Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T13:32:40.781Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2014

Eric Boëda ,
Ignacio Clemente-Conte ,
Michel Fontugne ,
Christelle Lahaye ,
Mario Pino ,
Gisele Daltrini Felice ,
Niède Guidon ,
Sirlei Hoeltz ,
Antoine Lourdeau  and
Marina Pagli
...Show all authors
Eric Boëda
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France
Ignacio Clemente-Conte
Affiliation:
2Departamento de Arqueología y Antropología, IMF-CSIC, Calle Egipcíaques 15, Barcelona 08001, Spain
Michel Fontugne
Affiliation:
3Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212 CNRS-CEA-UVSQ, Domaine du CNRS, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
Christelle Lahaye
Affiliation:
4Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, UMR 5060 IRAMAT-CRP2A, Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, Maison de l'Archéologie, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac, France
Mario Pino
Affiliation:
5Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Edificio Emilio Pugín, Avenida Eduardo Morales Miranda, Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile
Gisele Daltrini Felice
Affiliation:
6Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Centro Cultural Sérgio Motta s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil 7Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Campus Serra de Capivara, Rua João Ferreira dos Santos, s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil
Niède Guidon
Affiliation:
6Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Centro Cultural Sérgio Motta s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil
Sirlei Hoeltz
Affiliation:
8Archaeo: Pesquisas Arqueológicas, Av. Carandaí 99, Parque Georgia, Cuiabá–MT, 78085-485, Brazil
Antoine Lourdeau
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France 9Departamento de Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife–PE, 50670-901, Brazil
Marina Pagli
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France
Anne-Marie Pessis
Affiliation:
6Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Centro Cultural Sérgio Motta s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil 9Departamento de Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife–PE, 50670-901, Brazil
Sibeli Viana
Affiliation:
10Instituto Goiano de Pré-História e Antropologia, Pontificia Universidade Católica de Goiás, Av, Universitária 1.440, Setor Universitário, Goiânia–GO, 74605-010, Brazil
Amélie Da Costa
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France
Eric Douville
Affiliation:
3Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212 CNRS-CEA-UVSQ, Domaine du CNRS, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

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.

Keywords

Pedra FuradaSerra de Capivarasettlement of the Americastaphonomylithic technologycobble toolsquartz toolsdating methods
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 88 , Issue 341 , September 2014 , pp. 927 - 941
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Behling, H., Arz, H.W., Pätzold, J. & Wefer, G.. 2000. Late quaternary vegetational and climate dynamics in northeastern Brazil, inferences from marine core GeoB 3104-1. Quaternary Science Reviews 19: 981–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00046-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boëda, E., Lourdeau, A., Lahaye, C., Felice, G.D., Viana, S., Clemente-Conte, I., Pino, M., Fontugne, M., Hoeltz, S., Guidon, N., Pessis, A.-M., Da Costa, A. & Pagli, M.. 2013. The late Pleistocene industries of Piauí, Brazil: new data, in Graf, K.E., Ketron, C.V. & Waters, M.R. (ed.) Paleoamerican odyssey: 425–45. College Station: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A & M University.Google Scholar
Boëda, E., Felice, G.D., Fontugne, M., Hoeltz, S., Lourdeau, A., Lahaye, C., Pagli, M. & Viana, S.. In press. Les industries pléistocènes du Piaí. Nouvelles données. Mission franco brésilienne 2010/11. France: @rchéo-éditions.Google Scholar
Bonnichsen, R., Lepper, B.T., Stanford, D.J. & Waters, M.R.. 2005. Paleoamerican origins: beyond Clovis. College Station: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A & M University.Google Scholar
Cardich, A.R., Cardich, L.A. & Hajduk, A.. 1973. Secuencia arqueológica y cronología radiocarbónica de la Cueva 3 de Los Toldos (Santa Cruz, Argentina). Relaciones 7: 85–123.Google Scholar
Clark, D.L. 1968. Analytical archaeology. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Clemente-Conte, I. 1997. Los instrumentos líticos de Túnel VII: una aproximación etnoarqueológica (Treballs d'Etnoarqueologia 2). Madrid: CSIC.Google Scholar
Collins, M.B., Stanford, D.J. & Lowery, D.L.. 2013. North America before Clovis: variance in temporal/spatial cultural patterns, 27, 000-13,000 cal y B.P., in Graf, K.E., Ketron, C.V. & Waters, M.R. (ed.) Paleoamerican odyssey: 521–39. College Station: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A & M University.Google Scholar
Dillehay, T.D. 1997. Monte Verde: a late Pleistocene settlement in Chile. Vol. 2: the archaeological context and interpretation. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.Google Scholar
Dillehay, T.D. 2008. Profiles in Pleistocene history, in Silverman, H. & Isbell, W.H. (ed.) The handbook of South American archaeology: 29–43. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dillehay, T.D. 2009. Probing deeper into first American studies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 106: 971–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808424106CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dillehay, T.D., Bonavia, D., Goodbred, S.L. Jr, Pino, M., Vásquez, V. & Tham, T. Rosales. 2012. A late Pleistocene human presence at Huaca Prieta, Peru, and early Pacific Coastal adaptations. Quaternary Research 77: 418–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2012.02.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fariña, R.A., Tambusso, P.S., Varela, L., Czerwonogora, A., di Giacomo, M., Musso, M., Bracco, R. & Gascue, A.. 2014. Arroyo del Vizcaíno, Uruguay: a fossil-rich 30-ka-old megafaunal locality with cut-marked bones. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281(1774): 20132211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2211CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Felice, G.D. 2000. Sítio Toca do Boqueirão da Pedra Furada, Piaí - Brasil: estudo comparativo das estratigrafias extra sítio. Unpublished MA dissertation, Universidade Federal do Pernambuco.Google Scholar
Felice, G.D. 2002. A controvérsia sobre o sítio arqueológico Toca do Boqueirão da Pedra Furada, Piaí-Brasil. FUMDHAMentos 2: 143–78.Google Scholar
Goebel, T., Waters, M.R. & O'Rourke, D.H.. 2008. The late Pleistocene dispersal of modern humans in the Americas. Science 319: 1497–502. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1153569CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guidon, N. 1989. On stratigraphy and chronology at Pedra Furada. Current Anthropology. 30: 641–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidon, N. & Delibrias, G.. 1986. Carbon-14 dates point to man in the Americas 32, 000 years ago. Nature 321: 769–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/321769a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidon, N., Parenti, F., Luz, M.F.Da, Guérin, C. & Faure, M.. 1994. Le plus anciens peuplement de l'Amerique: le Paléolithique de Nordeste brésilien. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 91: 246–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeley, L.H. 1980. Experimental determination of stone tool uses. A microwear analysis. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Keeley, L.H. & Toth, N.. 1983. Microwear polishes on early stone tools from Koobi Fora, Kenya. Nature 293: 464–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/293464a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahaye, C., Hernandez, M., Boëda, E., Felice, G. D., Guidon, N., Hoeltz, S., Lourdeau, A., Pagli, M., Pessis, A.-M., Rasse, M. & Viana, S.. 2013. Human occupation in South America by 20, 000 BC: the Toca da Tira Peia site, Piaí, Brazil. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 2840–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.02.019CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meltzer, D. J. 2009. First peoples in a new world: colonizing Ice Age America. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Meltzer, D.J., Adovasio, J. M. & Dillehay, T. D.. 1994. On a Pleistocene human occupation at Pedra Furada, Brazil. Antiquity 68: 695–714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miotti, L. L. 2003. Patagonia: a paradox for building images of the first Americans during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Quaternary International 109-110: 147–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1040-6182(02)00210-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miotti, L.L. & Salemme, M.C.. 2004. Poblamiento, movilidad y territories entre las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras de Patagonia. Complutum 15: 177–206.Google Scholar
Ochsenius, C. & Gruhn, R.. 1979. Taima-Taima: a late Pleistocene Paleo-indian kill in northernmost South America: final reports of 1976 excavations. Berlin: CIPICS & South America Quaternary Documentation Program.Google Scholar
Parenti, F. 2001. Le gisement quaternaire de Pedra Furada (Piaí, Brésil), stratigraphie, chronologie, évolution culturelle. Paris: Recherche sur les Civilisations.Google Scholar
Parenti, F., Fontugne, M. & Guérin, C.. 1996. Pedra Furada in Brazil and its ‘presumed’ evidence: limitations and potential of the available data. Antiquity 70: 416–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pellerin, J. 1983. Missão geomorfológica em São Raimundo Nonato, sudeste do Piaí, Brasil. Cadernos de Pesquisa (Série Antropologia-II) 3: 203–23.Google Scholar
Ranere, A. J. & López, C. E.. 2007. Cultural diversity in late Pleistocene/early Holocene populations in northwest South America and lower Central America. International Journal of South American Archaeology 1: 25–31.Google Scholar
Roosevelt, A. C., Douglas, J. & Brown, L.. 2002. The migrations and adaptations of the first Americans: Clovis and pre-Clovis viewed from South America, in Jablonski, N. G. (ed. ) The first Americans: the Pleistocene colonization of the New World: 159–235. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
Semenov, S. A. 1964. Prehistoric technology. London: Cory, Adams and Mackay.Google Scholar
Steele, J. & Politis, G.. 2009. AMS 14C dating of early human occupation of southern South America. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 419–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.09.024CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vilhena Vialou, A. 2005. Pré-história do Mato Grosso. Vol. 1, Santa Elina. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo.Google Scholar
Waters, M. R. & Stafford, T. W. Jr. 2007. Redefining the age of Clovis: implications for the peopling of the Americas. Science 315: 1122–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science. 1137166CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waters, M. R. & Stafford, T. W. Jr. 2013. The first Americans: a review of the evidence for the late Pleistocene, in Graf, K. E., Ketron, C. V. & Waters, M. R. (ed. ) Paleoamerican odyssey: 541–60. College Station: Center for the Study of the First Americans, Texas A&M University.Google Scholar