Diachronic analysis of ceramics from the Monte Castelo shellmound and its influences in southwest Amazonia

Abstract

This research has the goal of understanding long-term indigenous history through the diachronical investigation of ceramic from the Monte Castelo archaeological site. These ceramics belong to the Sinimbu and Bacabal phases, whose early chronologies mean they are inserted within debates surrounding the oldest ceramic technologies in the Amazon. The Sinimbu phase, beginning roughly 5,800 B.P., presents few formal pots, while the Bacabal phase is characterised by an elaborate ceramic technology that appears around 4.300 B.P, alongside other changes in the sambaqui occupation, and lasts until 700 B.P. In this project, diachronic changes in these ceramic technologies will be investigated, with special attention to the Bacabal phase and the funerary contexts with which they are associated. Another objective is to explore the possible influences of the Bacabal phase in areas outside the Guaporé wetlands, which will be done by systematizing the ceramic data collected during the building of the BR-429 highway.