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A new late Pleistocene archaeological sequence in South America: the Vale da Pedra Furada (Piauí, Brazil)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2014

Eric Boëda ,
Ignacio Clemente-Conte ,
Michel Fontugne ,
Christelle Lahaye ,
Mario Pino ,
Gisele Daltrini Felice ,
Niède Guidon ,
Sirlei Hoeltz ,
Antoine Lourdeau  and
Marina Pagli
...Show all authors
Eric Boëda
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France
Ignacio Clemente-Conte
Affiliation:
2Departamento de Arqueología y Antropología, IMF-CSIC, Calle Egipcíaques 15, Barcelona 08001, Spain
Michel Fontugne
Affiliation:
3Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212 CNRS-CEA-UVSQ, Domaine du CNRS, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
Christelle Lahaye
Affiliation:
4Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, UMR 5060 IRAMAT-CRP2A, Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, Maison de l'Archéologie, Esplanade des Antilles, 33607 Pessac, France
Mario Pino
Affiliation:
5Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Edificio Emilio Pugín, Avenida Eduardo Morales Miranda, Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile
Gisele Daltrini Felice
Affiliation:
6Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Centro Cultural Sérgio Motta s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil 7Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF), Campus Serra de Capivara, Rua João Ferreira dos Santos, s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil
Niède Guidon
Affiliation:
6Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Centro Cultural Sérgio Motta s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil
Sirlei Hoeltz
Affiliation:
8Archaeo: Pesquisas Arqueológicas, Av. Carandaí 99, Parque Georgia, Cuiabá–MT, 78085-485, Brazil
Antoine Lourdeau
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France 9Departamento de Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife–PE, 50670-901, Brazil
Marina Pagli
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France
Anne-Marie Pessis
Affiliation:
6Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Centro Cultural Sérgio Motta s/n, Bairro Campestre, São Raimundo Nonato–PI, 64770-000, Brazil 9Departamento de Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife–PE, 50670-901, Brazil
Sibeli Viana
Affiliation:
10Instituto Goiano de Pré-História e Antropologia, Pontificia Universidade Católica de Goiás, Av, Universitária 1.440, Setor Universitário, Goiânia–GO, 74605-010, Brazil
Amélie Da Costa
Affiliation:
1UMR 7041 CNRS ArScAn–AnTET, Université Paris X, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre, France
Eric Douville
Affiliation:
3Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, UMR 8212 CNRS-CEA-UVSQ, Domaine du CNRS, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France
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Extract

The date of the first settlement of the Americas remains a contentious subject. Previous claims for very early occupation at Pedra Furada in Brazil were not universally accepted (see Meltzer et al. 1994). New work at the rockshelter of Boqueirão da Pedra Furada and at the nearby open-air site of Vale da Pedra Furada have however produced new evidence for human occupation extending back more than 20 000 years. The argument is supported by a series of 14C and OSL dates, and by technical analysis of the stone tool assemblage. The authors conclude that the currently accepted narrative of human settlement in South America will have to be re-thought. The article is followed by a series of comments, rounded off by a reply from the authors.

Keywords

Pedra FuradaSerra de Capivarasettlement of the Americastaphonomylithic technologycobble toolsquartz toolsdating methods
Type
Debate
Information
Antiquity , Volume 88 , Issue 341 , September 2014 , pp. 927 - 941
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2014

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