Applying Organic Residues Analysis in Ceramic Studies: a case study of Late Holocene archaeological sites from Central Brazil (3,000 - 800 BP)

• Grant number: 25/03439-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 16, 2025
• End date: March 15, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Prehistoric Archaeology
• Principal Investigator: Jennifer Watling
• Grantee: Ana Claudia Albuquerque Borella
• Supervisor: Maxime Rageot
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universität Bonn, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/05806-2 - The consumption and management of plants in the Brazilian savannah during the Middle and Late Holocene: an analysis of botanical microremains from three archaeological sites in Central Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

The analysis of lipid residues preserved in ceramic fragments is a cutting-edge technique that offers deeper insights into the function and meaning of pottery in past food preparation and subsistence strategies. While well-established in certain regions, such as Europe and North America, this technique is still relatively unexplored in Brazil, particularly in contexts like those of the Central Brazil region where major socioeconomic changes during the Middle-Late Holocene have been proposed and associated with ceramic changes. Additionally, knowledge about the diets of the groups in this area remains limited, particularly at open-air sites where the preservation of organic material is poor. Thus far, interpretations of dietary patterns at these sites have mostly been based on studies of ceramic types and lithic materials. The present proposal aims to characterize the lipid/resin components present in ceramic fragments from the archaeological sites of Praça de Piragiba, Vereda III and Gruta do Gentio II, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS). These are archaeological sites of great importance for dietary and subsistence studies, as they are recognized as being significant expressions of ceramicist horticulturist groups in Central Brazil. The analysis of this material will enable the identification of the types of resources - vegetal, terrestrial animal, and/or aquatic - that were utilized by these populations, while also contributing to the understanding of landscape use and the diversity of subsistence economies during the period 3,000-800 BP. (AU)