Brazilian Historical Zooarchaeology: A Summarized Iberian Contribution and a Case Study of Domesticated Bovine Cattle Introduced in Southern Region (original) (raw)
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Zooarchaeology in Brazil: from yesterday to the challenge of the new perspectives
Estado Actual de la Arqueozoología Latinoamericana-Current Advances for the Latin-American Archaeozoology, 2010
El International Council for Archaeozoology (ICAZ) promueve la organización pluralista y transdisciplinaria, al reunir a arqueólogos, biólogos, paleontólogos, veterinarios, entre otros especialistas de todo el mundo, cuyo objeto de estudio es la relación entre la sociedad humana y los animales a través del tiempo. En Latinoamérica este tipo de estudios han alcanzado un desarrollo muy notorio en las última décadas.
Quaternary International, 2013
In order to understand the relationship between human occupation and paleoenvironmental scenario in Southern Brazil during Holocene, multidisciplinary studies were carried out in two archaeological sites located at Northeast of Rio Grande do Sul State: Sangão rockshelter (RS-S-327) and Garivaldino rockshelter (RS-TQ-58). Both sites have radiocarbon ages from 9400 to 3730 14 C BP, revealing a continuous occupation of this area by hunter-gatherer populations related to Umbu Tradition. Palynological studies conducted in areas near the archaeological sites demonstrated an increase in humidity and in arboreal taxa starting at 5400 14 C BP, providing evidence of a mosaic of grasslands and forests. These findings are corroborated by the analysis of small-sized mammals related to non-human predation associated to these archaeological sites, which present contemporary taxa typical of forests and open areas. They also demonstrated that environmental changes were slow and gradual during the Holocene. Although paleoenvironmental data suggest that the landscape of this region evolve gradually from mosaic of forest and open landscapes to diverse and densest forests, zooarchaeological analysis indicates a pattern of adaptive stability that persists throughout the Holocene, characterized by generalist strategies of subsistence focused mainly in forest resources. Therefore, the favorable weather conditions and the presence of forest environments restricted to river valleys and mountain slopes until Mid-Holocene, played a central role for the initial human settlement of this area, related mainly with riverine routes.
Revista Chilena de Antropología, 2016
The study of faunal remains from archaeological sites is based on qualitative and quantitative data that contribute to our understanding of the consumption of animal protein, environment, and lifestyle often goes beyond understanding daily activities. Indeed, faunal remains in archaeological sites vary among societies, as choices are both availability and culturally defined. Here I discuss available faunal data from shell mounds in the Babitonga Bay, in conjunction with the presence of pottery in some of their archaeological layers. Forte Marechal Luz, Enseada I, Bupeva II and Itacoara sites have pottery and two different stratigraphic horizons. The results show some interesting differences in taxa and quantity of the animal remains, when the different layers of the same site and between sites are compared. I discuss cultural identity and diversity of the prehistoric dwellers living in the Babitonga Bay, in the light of a relatively late introduction of ceramics that affected less than 10% of the shell mounds in the area.
Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - Ciências Humanas, 2017
This article provides a preliminary historical survey of Brazilian biological anthropology from the second half of the twentieth century. Even today, little historiographic information on the last 50 or 60 years is available and/or has been explored, while few allusions to bioanthropology can be found in existing works on the history and contemporary state of anthropology in Brazil; this article attempts to span this gap. The first section examines various aspects of the general development of biological anthropology as it radiated from the centers (Europe and the United States) outward over time. This initial survey affords a clearer understanding of the Brazilian case, which is the topic of the second section. This is followed by a brief historical and bibliographic account of the most recent state of biological anthropology in the country, including a number of specialized areas of research. The article concludes with a short discussion of the material covered.
Vertebrate paleontology in Brazil — a review
A review of the vertebrate fossil diversity in Brazil is presented. The best known faunas are the fish and rep- tiles from the Santana Formation (both, Crato and Romualdo Members). Also comparatively well known are the mammalian faunas from Pleistocene deposits, which is the result of extensive research done in the last decades. Poorly known are the Paleozoic vertebrates, which is possible due to the limited outcrops in the country. Paradoxically, the Late Cretaceous vertebrate faunas (fishes, reptiles, and mammals) from the Bauru Group are also poorly known, despite the large exten- sion of these sedimentary rocks in the country. Follow- ing the achievements in the last decades, continuous systematic fieldwork has to be done, with the employ- ment of various collecting techniques (e.g., screen washing), in order to improve the knowledge about the Brazilian paleovertebrate faunas.
Quaternary International, 2008
Studies on Brazilian archaeofauna from prehistoric and historic sites have attempted to explain human settlement and cultural trajectories in different geographical regions. However, only since 1999 have taphonomical criteria been developed during Brazilian zooarchaeological investigations. Wide ecosystem diversity results in the differential preservation of faunal remains. Until the end of the 20th century, many zooarchaeological studies presented insufficient information on complex predator-prey interaction systems in many regions, mostly from the Amazonian lowlands and the highlands of the Central Plateau. Animal remains might have been the result of natural predation, and they are often found mixed within anthropic material that could distort interpretation of deposits. Thus, there are major problems in defining diagnostic criteria to distinguish natural from cultural marks.
Concheros brasileños desde una perspectiva zooarqueológica
Archaeofauna
RESUMEN: Los concheros son sitios arqueológicos conformados por pescadores-cazadores-recolectores con alta concentración de restos de fauna marina, compuestos básicamente de conchas de moluscos marinos y terrestres, caparazones de crustáceos, restos de peces, huesos humanos y animales, entre otros. Estos restos son evidencias de asentamientos prehistóricos caracterizados como rasgos distintivos en la planicie costera arenosa, barras arenosas de lagunas costeras e islas
Revista Clio, 2018
The paleobiologic studies are an important source of information about health conditions and bioculturals dynamics of populations of the past. In the specific case of the archaeological tradition Aratu, little is known about their population biology, partly due to the fact that the skeletal remains are not always present in the excavated burial urns or when they are, the preservation conditions hinder studies of this nature. If the site of Baixa das Flores, despite having a small osteological sample, it is relevant because providing a first biological observation of human populations inserted in the vast archaeological tradition Aratu in northeastern Brazil.