Neutrons, radiation and archaeology: a multianalytical case study of Incised Rim Tradition ceramics in Central Amazon

Author(s)

Roberto Hazenfratz Marks

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/BT)
• Defense date: 2014-05-09

Examining board members

Casimiro Jayme Alfredo Sepulveda Munita; Lucia Pereira Barroso; Eduardo Goes Neves; Paulo Sergio Cardoso da Silva; Sonia Hatsue Tatumi

• Advisor: Casimiro Jayme Alfredo Sepulveda Munita

Abstract

This thesis is an interdisciplinary archaeometric study involving archaeological ceramic material from two large archaeological sites in Central Amazon, namely Lago Grande and Osvaldo, on the confluence region of Negro and Solimões rivers. It was tested a hypothesis about the existence of an exchange network between the former inhabitants of those sites, focusing on material and/or technological exchange. That hypothesis has implications for archaeological theories of human occupation of the pre-colonial Central Amazon, which try to relativise the role of ecological difficulties of the tropical forest as a limiting factor for the emergence of social complexity in the region. The physical-chemical characterization of potsherds and clay samples near the sites was carried out by: instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) to determine the elemental chemical composition; electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to determine the firing temperature; X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the mineralogical composition; and dating by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Previous studies showed that Osvaldo and Lago Grande were occupied by people which produced pottery classified in the Manacapuru and Paredão phases, subclasses of the Incised Rim Tradition, around the 5-10th and 7-12th centuries BC, respectively. INAA results were analyzed by multivariate statistical methods, whereby two chemical groups of pottery were defined for each archaeological site. Significant variation in firing temperatures and mineralogical composition were not identified for such groups. By integration of the results with archaeological data, the superposition between pairs of chemical groups was interpreted as a correlate of an ancient exchange network, although it was not possible to define if it existed exclusively between Lago Grande and Osvaldo. On the contrary, it was suggested that Lago Grande participated in a more extensive exchange network by comparison of two chemical groups. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/07659-0 - Archaeometric studies of Lago Grande and Osvaldo archaeological aites in the Central Amazon
• Grantee: Roberto Hazenfratz Marks
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)