Final Report Summary - COREBRAS (COASTAL RESOURCES AND SOUTH AMERICAN HUNTER-GATHERERS: BIOCHEMICAL PERSPECTIVES FROM BRAZILIAN SAMBAQUIS)
By combining archaeological and molecular data, the COREBRAS project aimed to identify patterns of prehistoric adaptation to coastal areas of Brazil. Our understanding of the diet and subsistence economy of the prehistoric inhabitants of coastal Brazil has been largely limited to traditional archaeological information, based on faunal, botanical and artefactual remains. Therefore the COREBRAS project developed isotopic and molecular analysis on human, faunal and pottery remains from Sambaquis sites located in South (Santa Catarina state), Southeast (Rio de Janeiro state) and North (Maranhão state) regions of Brazil.
The COREBRAS project was developed around three main objectives:
1) To assess how prehistoric hunter-gatherers responded (in terms of subsistence, mobility and settlement patterns) to the mosaic of coastal environments they occupied along the Brazilian littoral.
2) To assess how they transmitted and preserved a unique coastal-based culture across a long stretch of South America coast throughout the Holocene with limited maritime technology.
3) To extend to South American archaeology, and especially to Brazilian archaeology, developments in biomolecular archaeological methods.
With the COREBRAS project the fellow (AC Colonese) had high quality training in biomolecular techniques at the University of York, including:
1) Bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis
2) Single amino acid stable carbon isotopic analysis
3) Bulk collagen sulphur isotopic analysis
4) Molecular and isotopic analysis of residues in pottery remains
During his training the fellow led an interdisciplinary research team formed by archaeologist, physician and biologists in order to achieve the follow specific objectives:
Assessing bone collagen and mineral preservation
We for the first time assessed the preservation of bone collagen in archaeological human remains in subtropical regions of Brazil. In addition, we used Raman spectroscopy analysis on randomly selected human bone samples (n = 32) from coastal (n = 3) and mainland sites MRS (n = 1) to assess diagenetic change to the mineral fraction. The results indicate that the mineral fraction of human remains in subtropical areas of Brazil is strongly altered and unsuitable for isotopic analysis. The collagen content, instead, is highly preserved for isotopic studies.
Assessing subsistence strategies of prehistoric populations in southern Brazil
We analysed carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human (n = 106) and faunal (n = 36) bone collagen, a technique widely used to reconstruct paleodiets, particularly in distinguishing marine versus terrestrial diets. We additionally determined the stable carbon isotope signature of individual amino acids (AA) from bone collagen to identify different macronutrient constituents of diet.
Assessing the function of early pottery on the southern coast of Brazil through organic residue analysis
Molecular and isotopic analysis of organic residue absorbed into porous vessels or preserved in surface deposits offer valuable information concerning pottery use. Lipids were extracted from archaeological potsherds and directly analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. We also analyse the stable carbon isotopes of n-hexadecanoic and n-octadecanoic acids using a gas chromatograph coupled to a combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Charred residues of food were preserved in the internal part of several ceramic potsherds. Samples were removed and subsamples selected for carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis. Molecular and isotopic compositions of adsorbed organic residues indicate that pottery vessels were used for the processing of marine products, along with plants and other animals resources.
Main results
The COREBRAS project successfully demonstrate through a multidisciplinary approach that the dietary regime of several middle-late Holocene groups of southern Brazil was dominated by marine and terrestrial proteins and to a lesser extent by plant resources. Our results suggest that the maritime adaptation was highly resilient to these social dynamics and maintained its fundamental propriety of providing high nutritional food items to local and possibly foreign groups. Our isotopic and molecular results emphasize that the dispersal of pottery and productive economic systems in coastal areas of the eastern South America did not replace foraging subsistence strategies, which have been successfully operating for millennia.
COREBRAS underlined the importance of measures for conservation and management of Brazilian archaeological records. Our results emphasize how the archaeological record from Brazilian coasts offers unique and exceptional opportunity to illuminate the longstanding trajectory of New World maritime adaptations, which still today play a pivotal role to coastal populations in Latin America.
Wide results:
By working with one of the most rapidly expanding economies in the world COREBRAS increased the visibility of University of York and European Community (Marie Curie Actions) in a key geographic area, in a largely unexplored area for archaeology with parallels to important European sites.
The project expanded the collaborative research network of University of York (FAPES-York) by adding new Brazilian scientific institutions to our investigation (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Universidade da Região de Joinville, Federal University of Pernambuco). These initiatives provided the seeds for future EU (ERC, ESF) and Brazilian (FAPESP, CNPq) grant applications.
The attendance to Brazilian and European conferences, seminars and research visits clearly enhanced the visibility of the investigator, research team, host institution and sponsors in Brazil and among other research institutions worldwide.
The COREBRAS project was developed around three main objectives:
1) To assess how prehistoric hunter-gatherers responded (in terms of subsistence, mobility and settlement patterns) to the mosaic of coastal environments they occupied along the Brazilian littoral.
2) To assess how they transmitted and preserved a unique coastal-based culture across a long stretch of South America coast throughout the Holocene with limited maritime technology.
3) To extend to South American archaeology, and especially to Brazilian archaeology, developments in biomolecular archaeological methods.
With the COREBRAS project the fellow (AC Colonese) had high quality training in biomolecular techniques at the University of York, including:
1) Bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis
2) Single amino acid stable carbon isotopic analysis
3) Bulk collagen sulphur isotopic analysis
4) Molecular and isotopic analysis of residues in pottery remains
During his training the fellow led an interdisciplinary research team formed by archaeologist, physician and biologists in order to achieve the follow specific objectives:
Assessing bone collagen and mineral preservation
We for the first time assessed the preservation of bone collagen in archaeological human remains in subtropical regions of Brazil. In addition, we used Raman spectroscopy analysis on randomly selected human bone samples (n = 32) from coastal (n = 3) and mainland sites MRS (n = 1) to assess diagenetic change to the mineral fraction. The results indicate that the mineral fraction of human remains in subtropical areas of Brazil is strongly altered and unsuitable for isotopic analysis. The collagen content, instead, is highly preserved for isotopic studies.
Assessing subsistence strategies of prehistoric populations in southern Brazil
We analysed carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human (n = 106) and faunal (n = 36) bone collagen, a technique widely used to reconstruct paleodiets, particularly in distinguishing marine versus terrestrial diets. We additionally determined the stable carbon isotope signature of individual amino acids (AA) from bone collagen to identify different macronutrient constituents of diet.
Assessing the function of early pottery on the southern coast of Brazil through organic residue analysis
Molecular and isotopic analysis of organic residue absorbed into porous vessels or preserved in surface deposits offer valuable information concerning pottery use. Lipids were extracted from archaeological potsherds and directly analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. We also analyse the stable carbon isotopes of n-hexadecanoic and n-octadecanoic acids using a gas chromatograph coupled to a combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Charred residues of food were preserved in the internal part of several ceramic potsherds. Samples were removed and subsamples selected for carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis. Molecular and isotopic compositions of adsorbed organic residues indicate that pottery vessels were used for the processing of marine products, along with plants and other animals resources.
Main results
The COREBRAS project successfully demonstrate through a multidisciplinary approach that the dietary regime of several middle-late Holocene groups of southern Brazil was dominated by marine and terrestrial proteins and to a lesser extent by plant resources. Our results suggest that the maritime adaptation was highly resilient to these social dynamics and maintained its fundamental propriety of providing high nutritional food items to local and possibly foreign groups. Our isotopic and molecular results emphasize that the dispersal of pottery and productive economic systems in coastal areas of the eastern South America did not replace foraging subsistence strategies, which have been successfully operating for millennia.
COREBRAS underlined the importance of measures for conservation and management of Brazilian archaeological records. Our results emphasize how the archaeological record from Brazilian coasts offers unique and exceptional opportunity to illuminate the longstanding trajectory of New World maritime adaptations, which still today play a pivotal role to coastal populations in Latin America.
Wide results:
By working with one of the most rapidly expanding economies in the world COREBRAS increased the visibility of University of York and European Community (Marie Curie Actions) in a key geographic area, in a largely unexplored area for archaeology with parallels to important European sites.
The project expanded the collaborative research network of University of York (FAPES-York) by adding new Brazilian scientific institutions to our investigation (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Universidade da Região de Joinville, Federal University of Pernambuco). These initiatives provided the seeds for future EU (ERC, ESF) and Brazilian (FAPESP, CNPq) grant applications.
The attendance to Brazilian and European conferences, seminars and research visits clearly enhanced the visibility of the investigator, research team, host institution and sponsors in Brazil and among other research institutions worldwide.