Paleoambiente e paisagem durante o Holoceno em Canaã dos Carajás, Pará, Brasil

Abstract

The occupation of the Amazon since the Early Holocene has been investigated, with an increasing interest about the use of vegetation and its influence on the promotion of local biodiversity. The region of Carajás, Pará (Brazil), is an important opportunity to expand knowledge in this area, where there is documentation of these occupations at the end of the Pleistocene and throughout the Holocene. The objective of this research was to analyze aspects of vegetation related to the use of resources in ancient Amazonian cultures, from a paleoethnobotanical and paleoecological approach in the archeological sites of Carajás National Forest to understanding its relationship with modern vegetation. Data collection was based anthracological and carpological methods, and occurred in four stages: sediment collection, flotation, screening and taxonomic determination. The charcoals analysis was made based on the characteristics traditionally used in wood anatomy. The data of the archaeological layers were compared with each other and with the current botanical studies in the Region of Carajás. A total of 347 carpological materials and 851 carbons were analyzed. It was verified that the logging systems of woody resources over time included access to environments other than Carajás, including ombrophylous forest, seasonal forest, canga vegetation (ironstone outcrop plant communities), and swamp surrounded by palms. Several taxa were continuously used over different occupations, but diversity was higher in the more recent periods, coinciding with the presence of ceramic artifacts. The research brings results on the cultural aspects related to the use of vegetal resources in the past and their consistency over time, which also contributes to Amazonian paleoethnobotany.