Geophysical surveys at Formoso underwater archaeological stilt village in the eastern Amazon region, Brazil

Autor(es)

Neto, Antonio Carlos de Siqueira ; Porsani, Jorge Luis ; Rangel, Rodrigo Correa ; de Souza, Luiz Antonio Pereira ; Navarro, Alexandre Guida ; de Lima, Leonardo Gonsalves ; Stangari, Marcelo Cesar

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS; v. 60, p. 10-pg., 2024-10-25.

Resumo

Archaeological evidence of pre-colonial indigenous villages are scarce in the Amazon region. Normally, wood decomposes quickly in the ground. However, in the case of stilt houses, the archaeological materials can be well preserved underwater or buried in sediments below waterbodies. The main objective of this work is to advance the understanding about the archaeological stilt village at the Formoso Lake in the Maranhao wetland, eastern Brazilian Amazon. We applied Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Side Scan Sonar (SSS) for this underwater archaeological investigation. The GPR results allowed us to map the lakebed and detect diffraction hyperbolas in the water column, which can be related to wood stilts. The SSS results also helped image the lakebed and identify stilts with a higher spatial coverage compared to GPR. The combination of these two non-invasive geophysical methods allowed us to detect stilts beyond the area found in previous studies. These findings can guide the search and collection of new archaeological materials and, therefore, contribute to preserving this unique cultural heritage. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 22/12482-9 - Investigações geofísicas no sítio arqueológico subaquático Cabeludo na Baixada Maranhense integrando Radar de Penetração no Solo (GPR) e Sonar de Varredura Lateral (SVL)
• Beneficiário: Rodrigo Corrêa Rangel
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 23/16834-0 - O povo das águas, fase II: imageamento detalhado por GPR e SVL das estearias e artefatos cerâmicos em sítios arqueológicos subaquáticos no Maranhão, Amazônia Oriental
• Beneficiário: Jorge Luís Porsani
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 20/15560-5 - O povo das águas: imageamento por Ground Penetrating Radar - GPR das estearias e artefatos cerâmicos em sítios arqueológicos no Maranhão
• Beneficiário: Jorge Luís Porsani
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular