Niède Guidon

The chronology of the new world: Two faces of one reality

Abstract The paper gives a review of archaeological work in the south‐eastern part of Piaui State, Brazil, with particular reference to the chronology and geological history of rocksheiter sites, such as Toca do Boqueirao at Pedra Furada, and Toca do Sitio do Meio. The article analyses critiques of early dates in South America, notes a bias towards the rejection of early dates, and gives additional documentation to the early dates in Piaui State. It concludes by urging that a new consensus be developed among archaeologists studying early American sites.

A new late Pleistocene archaeological sequence in South America: the Vale da Pedra Furada (Piauí, Brazil)

The date of the first settlement of the Americas remains a contentious subject. Previous claims for very early occupation at Pedra Furada in Brazil were not universally accepted (see Meltzer et al. 1994). New work at the rockshelter of Boqueirão da Pedra Furada and at the nearby open-air site of Vale da Pedra Furada have however produced new evidence for human occupation extending back more than 20 000 years. The argument is supported by a series of 14C and OSL dates, and by technical analysis of the stone tool assemblage. The authors conclude that the currently accepted narrative of human settlement in South America will have to be re-thought. The article is followed by a series of comments, rounded off by a reply from the authors.

Helminths in feline coprolites up to 9000 years in the Brazilian Northeast.

The identification of parasites in animal coprolites has been an important tool to promote knowledge about parasites infecting different zoological groups in the past. It also helps the understanding of parasites causing zoonoses, which is especially important for animals that were part of the diet of prehistoric human groups. Nevertheless, the study of feline coprolites is still scarce. This study analyzed 30 feline coprolites from southeastern Piauí taken from archeological sites used by human groups in the past. Eggs of Spirometra sp., Toxocara cati, Spirurida, Oxyuroidea Calodium cf. hepaticum, Trichuris cf. muris, Trichuris sp., and other Trichuridae, Oncicola sp., and nematode larvae were found. Some of these findings reflect the consumption of infected prey. The role of felines in the transmission of helminthes causing zoonoses in the region is discussed.

New Data on a Pleistocene Archaeological Sequence in South America: Toca do Sítio do Meio, Piauí, Brazil

Sítio do Meio, discovered in the 1990s, showed a sedimentary sequence clearly composed of two sets of deposits separated by a zone of large rockfall from the massive collapse of the shelters overhang. The bottom set, slightly more than 60 cm thick, was trapped between the bedrock (upon which it rested) and the lower part of the roof fall (reaching more than 1 m in the excavation area), and yielded some charcoal without other archaeological material. New excavations, however, have revealed the presence of artifacts, additional charcoal, and an alignment of sandstone blocks providing clear boundaries for the artifact concentration. The typological and technological composition of the artifacts is classic, with tools made by shaping high-quality quartz pebbles and tools made on shaping chips or on chips obtained by bipolar percussion of quartz blocks. Quartzite was also used, but only in the manufacture of larger tools, of certain types. The toolkit is made of several convergent pieces, denticulates, rostres, scrapers, and end scrapers. Radiocarbon dating results indicate a Pleistocene age, corresponding to the end of the mid-Upper Pleistocene (MIS3). These dates confirm that Sítio do Meio is the seventh Pleistocene stratigraphic sequence known from a 20-km-radius zone, coming from different sedimentary horizons, testifying to a human presence that extends from MIS3 until the middle Holocene, in this region of Piauí. Particularly, we observed that this occupation still has periodic gaps, with phases of occupation occurring in either short or long periods. With the new data, we are able to consider the cultural specificities of each set in the context of climate data to better understand the diversity of occupation within a single territory, for example behavioral variation in the management of space, adaptive responses to environmental pressures, or potentially both at the same time.

Dating human occupation at Toca do Serrote das Moendas, Sao Raimundo Nonato, Piaui-Brasil by electron spin resonance and optically stimulated luminescence

Excavation of Toca do Serrote das Moendas, in Piauí state, Brazil revealed a great quantity of fossil wild fauna associated with human remains. In particular, fossils of a cervid (Blastocerus dichotomus) were found, an animal frequently pictured in ancient rock wall paintings. In a well-defined stratum, two loose teeth of this species were found in close proximity to human bones. The teeth were independently dated by electron spin resonance (ESR) in two laboratories. The ages obtained for the teeth were 29 ± 3 ka (thousands of years) and 24 ± 1 ka. The concretion layer capping this stratum was dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of the quartz grains to 21 ± 3 ka. As these values were derived independently in three different laboratories, using different methods and equipment, these results are compelling evidence of early habitation in this area.

Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil: cultural heritage and society

Abstract The Serra da Capivara National Park was created in 1979 in order to protect the existing archaeological sites (more than 900). During its first ten years federal officials were lax concerning the commitments that had been assumed. The consequence was a devastating environmental impact on the archaeological heritage. Looking for a solution in 1986 FUMDHAM was created to implement the protection of the archaeological heritage and to ensure the continuation of research work in the region. The Serra da Capivara National Park has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1991. Another danger for the Park is conflict with the local population. They have been exploiting the natural resources of the Park for years. In addition, they do not recognize the value of the rock paintings because these were made by Indians. For this reason, the work with local communities is a priority for FUMDHAM. Unfortunately, the financial support expected from the Brazilian government has never arrived. The only solution for these problems is the continuation of the planned actions. Education and development are essential to reduce the speed of the environmental and cultural degradation processes.

Dating of fossil human teeth and shells from Toca do Enoque site at Serra das Confusões National Park, Brazil

This work reports the dating of a fossil human tooth and shell found at the archaeological site Toca do Enoque located in Serra das Confusões National Park (Piauí, Brazil). Many prehistoric paintings have been found at this site. An archaeological excavation unearthed three sepulchers with human skeletons and some shells. Two Brazilian laboratories, in Ribeirão Preto (USP) and Recife (UFPE), independently performed Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) measurements to date the tooth and the shell and obtain the equivalent dose received by each sample. The laboratories determined similar ages for the tooth and the shell (~4.8 kyBP). The results agreed with C-14 dating of the shell and other samples (charcoal) collected in the same sepulcher. Therefore, this work provides a valid inter-comparison of results by two independent ESR-dating laboratories and between two dating methods; i.e., C-14 and ESR, showing the validity of ESR dating for this range of ages.

The peopling of South America: expanding the evidence

The objective of the Franco-Brazilian mission, established in 2008 at the request of and in collaboration with Brazilian researchers, was to address the issue of the earliest peopling of South America as evidenced in north-eastern Brazil. Such early settlement had been suggested, and in our view demonstrated, by the previous research undertaken at the site of Boqueirão da Pedra Furada. Yet like any discovery, this occurred at a particular point in the history of research. Its acceptance depends on many factors that have often been difficult to accommodate as the evidence has unfolded. Still more fundamental has been the reasoned argument presented by the discoverers, since that is the basis of knowledge. The increasing number of sites and the conjunction of multiple approaches—stratigraphic, taphonomic, experimental, technological and functional—play a key role in the construction of this argument. Whether or not it is accepted will be part of the history of science. With the sites of Boqueirão, Sı́tio do Meio, Tira Peia and now Vale, we know that the settlement of this region of Piauı́ began more than 20–25 000 years ago, and occupation persisted throughout the entire Holocene period. When the data from these sites are compared with those from Santa Elina in the Mato Grosso, the antiquity of human settlement is confirmed and the area occupied at this early period is expanded. Another step has been taken; further steps must clearly follow in order to advance further. We now need to orient our questions differently by addressing behavioural issues.

Study of infectious diseases in archaeological bone material – A dataset

Bones of human and ground sloth remains were analyzed for presence of Trypanosoma cruzi by conventional PCR using primers TC, TC1 and TC2. Sequence results amplified a fragment with the same product size as the primers (300 and 350pb). Amplified PCR product was sequenced and analyzed on GenBank, using Blast. Although these sequences did not match with these parasites they showed high amplification with species of bacteria. This article presents the methodology used and the alignment of the sequences. The display of this dataset will allow further analysis of our results and discussion presented in the manuscript “Finding the unexpected: a critical view on molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases in archaeological samples” (Pucu et al. 2017) [1].