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Dark layers (camadas pretas) over sambaquís: an archaeosedimentary phenomenon of regional extent

Ximena Villagran (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (USP). Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP))
Paulo DeBlasis (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (USP). Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP))

Abstract

On the southern coast of Santa Catarina (Brazil) a massive population of shell mounds (sambaquís) conform a prehistoric anthropic landscape built within a complex mosaic of interacting sedimentary systems. This cultural manifestation evolved between c. 6,000-1,500 B.P., from scarce and isolated occupation spots around main food sources (coastal lagoons), to an expanded stable territorial pattern with monumental construction and complex organizational systems. Many of these anthropic structures, whose function and symbolism are still being studied, present a complex archaeostratigraphy consisting of a metric succession of centimetric shell strata covered by a dark layer of decimetric width. This organic topmost layer represents a sudden change in building behaviour, with the replacement of shell as the main construction element by archaeofaunal material (mostly fish bones), charcoal, ashes and other domestic residues. These peculiar archaeological sediments, only systematically studied in the Jabuticabeira II site, stand out for their wide territorial extension and similar chronology.