Industries lithiques du centre et du nord-est du Brésil pendant la transition Pléistocène–Holocène et l’Holocène ancien : la question du Technocomplexe Itaparica

Abstract

In publications on Brazilian prehistory, the Itaparica tradition corresponds to the first relatively dense human occupation in central and northeast Brazil, during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and early Holocene. It is characterized in typological terms by the presence of unifacially shaped stone tools, traditionally called lesmas. We present here a critical review of the concept of Itaparica tradition, testing, beyond these typological similarities, its technological coherence. For this, we rely on the techno-functional analysis of lithic collections from reference site GO-JA-01, in State of Goiás, compared to those of sites Boqueirão da Pedra Furada and Pica-Pau, in State of Piauí. The results of this study demonstrate the existence of a technical system based on the design of an original tool blank, the unifacially shaped artifact, and a complementarity between these and the associated tool flakes. The comparative approach between the different sites shows a strong technical relationship. Consequently, we can talk about the existence of an “Itaparica technocomplex”. This implies a cultural link between human groups that participated in this first dense peopling of central and northeast Brazil.