New record of lithic blades in Brazil: The Picão site, São Paulo state

Abstract

Lithic blades are long and narrow flakes produced from prepared cores which form part of different technological complexes all around the world. In South America, the production and use of blades has been reported in different settings which include early hunter-gatherer occupations of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, as well as Middle and Late Holocene occupations. Until now, the only reference to blade technology in Brazil comes from the south and corresponds to Early Holocene hunter-gatherer assemblages. This paper presents a second record of lithic blades in Brazil, which includes one fragment and three refitted artifacts manufactured from fine-grained silicified sandstone recovered from a surface site (Picão), which is located in the Dourado Municipality, central São Paulo state. Analysis undertaken on the blades involved the collection of metric data, including longitudinal curvature, and the elaboration of diacritic schemes which consider the direction and order of the observed remnant scars for interpreting the chronological sequence of removals. Results indicate the production of ³70.5 mm-long, softly curved blades, with evidence of preparation of the point of impact prior to extraction from the core, as well as the presence of unidirectional, parallel scars related to blade production from a single striking platform. These reduction characteristics resemble those encountered in the nearest contexts of southern Brazil and northern Uruguay, although differences also exist. In spite of the lack of chronological data, this new record of blades in central São Paulo state calls for more research into the origins and dispersion of this technology in southeastern South America.