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CRP 25, 2008 ARAUJO/FEATHERS 27

First Notice of Open-Air Paleoamerican Sites at


Lagoa Santa: Some Geomorphological and
Paleoenvironmental Aspects, and Implications for
Future Research
Astolfo G. M. Araujo and James K. Feathers
Lagoa Santa, a karstic region in central Brazil, is known for the discovery of
more than 250 Paleoamerican human skeletons (Neves and Hubbe 2005), all
from sheltered contexts. Despite study since the 1830s (Neves et al. 2007), no
Paleoamerican sites have been found outside caves until very recently.
A surface survey complemented by 15-m-interval probes with a motorized
auger was conducted recently along the shores of doline Lake Sumidouro,
resulting in the discovery of three open-air lithic sites: Lund, Coqueirinho, and
Sumidouro. The lithics, similar to those found in the rockshelters, represent a
generalized core technology (Teltser 1991), lacking formalized tools and made

Astolfo G. M. Araujo, School for Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, Brazil;
e-mail: astwolfo@usp.br
James K. Feathers, Laboratory of Luminescence Dating, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
98195; e-mail: jimf@u.washington.edu
28 ARAUJO/FEATHERS Archaeology: Latin America

almost entirely on hyaline quartz and quartzite with some chert. The Lund site
returned late-Holocene 14C dates, but the other two sites appear to date to the
Paleoamerican period. Only Sumidouro is discussed here.
The site, found by augering, is located near the lake shore on the lower
portion of a 380-m 14-percent slope. Soils consist of a reddish micro-
aggregated horizon overlying a yellowish prismatic horizon, a typical pattern
in Lagoa Santa (Piló 1998). Lower stratigraphic layers contain gleyed and
mottled horizons subject to the water level.
At least three discrete layers of archaeological materials are present. The
upper occupation contains ceramics, lithics and burnt earth concentrated at a
depth of 15–40 cm and with 14C dates of 510 ± 40 (Beta-234512) and 340 ± 40
(Beta-234518) RCYBP. A middle occupation at a depth of 70–80 cm contains
mainly lithics and is bracketed by 14C dates of 2210 ± 40 (Beta-234510) and
1350 ± 40 (Beta-234517) RCYBP. The lower occupation, at a depth of 160–210
cm, consists only of lithics and is dated by 14C on charcoal at 8310 ± 40 RCYBP.
Some anomalously recent dates obtained from lower in the stratigraphy are
suspected to result from contamination from the water table.
Tropical sites are often heavily bioturbated, although the discrete archaeo-
logical levels suggest vertical movement may not be severe. However, charcoal,
being less dense and having a different geometry from lithics, may not behave
the same way and may thus be more prone to movement. For this reason and
because of the anomalous dates mentioned above, an alternative dating tech-
nique, luminescence dating, was employed on five sediment samples. We
applied single-grain dating using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)
not only to cross-check the 14C chronology but to provide evidence of any
mixing (Jacobs and Roberts 2007).
Only equivalent dose (De), the numerator of the age equation, is deter-
mined on single grains, the dose rate being obtained from the bulk sample.
Variation in De values among grains can be evaluated by over dispersion, a
measure of variation beyond that accounted for by differential precision.
Unmixed, single-aged samples generally have over-dispersion values of 10–20
percent, but the Sumidouro samples have values ranging from 30–60 percent
(Table 1). We have ruled out microvariations in dose rate as a probable cause
for such high values, and have concluded the variation represents different-
aged grains, either because of insufficient sunlight exposure during colluvial
deposition or because of post-depositional mixing. Table 1 shows ages com-
puted (1) by assuming random post-depositional mixing so that the central
tendency reflects the depositional age and (2) by assuming insufficient expo-
sure so that the youngest grains represent the depositional age. The ages from
the central tendency are in the correct stratigraphic order and agree with the
14C results in the lower part of the profile. The minimum ages contain one

stratigraphic inversion but agree with 14C dates in the upper part. We are
currently trying to sort out these processes, and it is possible both are involved,
but the lowest lithic occupation appears to date to 9000–12,000 CALYBP.
The 14C ages suggest a strong increase in soil-accretion rates after 5000
RCYBP, rising from 0.07 mm/year to 0.27 mm/year. We attribute this 400-
percent increase to mid-Holocene drying, also responsible for human de-
CRP 25, 2008 BUENO 29

Table 1. OSL dates for soil samples from the Sumidouro site.

Sample* Depth (m) Over-dispersion (%) Age, central tendency (ka) Age, minimum value (ka)
UW1388 1.96 33.7 12.5 ± 0.9 8.6 ± 0.9
UW1389 1.60 40.2 10.1 ± 0.7 4.8 ± 0.4
UW1390 1.37 39.0 9.9 ± 0.7 6.3 ± 0.6
UW1391 0.70 38.2 4.3 ± 0.3 2.7 ± 0.2
UW1392 0.27 64.2 1.9 ± 0.2 0.8 ± 0.1

*All samples processed at the University of Washington

population in central Brazil (Araujo et al. 2005). Reduced vegetation and


heavy seasonal rains could increase erosion from slopes above the lake. This
also suggests that open sites along lakes will be deeply buried and not likely to
be found accidently because the artifacts are non-diagnostic. The lake shores
are a good starting point for surveys, but we do not know if all karstic lakes
were active during the Pleistocene.

References Cited
Araujo, A. G. M., W. A. Neves, L. B. Piló, and J. P. V. Atui 2005 Holocene Dryness and Human
Occupation in Brazil during the “Archaic Gap.” Quaternary Research 64:298–307.
Jacobs, Z., and R. G. Roberts 2007 Advances in Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating of
Individual Grains of Quartz from Archaeological Deposits. Evolutionary Anthropology 16:210–23.
Neves, W. A., and M. Hubbe 2005 Cranial Morphology of Early Americans from Lagoa Santa,
Brazil: Implications for the Settlement of the New World. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences 102:18309–14.
Neves, W. A., M. Hubbe, and L. B. Piló 2007 Early Holocene Human Skeletal Remains from
Sumidouro Cave, Lagoa Santa, Brazil: History of Discoveries, Geological and Chronological con-
text, and Comparative Cranial Morphology. Journal of Human Evolution 52:16–30.
Piló, L. B. 1998 Morfologia Cárstica e Materiais Constituintes: Dinâmica e Evolução da
Depressão Poligonal Macacos-Baú - Carste de Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais. Unpublished Ph.D.
dissertation, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Teltser, P. A. 1991 Generalized Core Technology and Tool Use: A Mississipian Example. Journal
of Field Archaeology 18:363–75.

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