Lithic Technology and Prehistoric Settlement in Central and Northeast Brazil: Definition and Spatial Distribution of the Itaparica Technocomplex

Abstract

The first dense settlement in central and northeast Brazil, starting ca. 13,000 cal yr BP, is often associated in the literature with the “Itaparica tradition.” This assumed homogeneous technocultural group was defined typologically by the presence of unifacially shaped lithic tools called limaces, plano-convex tools, or unifaces. In this article, the results of a techno-functional analysis of the lithic assemblages from the site of GO-JA-01 are presented and compared with those from Toca do Boqueirão da Pedra Furada and Toca do Pica-Pau. It appears that unifacially shaped artifacts correspond to a new technical concept, based on unique structural, productional, and functional principles. These artifacts are part of a technical system within which they have a complementary relationship with the other tools. The comparison between the assemblages from the three sites studied and other sites described in publications sheds light on the geographic uniformity of this technical system. We can conclude from this that the Itaparica technocomplex definitely exists in central and northeast Brazil during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and the early Holocene, corresponding to the first phase of dense settlement in the region.