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Site formation processes at Hatahara and their implications for understanding the archaeology of the central Amazon region

Lilian Rebellato (University of Kansas)
Eduardo Neves (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, USP)
Wenceslau Teixeira (Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental)
William Woods (University of Kansas)

Abstract

To understand archaeological site formation it is necessary to take into account a wide spectrum of natural and human processes, including intentional and unintentional changes and post-depositional events. Through the Hatahara case study, an archaeological site located in the central Amazon near Manaus, Brazil, it was possible to determine numerous factors that had affected the site’s depositional history. Through analysis of the distribution and characteristics of terra preta, terra mulata, ceramics and the topography of this site, it was possible to understand dark earth formation and differential use through time. As a result this investigation opened a new vision about village morphology in pre-European Amazonia. The present work was conducted under the sponsorship of CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - Brasil).