The earliest dates of 9200 BP for sambaquis are inland along the Ribeira de Iguape where small mounds of edible land snails (Megalobulimus sp.), rather than bivalves, have stratigraphic sequences resembling those of coastal locations (Figuti et al. 2004) and already held burials (Neves et al. 2005). These initial riverine instances yield evidence for coastal contact, probably with populations at coexisting coastal sambaquis now lost to sea level changes and other geological processes; a sambaqui at the coastal end of the same river
Basin dates to 8000 BP (Calippo 2004). Although intervening ages are well documented, the bulk of radiocarbon determinations on shell mounds are concentrated between approximately 4000 BP and 2000 BP.
Sambaquis frequently terminate in capping deposits of dark soil that are structurally similar to previous shell strata and also contain burials, but contrast in having only minor shell inclusions. Ceramics often occur in uppermost levels, prior to a generally synchronous cessation of sambaqui use everywhere. About the same time, villages and camp sites of Tupi-Guarani and Taquara/Itarare ceramic traditions appeared, sometimes exhibiting bone and lithic technologies suggestive of continuities or interactions. When European settlers arrived, Tupi and Guarani coastal groups possessed a very efficient fishing technology that likely incorporated a heritage from sambaqui predecessors.
Because shells of mostly edible species, fish bone, and other faunal remains are prominent constituents, sambaquis have been strongly associated with hunting and gathering economies dependent on mollusk collection and fishing. The absence of pottery in most cases, or its restriction to uppermost layers, strengthens the impression that sambaquis are not components of primarily agricultural settlement systems. Grinding stones are seldom formally shaped. Other common items in artifact assemblages are consistent with a marine and lagoon orientation. Largely expedient chipped stone, ground stone objects ranging from informal pebble and cobble forms to well-shaped and polished axes, and shell and bone implements (such as hooks, points, and needles) are typical (e. g., Bryan 1993). Sculpted and polished stone items that are technologically sophisticated include decorated plates, vessels, and ornaments (Prous 1977, 1992). The most distinctive of these polished stone items, however, are fish, bird, and mammal effigies termed zooliths, and geometric shapes.
These are always rare, but occur throughout much of the area containing sambaquis.
Sambaquis have been most intensively studied along the coast from the states of Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina, including Parana and Sao Paulo (e. g., Schmitz 1987; Prous 1992; Gaspar 1998, 2000; Lima and Mazz 2000). Shell mounds further north, although numerous and occasionally described (e. g., Calderon 1964; Simoes and Correa 1971; Roosevelt et al. 1991), are more poorly known. To the south, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and into Uruguay where it is too cold for mangrove vegetation, shell mounds become smaller and infrequent, and are then replaced by earthen mounds (or cerritos) that exhibit significant parallels. The huge sambaquis of Santa Catarina are among the best preserved and reported (e. g., Beck 1972; Prous and Piazza 1977; Rohr 1984; Wiener 1876). Researchers have also concentrated work in the state of Rio de Janeiro. These two areas have produced the majority of detailed archaeological information. Because the authors have collaborated in a long-term project in Santa Catarina, findings from this region and this work are frequently cited in the following discussion.
World History
