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New Data from Pedra Pintada Cave, Brazilian Amazon: Technological Analyses of the Lithic Industries in the Pleistocene–Holocene

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2023

Maria Jacqueline Rodet ,
Déborah Duarte-Talim Open the ORCID record for Déborah Duarte-Talim [Opens in a new window] ,
Edithe Pereira  and
Claide Moraes
Maria Jacqueline Rodet*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Antropologia e Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Déborah Duarte-Talim
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Tecnologia Lítica, Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Edithe Pereira
Affiliation:
Coordenação de Ciência Humanas, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil
Claide Moraes
Affiliation:
Programa de Antropologia e Arqueologia, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Pará, Brazil
*
Corresponding author: Maria Jacqueline Rodet; Email: mjrodet.ufmg@gmail.com
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Abstract

For many years, the existence of ancient human settlements in the Amazon was deemed impossible, particularly those as old as 12,000 BP as found in Pedra Pintada Cave in Monte Alegre, in the state of Pará, by Anna Roosevelt and colleagues in the 1990s and by Edithe Pereira's team in 2014. In this article, we present the results of the technological analyses of the bifacial tools found in the cave, focusing on raw materials, techniques, shaping and retouching methods, and technical procedures. The analyses indicate careful knapping, with no mistakes, in hundreds of flakes in the shaping and retouching phases, as well as fragmented tools with flaws. Whenever possible, we compare the results to the data published by Roosevelt and colleagues in 1996 from the same site.

Resumen

Resumen

Durante muchos años se consideró imposible la existencia de antiguos asentamientos humanos en la Amazonia como los encontrados en el yacimiento de cueva de Pedra Pintada en Monte Alegre, estado de Pará, por Anna Roosevelt y sus colegas en la década de 1990 y por el equipo de Edithe Pereira en 2014. En este artículo, presentamos los resultados inéditos de análisis tecnológicos de artefactos bifaciales: materias primas, técnicas, métodos de conformación, retoque y procedimientos técnicos. Los resultados indican una talla cuidadosa, sin errores, observada en cientos de lascas relacionadas con las fases de conformación y retoque, además de herramientas fragmentadas defectuosas. Siempre que fue posible, los resultados se compararon con los datos publicados por Roosevelt y colegas, procedentes del mismo yacimiento.

Keywords

Amazonlithic technologychaîne opératoireAmazoniatecnología líticacadenas operativas
Type
Article
Information
Latin American Antiquity , First View , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

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