A03_P02

Defining the chronology of Teotônio, a pre-Columbian archaeological site in Amazonia

Bentley M¹,  Becerra-Valdivia L¹, Kater T², Pereira Furquim L², Linscott B¹, Chivall D¹, Bronk Ramsey C¹

¹Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, ²Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil

Pre-Columbian Amazonia contains a rich archaeological record indicative of complex cultural activity starting at 12,000 cal BP. The site of Teotônio, Brazil, shows a long history of human occupation, containing the oldest anthropogenic black-earth soils in the Amazon (~4,500 BCE) and early evidence of plant domestication.¹ The presence of distinct pottery traditions at the site also mark the complexity and organisation of manufacturing among ancient indigenous communities.² As such, Teotônio offers an important opportunity to better understand the human landscape in SW Amazonia during the late Holocene. Current work by the ‘Human-Environment Relationships in pre-Columbian Amazonia’ project aims to disentangle human-environment dynamics in the region, but study at Teotônio is limited by poor chronological constraint. To resolve this, we present the results of a radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling programme that defines the chronology at the site, enabling the framing of Teotônio within regional archaeological and paleoecological evidence.³ With a chronology in place, we also present the results of organic residue analysis, which point to the function of ceramic traditions through time.

1.           Watling, et al., 2018. Direct archaeological evidence for Southwestern Amazonia as an early plant domestication and food production centre. PloS one, 13.

2.           Almeida and Moraes. 2016. A Cerâmica Polícroma do Rio Madeira, in: Barreto, C., Lima, H.P., Betancourt, C.J. (eds.), Cerâmicas Arqueológicas da Amazônia. Rumo a uma sintese. Iphan, Brazil.

3.           Lombardo, et al., 2018. Alluvial plain dynamics and human occupation in SW Amazonia during the Holocene: A paleosol-based reconstruction. Quaternary science reviews, 180.