Paleoindian cave dwellers in the Amazon: The Peopling of the Americas
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Publication Date
4-19-1996
Abstract
A Paleoindian campsite has been uncovered in stratified prehistoric deposits in Caverna da Pedra Pintada at Monte Alegre in the Brazilian Amazon. Fifty-six radiocarbon dates on carbonized plant remains and 13 luminescence dates on lithics and sediment indicate a late Pleistocene age contemporary with North American Paleoindians. Paintings, triangular bifacial spear points, and other tools in the cave document a culture distinct from North American cultures. Carbonized tree fruits and wood and faunal remains reveal a broad-spectrum economy of humid tropical forest and riverine foraging. The existence of this and related cultures east of the Andes changes understanding of the migrations and ecological adaptations of early foragers.
Keywords
Caves, Cave dwellers, South America, Brazil, Para, Monte Alegre
Geographic Subject
South America; Brazil; Para; Monte Alegre
Document Type
Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1126/science.272.5260.373
Notes
Volume 272, Issue 5260
Identifier
K26-05456
Recommended Citation
Roosevelt, A. C.; Lima da Costa, M.; and Machado, C. Lopes, "Paleoindian cave dwellers in the Amazon: The Peopling of the Americas" (1996). KIP Articles. 3924.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/3924
