Caverna da Pedra Pintada
Caverna da Pedra Pintada | |
---|---|
Pará State | |
Mesoregion | Baixo Amazonas Mesoregion |
Microregion | Santarém Microregion |
Caverna da Pedra Pintada (Painted Rock Cave (in Portuguese)), is an archaeological site in northern Brazil, with evidence of human presence dating ca. 11,200 years ago.[1][2]
This find has challenged previous thinking about patterns of human settlement in South America.
Location
Caverna da Pedra Pintada is located near the town of
It is the main attraction of the 3,678 hectares (9,090 acres) Monte Alegre State Park, created in 2001.[3]Rediscovery and excavations
American archaeologist
Findings
The early dates of human presence at the cave show that humans did not exclusively migrate from North America down to the Andes in South America, which some archaeologists had previously believed.
"We found strong evidence that a culture quite distinct from the North American Paleoindian culture, but contemporary with it, existed more than 5,000 miles to the south", Anna Roosevelt has said. "Paleoindians traveled far and adapted to a diverse range of habitats. The existence of distinct cultures east of the Andes suggests that North American big-game hunters were not the sole source of migration into South America."[1]
The lowest levels of the cave yield charred floral and faunal remains and stone tools, including spear points, suggesting that the earliest visitors were
30,000 lithic specimens have been excavated from the cave.[2]
Paintings
Lumps of raw
See also
- Pedra Furada sites
- Toca da Tira Peia
- Timeline of Amazon history
- Timeline of Native American art history
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Saraceni, Jessica E. and Adriana Franco da Sá. "People of South America." Archaeology. Vol. 49, No. 4, July/August 1996. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Wilford, John Noble. "Scientist at Work: Anna C. Roosevelt: Sharp and To the Point In Amazonia", New York Times. 23 April 1996, Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ Parque Estadual de Monte Alegre (in Portuguese), Ideflor-bio, archived from the original on 2016-12-20, retrieved 2016-12-14
- ^ "SCIENTIST AT WORK: Anna C. Roosevelt; Sharp and To the Point In Amazonia", New York Times, 23 April 1996, accessed 24 April 2016
External links
- Dispatches from Brasil, with photos of the cave and paintings