Ceramic petrography of the Bacabal phase (sambaqui Monte Castelo): one of the oldest uses of freshwater sponge spicules in the Amazon

Author(s):Show less -

Ximena Suarez Villagran ^[1] ; Marcony Lopes Alves ^[2] ; Thiago Kater ^[3] ; Kelly Brandão Vaz da Silva ^[4] ; Nicolás Batalla ; Marcelo da Costa ^[6] ; Jessica Costa ^[7] ; Dionne Miranda Azevedo Erler ^[8] ; Mariane Pereira Ferreira ^[9] ; Patrícia Magon ^[10] ; Aranda Calió dos Reys ^[11] ; Haruan Straioto ^[12] ; Anderson Rogério Tognoli ^[13] ; André Strauss ^[14] ; Eliane Aparecida del Lama ^[15] ; Lucelene Martins ^[16] ; Marcio Teixeira-Bastos ^[17] ; Eduardo Góes Neves ^[18] ; Carlos Zimpel ^[19] ; Francisco Pugliese ^[20]

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[2] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[3] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[4] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[6] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[7] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[8] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[9] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[10] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[11] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[12] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[13] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[14] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[15] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[16] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[17] Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho - Brasil

^[18] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[19] Universidade Federal de Rondônia - Brasil

^[20] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Bol. Mus. Para. Emílio Goeldi. Ciênc. hum.; v. 17, n. 1 2022-05-06.

Abstract

Abstract This paper contains the results of petrographic analysis on 22 ceramic fragments from the Bacabal phase of the Monte Castelo shell mound (Rondônia), one of the oldest Amazonian potteries dating up to 4,000 years BP. The petrographic analysis confirmed the high frequency of freshwater sponge spicules (cauixi) as a non-plastic, with novel data on the distribution of spicules that allow us to infer the process of ceramic paste preparation and vessel manufacture. The same proportion between clay matrix and sponge spicules was maintained throughout all Bacabal layers, independent of individual variations for each element. This allows us to infer the existence of a pottery recipe maintained throughout the Bacabal occupation of the site. The same type of sponge spicule described in the ceramic paste was identified in clayey sediments surveyed in the region, although at a lower frequency. Thus, the manufacture of Bacabal ceramics could have involved a combination of: selection of spicule-rich clays; and intentionally added sponge spicules. Sponge spicules in the Bacabal pottery represent an exceptional case for research into the development of ceramic technologies supported by the use of these non-plastics, which became popular during the Upper Holocene in the lowlands of South America. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/11817-9 - The archaeology of the Middle Holocene and the beginning of landscape domestication in the Amazon
• Grantee: Eduardo Góes Neves
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/16451-2 - Virtual anthropology and archaeogenomics of pre-colonial Brazil
• Grantee: André Menezes Strauss
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/19405-6 - Micromorphology of the first human settlements in South America
• Grantee: Ximena Suarez Villagran
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 19/07794-9 - Human-environment relationships in Pre-Columbian Amazonia
• Grantee: Eduardo Góes Neves
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants