Скачать или смотреть Functional Analysis and Experimental Traceology of Lithic Industries

Exploring Raw Materials from the Foz do Chapecó Archaeological Zone in the Upper Uruguay River
Valley

by Lou Igier [a], Antony Borel [a,b], Amélie Da Costa [c], Antoine Lourdeau [a], Marcos César
Pereira Santos [e], Julia Cabanès [f], Mirian Carbonera [g]

Since the initial surveys conducted in 1998, the archaeological zone of Foz do Chapecó, located in
the state of Santa Catarina, has opened new perspectives on Brazilian prehistory. The discovery of
numerous sites along the banks of the Uruguay River has significantly enriched our understanding
of the prehistoric cultures of southern Brazil and their settlement dynamics. Within this context, the
Franco-Brazilian project Peuplements préhistoriques de la haute vallée du fleuve Uruguay
(POPARU) has enabled a detailed technological characterization of the lithic industries from the
sites Uruguai 1 (RS-URG-01) and Linha Policial 7 (ACH-LP-07), spanning a chronological range
from the Early Holocene to ceramic traditions. Despite these advancements, the functional analysis
of these lithic assemblages remains underexplored, leaving key questions unanswered. The present
study addresses this gap by presenting a new experimental use-wear reference framework
developed from the analysis of local raw materials prevalent in the Foz do Chapecó region,
including sandstone, basalt, chalcedony, and quartz, which were employed by prehistoric groups.
Experimental artifacts were subjected to microscopic analyses using both optical and scanning
electron microscopy to establish a robust traceological framework. These experimental datasets are
subsequently applied to lithic materials recovered from levels IVc and IVd of the Uruguai 1 site,
dated to approximately 8,500 cal BP and 10,500 cal BP, respectively. The results not only enhance
the understanding of artifact functionality within these assemblages but also provide interpretative
frameworks applicable to lithic industries across various periods of Brazilian archaeology.
Furthermore, the study highlights the functional potential of enigmatic artifacts, particularly those
produced through bipolar-on-anvil flaking techniques using chalcedony and quartz.

a Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle-MNHN, HNHP, France
b Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE BTK Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum krt. 4/B, 1088 Budapest, Hungary
c Maison René Ginouvès (CNRS-Université Paris I-Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense-Ministère de la Culture), UMR 7041- ArScAn - AnTET, Service départemental d'archéologie du Val-d’Oise, France
e Programa de Pós-graduação ao em Antropologia da Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil
f Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, IPHES, Tarragona, Spain
g Programa de Pós-graduação ao em Ciências Ambientais Universidade de Chapecó. Centro de Memória do Oeste de Santa Catarina (CEOM), Brazil