Botanical Microtraces in lithic artifacts of the Lapa do Santo site (Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais)

• Grant number: 17/01769-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2017
• End date: September 27, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Prehistoric Archaeology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Ximena Suarez Villagran
• Grantee: Daniela Dias Ortega
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/25020-5 - Botanical micro remains in lithic artifacts of the Lapa do Santo site (Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais), BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Early Holocene hunter-gatherer populations in the Lagoa Santa region, in Minas Gerais, had a diet with important vegetable consumption. The functionality of cutting and scraping of the region could indicate a function related to plant processing. In human remnants, there were observed large amounts of caries, which could have resulted or aggravated by the consumption of foods with a high carbohydrate content, such as amylaceous plants. This research intends to analyze the starch grains retained in lithic instruments of the Lapa do Santo site, in Lagoa Santa, to understand if the instruments would have been used to process amylaceous plants and, as a corollary, to determine whether these resources played an important role in the diet of the people of the region at the beginning of the Holocene. In addition, there will be tested the efficacy of a protocol specifically created and applied during the excavation, aiming to maximize the recovery of botanical microtraces retained in lithic instruments and minimize contamination. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ORTEGA, Daniela Dias. Botanical microremains in lithic artifacts from the site of Lapa do Santo (LAGOA Santa, Minas Gerais). 2019. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE) São Paulo.