Mid- to Late Holocene (5200–980 cal YR BP) paleoenvironmental dynamics in the Ilha Grande, Brazil, assessed by terrestrial and marine microfossils

Abstract

Ilha Grande is a Brazilian island that has a high vegetal biodiversity with a well-documented prehistoric human occupation but has few paleoenvironmental studies developed in this area. In view of this, multiproxy analysis of lagoonal sediments including radiocarbon dating were carried out on a 139 cm-long continental sediment core. The aim of our study was to recognise and explain environmental dynamics in this region during the Holocene (∼5200 cal yr BP). The palynomorphs indicate the continuous presence of Atlantic Forest under humid conditions during the last Holocene sea-level highstand, after 5200 cal yr BP. A phase of low palynomorph concentrations was followed by a marked increase in palynomorph accumulation and diversity which may be linked to the subsequent drop of the sea-level. Dinoflagellate cysts showed a higher accumulation at the base of the sediment core. The high accumulation of charcoal particles identified between approximately 3700 and 3000 cal years BP might indicate human activity related to the long-lasting bonfires kept burning by the inhabitants of the archaeological site of Ilhote do Leste.