Geoarcheology of shell house in Flona de Caxiuanã, Amazônia, Pará

• Grant number: 21/06293-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: October 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Prehistoric Archaeology
• Principal Investigator: Ximena Suarez Villagran
• Grantee: Mayara Cristina Pereira Mariano
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/11325-7 - Geoarchaeology of shell middens in the national forest of Caxiuanã - Amazonia, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

The shells are archaeological sites whose matrixes are built from the anthropogenic accumulation of shells and organic matter. In Brazil these are called sambaquis and are located along the Atlantic coast and further inland, close to rivers and/or bays. Although sambaquis are present in almost all of the Brazilian coast, some areas have been systematically more researched, such as the south and southeast regions that produced information about the way of life, social organization, formation of the archaeological record, paleopathologies, paleoenvironmental reconstructions, in addition to interpretations of the symbolic and social world of sambaqui-building groups. Available data on Amazonian sambaquis indicate the presence of autochthonous and ancient ceramics, however, information on the variability and process of formation of these sites in this region is still scarce. From a geo-archaeological approach, this project aims to study the formation process of the Forte site, a shell located inside the Caixuanã National Forest (PA), using the method of archefacies analysis, which involves the description of stratigraphic profiles in field and detailed analysis of the sediments in the laboratory. In this way, we hope to advance the understanding of the Amazonian sambaquis, based on the study of the formation process. (AU)