Application of Geochemistry and Micromorphology in the Detection of Anthropic Soils in Uru ceramist settlements in the Araguaia River Basin, Goiás, Brazil

Author(s)

Jordana Batista Barbosa

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE)
• Defense date: 2019-08-22

Examining board members

Marisa Coutinho Afonso; Paulo Cesar Fonseca Giannini; Sibeli Aparecida Viana

• Advisor: Marisa Coutinho Afonso; Julio Cezar Rubin de Rubin

Abstract

Anthropic soils have a decisive role in some processes, mainly in daily of human practices, the way they occupy space and settle leave marks on the soil, such as housing structures, bonfires, organic and mineral debris. All around us involve physical and chemical transformations, so the understanding of those phnomena is essential for human development in all respects. The databases and ethno-historical sources of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries indicate the indigenous settlements on the banks of the Araguaia River and its tributaries. Archaeological studies have recorded farmer villages whose ceramic materials stand out because they are predominantly on the surface along with the presence of blackened soils. Therefore, researches in Cangas I and Lago Rico (Goiás) were performed using the geochemical, archaeometrical and micromorphological analysis, in order to identify anthropic soils in precolonial ceramist settlements. Environment is an extremely important variable when it comes to chemical effects. Understanding how these elements behave in Cerrado environments is extremely important when analyzing pre-colonial settlement forms and the territorial displacements of human groups. The use of soil micromorphology, a pioneer in the research for the Cerrado biome, is essential for the interpretation of the chemical readings in response to the questions and the process of accomplishment of tasks in the settlements, which makes possible new discussions on the forms and functions of the Uru ceramist settlements in the Araguaia River Basin. The results obtained from the use of the analytical techniques proved that the Cangas I site has been the oldest settlement with characteristic of fix occupation as identified by the anthropic deposits, as the presence of fragments and bone structures of fire pit. Meanwhile, Lake Rico would have been occupied as a seasonal mobility camp too. In relation to the morphology of the settlements, the Cangas site resembles the sites affiliated to the Aruanã phase that is linear, whereas Lago Rico site presents two areas of circular concentration, which resemble the Itapirapuã, Uru and Jaupaci phases. Ethnographic data assume that the settlements had been occupied by Karajá, Bororo and Kayapó indigenous groups. Thus, the diversity of the archaeological patterns found in this period, considered the most recent of the farmers\' settlements, suggests migration flows with varied routes, speeds and behaviors. A process of constant diversification of the adaptive strategies regarding the abrupt transformation of the landscape along the two sites of Cerrado 11 areas is also observed, which is closely related to the availability of nutrients in the soil, as well as the possible occupation areas or specific activities. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/22192-7 - What can marks tell us about the vestiges? archaeological occupation on the interfluve of Araguaia River and Peixe River, Goiás
• Grantee: Jordana Batista Barbosa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master