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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Two paleoecological histories spanning the period of human settlement in southeastern Brazil

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Author(s):
Raczka, Marco F. [1, 2] ; De Oliveira, Paulo E. [1, 3] ; Bush, Mark [2] ; McMichael, Crystal H. [2]
Total Authors: 4
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Guarulhos, Programa Posgrad Anal Geoambiental, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Florida Inst Technol, Dept Biol Sci, Melbourne, FL 32901 - USA
[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Geologia Sedimentar & Ambiental, Sao Paulo - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE; v. 28, n. 2, p. 144-151, FEB 2013.
Web of Science Citations: 5
Abstract

The absence of human occupation sites in southeastern Brazil during the mid Holocene has been referred to as the `Archaic Gap' (89701940cal. a BP) and is predicted to have resulted from increased aridity. A ca. 14 000cal. a pollen history from two well-dated lake sediment cores located within the archeological district of Lagoa Santa, in the State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, was used to test this hypothesis. Our analyses indicated that the present cerrado and tropical semi-deciduous forest mosaic persisted throughout the mid Holocene, until ca. 5500cal. a BP, and the Lagoa Santa region did not experience especially dry conditions during the Holocene period. The early Holocene pollen spectra contained an assemblage of cold-adapted taxa such as Podocarpus, Myrsine and Araucaria, co-occurring with taxa from cerrado, e.g. Caryocar. A replacement of cold taxa by the modern cerradosemi-deciduous forest vegetation took place progressively, but appears to have been completed by the mid Holocene. No evidence of sustained drought was found in sedimentation or forest composition, nor any prolonged dry event in the study region. Holocene dryness as an explanation for the abandonment of Lagoa Santa region is not supported by the palynological analyses conducted in this study. Rather it is suggested that unpredictable climate may have underlain that abandonment. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 04/01321-6 - Origins and microevolution of man in the Americas: a paleoanthropological approach (III)
Grantee:Walter Alves Neves
Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants