, OCT 10 2020. (19/08870-0, 18/23282-5, 16/23584-6)

ALPASLAN-ROODENBERG, SONGUL; ANTHONY, DAVID; BABIKER, HIBA; BANFFY, ESZTER; BOOTH, THOMAS; CAPONE, PATRICIA; DESHPANDE-MUKHERJEE, ARATI; EISENMANN, STEFANIE; FEHREN-SCHMITZ, LARS; FRACHETTI, MICHAEL; et al. Ethics of DNA research on human remains: five globally applicable guidelines. Nature, v. 599, n. 7883, OCT 2021. (18/23282-5)

DE MELLO ARAUJO, ASTOLFO GOMES; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. Cultural Taxonomies in Eastern South America: Historical Review and Perspectives. JOURNAL OF PALEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGY, v. 4, n. 4, SEP 20 2021. (10/06453-9, 18/23282-5)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. The presence ofPanthera oncaLinnaeus 1758 (Felidae) in the Pleistocene of the region of Lagoa Santa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, v. 33, n. 10, p. 2496-2503, OCT 3 2021. (18/23282-5)

MORENO, JOAO C.; BRADLEY, BRUCE; OKUMURA, MERCEDES; WILLIAMS, THOMAS J.. Two Technological Traditions of Bifacial Points from the Breach Farm Site, Wales: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Lithic Technology Integrating Experimental Replication, X-Ray Fluorescence, and Geometric Morphometry. ETHNOARCHAEOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 25-pg., 2022-07-06. (19/08870-0, 18/23282-5)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; DE OLIVEIRA COSTA, PAULO RICARDO; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. CINGULATA OF THE ABISMO PONTA DE FLECHA CAVE (PLEISTOCENE-HOLOCENE), RIBEIRA DE IGUAPE VALLEY, SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, v. 25, n. 4, p. 9-pg., 2022-10-01. (18/23282-5, 21/05877-4)

ARAUJO, ASTOLFO G. M.; CORREA, LETICIA CRISTINA; PEREZ, GLAUCO CONSTANTINO; DI GREGORIO, ENRICO DALMAS; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. Human-environment interaction during the Holocene in Eastern South America: Rapid climate changes and population dynamics. PLoS One, v. 20, n. 2, p. 63-pg., 2025-02-03. (18/23282-5, 17/20340-1, 10/06453-9, 21/04562-0)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; COSTA, PAULO RICARDO DE OLIVEIRA; FIGUEIREDO, GISELE FERREIRA; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. Quaternary ungulates of the Abismo Ponta de Flecha Cave, Ribeira of Iguape Valley, Southeast Brazil: Zooarchaeological and Paleoenvironmental aspects. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 121, p. 12-pg., 2023-01-01. (18/23282-5, 21/05877-4)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; FIGUEIREDO, GISELE FERREIRA; MINGATOS, GABRIELA SARTORI; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. TAXONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE QUATERNARY ARCHAEOFAUNA FOUND AT THE LAPA DO SANTO SITE, LAGOA SANTA REGION, BRAZIL. JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, v. 36, n. 7, SEP 2021. (18/23282-5)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; FIGUEIREDO, GISELE FERREIRA; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. Tapiridae (Perissodactyla) in the late Pleistocene of the Cuvieri Cave, eastern Brazil. HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 11-pg., 2022-11-13. (18/23282-5)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. Cervidae and Tayassuidae from the Holocene deposits of the Cuvieri Cave, State of Minas Gerais, eastern Brazil; taxonomic and paleoenvironmental considerations. HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, JAN 2022. (18/23282-5)

PARELLADA, CLAUDIA; PARENTI, FABIO; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. A Bifacial Point of Extraordinary Dimensions Found in Parana State, Southern Brazil. LITHIC TECHNOLOGY, v. 46, n. 1, NOV 2020. (18/23282-5)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; PEREIRA, GABRIELLA DA COSTA; COSTA, PAULO RICARDO DE OLIVEIRA; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. A new record of ground sloth in the Ribeira de Iguape valley, southeastern Brazil. CARNETS DE GEOLOGIE, v. 24, n. 4, p. 7-pg., 2024-01-31. (21/05877-4, 18/23282-5)

BATALLA, NICOLAS; OKUMURA, MERCEDES; MUNITA, CASIMIRO S.; FRENCH, CHARLES; ARAUJO, ASTOLFO G. M.. Among Land Snail Shells and Ashes: Geoarchaeological Analysis of the Maximiano Rockshelter, Southeast Brazil. GEOARCHAEOLOGY-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, v. 40, n. 1, p. 35-pg., 2025-01-01. (19/18664-9, 18/23282-5, 23/18132-2, 20/04283-0, 18/14293-3, 13/13794-5)

CHAHUD, ARTUR; FIGUEIREDO, GISELE FERREIRA; OKUMURA, MERCEDES. Cervidae and Tayassuidae of the Late Pleistocene from the Cuvieri Cave, Eastern Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 123, p. 9-pg., 2023-01-26. (18/23282-5)

ARAUJO, RENATA P.; RIEDE, FELIX; OKUMURA, MERCEDES; ARAUJO, ASTOLFO G. M.; LEPLONGEON, ALICE; WREN, COLIN; RABUNAL, JOSE R.; CARDILLO, MARCELO; CRUZ, MARIA B.; MATZIG, DAVID N.. Benchmarking methods and data for the whole-outline geometric morphometric analysis of lithic tools. EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY, v. 32, n. 3, p. 4-pg., 2023-05-04. (18/23282-5, 19/18664-9)