Maranhão: 100 thousand archaeological pieces are found on site – 01/07/2024 – Science

A work from the Minha Casa Minha Vida program in São Luís (MA) became the stage for an archaeological discovery that can help understand the history of Brazil. During the construction of a condominium of residential buildings by the company MRV, 45 human bones and more than 100,000 archaeological pieces were found.

In addition to the skeletons, the fragments include ceramics, stone tools (known as lithic materials) and bone tools, shells and charcoal. Analyzes are still ongoing to determine the age of the materials found, but the volume of pieces indicates that this could be an important find.

The Chácara Rosane Archaeological Site is located in the Vicente Fialho neighborhood. The site has been studied since at least the 1980s, when the first human remains were discovered in the region, including a fossil of an adult man belonging to the Tupi-Guarani culture.

Thus, the possible existence of the site was known even before work began. Archaeologist Welington Lage, general coordinator of the excavation work, hired by the construction company to carry out studies at the site, explains that the first ceramic remains were found in 2019, during the environmental licensing process.

Afterwards, rescue and archaeological monitoring actions began. “At this stage, a large quantity of pieces was revealed, including two human skeletons located at levels below the sambaqui”, says Lage, referring to a type of construction made of shells and sediments made by the ancient inhabitants of Brazil near the sea or rivers.

“During this process it was noticed that the artifacts were divided throughout the stratigraphic level [diferentes camadas de rocha]distributed above, in the middle and below the sambaqui, which demonstrates different periods of human occupation of the site”, he explains.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the team, made up of nine technicians, had to be confined to the farm that gives the site its name to continue excavations. The work continues to this day and, according to Lage, it is far from over.

“There is a lot to be done. Every day is a scare, every hour something new. Archeology is fantastic”, says the archaeologist, excitedly.

To date, the group he coordinates is working with the hypothesis that the remains indicate that the area was occupied by human groups at least 7,000 years ago. The site would have had different purposes, such as forming a village, living space and cemetery.

Ceramics from different cultural groups were found, the most rudimentary, of the mine type, which have appeared since 5,800 years ago in other parts of the island of São Luís; passing through those of Tupi origin; the Amazonian, possibly associated with the period between 2,000 and 1,000 years ago; reaching the Tupinambá pieces, between the 14th and 17th centuries, already at the time of contact with European colonizers.

Evidence of this temporal and cultural diversity also appears in preliminary dating made from sediments close to the first two skeletons discovered. The measurement was made using a method called optically stimulated luminescence, which determines when the sediment was last exposed to solar radiation and indicates a broad time range, between 9,000 and 1,000 years ago.

“All archaeological material of organic origin degrades more intensely, mainly due to the action of microorganisms. However, the skeletons are composed of almost all parts, thus allowing information to be obtained about the age of death, gender and even some funerary practices”, reports Lage.

There are different types of burials among the 45 human remains found. Some are in a special position and with a funeral trousseau, which suggests a social hierarchy and gives clues to ancestral funeral rites.

Previous research, from other sambaquis in the capital of Maranhão, estimates that fishing, hunter-gatherer and pottery populations settled in the region around 6,600 years ago and, in the interior of the state, more than 9,000 years ago.

Even if the possible existence of the site was already known, as long as the legal requirements for obtaining a license are met, construction is allowed to be carried out in places like this, with potential archaeological value.

“Within this process of legalizing the land, the existence of the site next to Iphan (Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage) was discovered, and, from then on, legal negotiations began to operate the project within the rules and in parallel to Iphan’s work”, says Jordana Pearce, operational planning manager at MRV in the Northeast region.

The Minha Casa Minha Vida project did not come to a halt and construction progressed in parallel with the material excavation process. The site will house four condominiums that, together, will have around 1,600 units participating in the federal program.

According to Pearce, as the existence of archaeological pieces in the region was already predicted, measures were adopted from the beginning to save the site. In addition to hiring a specialized company to excavate the pieces, the company also provided equipment such as air-conditioned rooms and custom-made crates for the most sensitive finds.

Iphan was contacted for clarification regarding the findings and the licensing process for the work, but the organization did not respond until the publication of this report.

According to the company, MRV will build, in partnership with Iphan, a curation center at UFMA (Federal University of Maranhão) to house the materials found.

According to the company, the center will be coordinated by the university’s archeology team, responsible for curating and packaging the finds from the Chácara Rosane Site.

“In total, MRV estimates investing around R$1 million in preserving the finds, including the costs of archeology and rescue services, institutional endorsement [valor de contratação de instituição habilitada a receber itens de patrimônio arqueológico] and the construction of the Curation and Storage Center”, states the construction company’s regional manager.