Long-term resilience of late holocene coastal subsistence system in Southeastern South america.
Isotopic and molecular analysis on human, fauna and pottery remains can provide valuable new insights into the diets and subsistence practices of prehistoric populations. These are crucial to elucidate the resilience of social-ecological systems to cultural and environmental change. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of 82 human individuals from mid to late Holocene Brazilian archaeological sites (∼6,700 to ∼1,000 cal BP) reveal an adequate protein incorporation and, on the coast, the continuation in subsistence strategies based on the exploitation of aquatic resources despite the introduction of pottery and domesticated plant foods. These results are supported by carbon isotope analysis of single amino acid extracted from bone collagen. Chemical and isotopic analysis also shows that pottery technology was used to process marine foods and therefore assimilated into the existing subsistence strategy. Our multidisciplinary results demonstrate the resilient character of the coastal economy to cultural change during the late Holocene in southern Brazil.
BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
André Carlo
AC
Colonese
BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Matthew
M
Collins
BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Alexandre
A
Lucquin
BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Michael
M
Eustace
Department of Physics, University of York, York, United Kingdom; York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis (YCCSA), University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Y
Y
Hancock
Department of Physics, University of York, York, United Kingdom; Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Raquel
R
de Almeida Rocha Ponzoni
Department of Archaeology, Environment and Community Planning, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Alice
A
Mora
Department of Archaeology, Environment and Community Planning, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Colin
C
Smith
Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
Paulo
P
Deblasis
Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
Levy
L
Figuti
Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
Veronica
V
Wesolowski
Laboratório de Estudos Arqueológicos (LEA), Departamento de História, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
Claudia Regina
CR
Plens
Laboratório de Antropologia Biológica, Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
Sabine
S
Eggers
Grupep, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Tubarão, Brazil.
Deisi Scunderlick Eloy
DS
de Farias
Division of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom.
Andy
A
Gledhill
BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Oliver Edward
OE
Craig
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001031:Apatites / Q000378:metabolism; D001106:Archaeology; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002516:Ceramics; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D008055:Lipids / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D013997:Time Factors
D000596:Amino Acids; D001031:Apatites; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D008055:Lipids; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D003094:Collagen