Abstract
This paper presents unexpectedly early dates for a Tupiguarani settlement in Southeastern Brazil. One radiocarbon dating of 1740 +/- 90 yr BP (1820-1390 cal yr BP) was already available for the Morro Grande site (Araruama, southeastern coast of Rio de Janeiro State). Two new dates, obtained from charcoal samples, are reported here. An age of 2920 +/- 70 yr BP (3220-2790 cal yr BP) was obtained from a specialized hearth, probably used for cooking ceramics; a funerary hearth at the same archaeological locus was dated at 2600 +/- 160 yr BP (3000-2150 cal yr BP). Both measurements were made independently, indifferent laboratories, arguing for their validity. These results considerably age the arrival time of Tupiguarani populations to the coastal region of Southeastern Brazil. They may have important implications to the hypotheses about the origin and dispersion of these populations from Amazonia, supporting the claim of recent authors who consider that their expansion must have begun well before 2000 yrs BP.
Highlights
Tupi agriculturalist and ceramist populations share a linguistic stock encompassing different related languages spread throughout the east of South America (Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay)
This paper presents even earlier dates for this site, pulling the initial occupation of the Brazilian coast yet further back
The age measurements reported for Morro Grande site considerably age the arrival of Tupian populations to the coastal region of Rio de Janeiro State
Summary
Tupi agriculturalist and ceramist populations share a linguistic stock encompassing different related languages spread throughout the east of South America (Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay). There is consensus in that a common center of origin existed, from which the Tupi fanned out, differentiating through distinct historic and cultural. There are divergences concerning the chronology of the Tupian expansion as well The history of this expansion has traditionally relied on linguistic, ethnographic (historical distribution of Tupian speakers), and archaeological evidence (pottery seriation, radioisotopic dating). The most widely accepted studies suggest that proto-Tupi (language in which the components of the Tupian stock originated) was formed around 5000 years BP, and the Tupi-Guarani family around 2500 years ago (Rodrigues 1964, 2000), even though some authors argue for a later time Most researchers agree in that Tupi populations couldn’t have left Amazonia before that time
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