GPR Survey in Underwater Archaeological Cajari Lake, Eastern Amazon Region

• Grant number: 24/06114-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geophysics
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Luís Porsani
• Grantee: Lavínia Santos Candeias
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research is part of a pioneering project that is being developed with support of FAPESP (2023/16834-0). In this research, the student will go process and interpret GPR data on the underwater archaeological Cajari Lake, municipality of Penalva, Maranhão wetland, eastern Amazon. The objective of this research is to map the wooden pillars of stilt villages built on the beds of rivers and lakes by pre-colonial people, as well as to locate concentrations of ceramic materials. The wooden pillars correspond to tree trunks that were used to build stilt villages in the pre-colonial period, providing excellent archaeological evidence of the indigenous villages that inhabited the eastern Amazon region. GPR data has already been acquired using shielded 270 MHz antennas and SIR-4000 equipment. The research will make it possible to guide the activities of divers at the underwater archaeological site, optimizing the process of collect archaeological artifacts, in addition to preserving the archaeological heritage in the State of Maranhão, Northeast region of Brazil.