Representations of ancestral sexuality in rock art, Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí, Brazil

The semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil includes the caatinga (scrub forest) biome, of which less than 50% of the original area now survives, and of which less than 1% is legally protected in the form of Conservation Units. The Serra da Capivara National Park, an International Cultural Landmark, is located in the southeastern region of the State of Piaui. It harbors some 130,000 hectares of caatinga with some 400 archeological sites and endemic and endangered plant and animal species from the Brazilian semi-arid ecosystem. Multiand interdisciplinary studies have been conducted in the area since 1970. The current article presents the results of a study which reviewed, organized, systematized, and standardized existing planimetric, hydrological, ecological, geomorphologic, and infrastructural information with the objective of organizing a Geographic Information System (GIS) to manage the Park. The results of the analyses of the Park's legal and land tenure situation showed quite significant overlaps and discrepancies. Its prevailing zoning regime is unsuited to its current ecological needs, while analysis of the available water accumulated in both natural and manmade reservoirs (the only sources of water in the region) recommend new measures and dynamics for managing the Park's fauna. Introduction Brazil has conservation units whose use is subject to a variety of legal characteristics and supervisory agencies. Full conservation units cover 2.61% of Brazil's national territory. Another 5.52% of the national territory is partially protected, allowing for the direct use of its natural resources [1]. Despite efforts in recent years, conservation of legally established areas in Brazil has failed to Management Information Systems, C.A. Brebbia & P. Pascolo (Editors) © 2000 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISBN 1-85312-815-5 38 Management Information Systems completely achieve its objectives, for a number of reasons: lack of funds and political determination to compensate landowners and squatters still living in full conservation units; lack of funds to effectively enforce established areas; lack of personnel (in both sheer numbers and level of training) under the national agency in charge of this area (the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Resources, or IBAMA), with a current ratio of 1 employee for every 27,560 hectares; gaps in the relationship between local communities and the objectives of the conservation units; limited research (concluded or under way); confusing legislation and legal framework; lack of capability on the part of public and private organizations in charge of managing protected areas; and lack of monitoring of biological diversity and factors modifying conservation units and areas surrounding them. Despite the numerous problems and inertia, Brazil has made progress in its interest and intent to conserve its biodiversity. The current study presents data from a 30-year scientific experiment in the poorest area of Brazil (with an average monthly family income of some US58.00), the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil, where less than 50% of the original biome remains, the desertification process is expanding, and farming/cattle-raising frontiers, deforestation, and subsistence hunting have fueled the loss of biodiversity. The area studied encompasses the Serra da Capivara National Park, situated in the southeastern region of the State of Piaui, belonging to the morpho-climatic domain of the caatinga, or scrub forest [2] (Figure 1). The Park's 130,000 hectares harbor endemic and endangered animal species [3,4,5]. The flora consists of a mosaic of 5 physiognomic types of caatinga with 70% endemism [6]. 750000 7*0000 770000 780000 790000 800000 Figure 1: General localization Management Information Systems, C.A. Brebbia & P. Pascolo (Editors) © 2000 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISBN 1-85312-815-5 Management Information Systems 39 The multiand interdisciplinary research began in 1970 under the Museu do Homem Americano (Museum of American Man) Foundation, currently managing the Park in conjunction with the Brazilian government. Since 1992, the Park has been declared an International Cultural Landmark by (UNESCO) due to the wealth and antiquity of its archeological sites and rock paintings [7,8]. The need to enhance data analysis speed and precision in order to improve the Park's management and planning led to the creation of a specific GIS for this conservation unit, with the following objectives: • establish a common work base for all the research developed in the area; • gather together all the accumulated or existing data bases; • begin analysis of the natural or anthropogenic environmental changes; • begin analysis of the distribution and availability of water in the Park, as a resource limiting the ecosystem's dynamics; and • generate a regional model for monitoring and managing renewable natural

Conservation is a branch of rock art research that tends to consider degradation to prehistoric art works, as well as the integrity of sites, as a static phenomenon operating hic et nunc. Especially in Brazil, research in this field normally does not consider the passage of time when trying to explain and address existent risks, and their mitigation, at rock art sites. Research presented here discusses rock art conservation at the Serra Branca Valley in a diachronic perspective. It aims to situate spatially and temporally the agents of qualitative modification compromising rock art in 200 archaeological sites, in order to understand their action and how damage systems are articulated. It argues that agents of qualitative modification operate disproportionately by assuming different strengths, intensities and frequencies, leading to distinct forms of rock art loss. From this perspective, rock art is considered to emanate from cultural complexes integrated in specific environments. The emergence of this interaction is assumed to be contemporary to the first human occupation during the regional Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Therefore, the social and natural domains articulate a whole system, which the dynamics and the interaction of multiple agents are seen as the key to the comprehension of the origins, and the evolution of harmful processes affecting the entire rock art assemblage.

This article explores the trajectory of archaeologist Niède Guidon and her scientific-cultural legacy based on her discoveries in Serra da Capivara, Piauí. Based on her contribution to Brazilian archaeology and the importance of Serra da Capivara National Park as a world heritage site, we discuss the role of science and education in preserving historical memory and valuing indigenous cultures. Finally, we analyze the archaeoastronomical potential of the region's rock paintings, exploring the possible relationship between prehistoric graphic records and celestial observations of its ancient inhabitants. The analysis adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating archaeology, cultural astronomy and history of science.

The Serra da Capivara National Park was created in 1979 in order to protect the existing archaeological sites (more than 900). During its first ten years federal officials were lax concerning the commitments that had been assumed. The consequence was a devastating environmental impact on the archaeological heritage. Looking for a solution in 1986 FUMDHAM was created to implement the protection of the archaeological heritage and to ensure the continuation of research work in the region. The Serra da Capivara National Park has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1991. Another danger for the Park is conflict with the local population. They have been exploiting the natural resources of the Park for years. In addition, they do not recognize the value of the rock paintings because these were made by Indians. For this reason, the work with local communities is a priority for FUMDHAM. Unfortunately, the financial support expected from the Brazilian government has never arrived. The only solution for these problems is the continuation of the planned actions. Education and development are essential to reduce the speed of the environmental and cultural degradation processes.

This article presents the results of an archaeological survey conducted at the Toca dos Oitenta site, located in the Serra da Capivara National Park. This is the site with the oldest data for rock art records recorded in the Northeast region of Brazil, between 5,890 and 5,650 and 7,840 and 7,600 BP. These chronologies were obtained through samples of carvings, which were found associated with the same stratigraphic layer where the rock engravings were located. To identify the techniques used to make these records, a bibliographic survey of the research carried out on rock engravings was carried out and a data collection protocol was developed for in-depth analysis. The engravings present at Toca dos Oitenta are mostly devoid of elements of recognition of the sensitive world, except for a few issues, where we can identify the presence of tridigits and representations of hands and feet. These representations are also seen in scenes of rock paintings, in many places. This aspect contributes to our belief in the recurrence of rock paintings, with or without changes in support. Thus, on the site researched, it can be inferred that those responsible for making the engravings there preferred the technique of scraping on a friable rock, such as sandstone.

The destruction of rock art in the Burrup Peninsula, performed by several mammoth industries strategically located in the Peninsula since the 1960s, allows me to analyse the concept of heritage within a global history of art and find meaning in the difficult task of interpreting rock art. The Burrup Peninsula not only hosts the largest rock art site in the world, but also one of the largest deposits of natural gas, iron ore and salt. As a consequence, the land (sacred to the Indigenous people), becomes extremely important in order to sustain the booming economy of Australia. In this difficult negotiation between heritage and progress the rock art is embedded with new meanings and the heritage becomes ephemeral. Failing to include the site in the World Heritage Site list created by UNESCO, the roles of identity and memory are contested by the two groups represented on each side of the debate: on one hand, the Aboriginal Traditional owners and the archaeologists; on the other, the Australian government and the cultural establishment that denies the rock art an aesthetic significance by considering it “primitive” and “archaic”. The debate becomes even more pertinent after realizing that the Australian government has flagged other buildings and natural parks as World Heritage Sites, while the rock art in the Burrup Peninsula is catalogued as national, but not World, Heritage. As a result, the concept of heritage can be defined on several levels: local, regional, national and international.

O presente texto objetiva demonstrar a presença de cenas rupestres representando relações de pessoas com o mesmo sexo no Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara no Estado do Piauí. No parque são encontrados alguns recortes temáticos recorrentes nas artes rupestres, tais como, as cenas de caça e coleta, rituais, fauna e flora, violência. Além desses, há cenas da sexualidade humana e suas práticas sexuais e, também, no caso, mas específico, os das relações sexuais entre pessoas com o mesmo sexo. Em trabalhos de campo, observou-se de modo mais detalhado essa temática rupestre, com bastante recorrência, sendo necessário a ampliação dos debates e interpretações em torno de tais cenas. Dentre os resultados obtidos, destaca-se que os grupos ancestrais ocupantes das terras brasileiras representavam relações sociais e sexuais entre pessoas com o mesmo sexo, o que nos dá indícios para afirmação que as relações entre pessoas do mesmo sexo já são praticadas desde os mais remotos tempos, de modo livre, sem os mitos e tabus da contemporaneidade.

In July 1986, the cover of Nature featured rock paintings from the Pedra Furada rock shelter in the Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil. In that issue, Niede Guidon, head of the excavations at Pedra Furada, co-authored an article that pushed back the arrival of the first humans to South America to 32,000 years ago. This controversial claim was widely reported by newspapers in Brazil and in other countries like the USA. Using this case, this paper aims to shed light on the role of newspapers in prehistory in three different ways. Firstly, it will analyze how Guidon's early outreach effort helped to transform the Serra da Capivara research into a well-known scientific project in Brazil – a project that tried to protect and economically promote this area, promoting at the same time the disputed claims. Secondly, this paper will highlight how Guidon's research adapted to the logic of the media by using the rock paintings at Pedra Furada as ‘legitimators’ of the idea of an early human presence in the shelter. And thirdly, this paper will emphasize how newspapers became the platform for the scientific debate that took place before, during and after the discussion in more traditional scientific media. All this will help to provide insight into how newspapers became a crucial agent in the construction of late 20th century prehistoric knowledge.

The present work aims to address the recurrences of phytomorphs in the Serra da Capivara National Park, located in southwest Piauí, in the Northeast region of Brazil. The main one of the work is related to the importance of the relationship between flora and human groups located in the place, being evidenced by the rock scenes found in the rocky walls. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the importance of the scenography of the ritual of the tree for the human societies that inhabited the place, the magic of nature may have been a religious power used by local leaders, as a way of maintaining control of their society and threatening your enemies. The methodology used in the development of this work was: 1st) bibliographic and documental research, based on publications that deal with the theme; 2nd) field research, based on investigations in archaeological sites in the Serra da Capivara National Park. Finally, the study of the magic of nature in the ritual scene of trees can contribute to the understanding of the religious aspects of human societies that inhabited the place in the past.

It is reported the use of the miniaturized portable 57Fe Mossbauer backscattering spectrometer MIMOS II to perform in situ measurements in the archaeological site known as Toca do Boqueirao do Sitio da Pedra Furada (BPF), in Serra da Capivara National Park, in order to specifically examine shades of dark red pigments and compare their differences relatively to the light red part of the same painting. The hyperfine Mossbauer parameters reveal that the dark red area of the rupestrian painting is composed of three populations of hematite and of a small proportion of maghemite, whereas the light red are of the same painting contain hematite mixed with a small proportion of maghemite and a (super)paramagnetic Fe 3+. The Fe content in the dark red area from the rupestrian painting is of approximately twice the amount in the light red of the same prehistoric graphism. The corresponding analysis of red ochre sample collected in the excavation of these archaeological site exhibited two populations of hematite and also a small proportion of maghemite.

Rock art conjures up images of the distant past. Petroglyphs and pictographs on the sheer rock faces above Lake Superior and on those of other waterways, such as the Milk River in Alberta or Canyon del Muerto in Arizona, attract tourists and scholars who puzzle over their age and meaning. To many Natives, these rock-art sites are considered sacred and private. This traditional attitude, however, is challenged by a number of contemporary Canadian artists of Aboriginal descent, who regard these rock art images as sources of inspiration and iconography for new art works executed in various media. Rock art has been appropriated. Contemporary artists are reclaiming this as part of their history, and this recycling and reusing of existing is a widespread phenomenon among both self-taught and university-educated artists. This paper intends to examine some of these new art works with ancient as evidence of altered contexts and blurred distinctions between past and present. Appropriation is a strategy common to postmodernism because to appropriate is to dismantle traditional notions of (Solomon-Godeau 1984, 81). In fact, Peter Wolheim says, we must dispense with concepts of exclusive authorship and originality in favour of a notion of creative interdependence and received imagery (Wolheim 1986, 26). Contemporary artists, however, are using these images because they are old and, therefore, historical. Most importantly, rock art images are indigenous and immediately recognizable as Native rather than as another European import. The re-presentation of rock art as new is as varied as the artists who employ it. Two Alberta artists who use rock art as an inspiration and as a sign of identity are Joane Cardinal-Schubert (1942- ) and Jane Ash Poitras (1951- ). Their references to rock art forms are not duplicates of those found on rock faces, but rather new designs, which emulate the linear character of rock art images. The angularity of figures painted in this mode by Cardinal-Schubert reveal the Milk River petroglyphs as source, whereas Ash Poirras uses Milk River forms, but also adopts a distinctive figure type found only in Arizona. In Northern Ontario, Norval Morrisseau and his followers in the Woodland School use rock art images to convey the legends and stories of the Ojibwa. In addition to Morrisseau, Debassige and Angeconeb also alter the rock art by adding color and internal detail to the rock art images. An exception is Carl Beam's art, for when he employs a rock art image in one of his paintings or prints, the forms re tain the red ochre color and the silhouetted shapes as found on the old traditional rock sites. Why Beam's recycling of rock art is different from the other artists appears to be a matter of personal choice rather than one of background or artistic training. The Alberta Artists How does the use of traditional rock art by contemporary artists differ? Starting with the Alberta artists, Joane Cardinal-Schubert uses rock art examples in her new art, but also uses the authentic ones to inspire her own versions. Jane Ash Poitras, who lives and works in Edmonton, has used image types from the Milk River, but has also borrowed pictographic designs from the southwestern United States to exert her view that all groups have an affinity that is not limited to Canada alone. Both Cardinal-Schubert and Ash Poitras were raised as non-Natives and only began to explore their heritage as adults. They have both achieved university degrees in art. Joane Cardinal-Schubert In Cardinal-Schubert's painting The Earth is for Everyone (1984) pictographic images are situated below an arched landscape, capturing the placement of the Milk River petroglyphs on steep rock coulees formed by the Milk River, which is just north of the Montana border; the rock art designs are within view of the Sweet Grass Hills, a spiritual place, and, although sacred in themselves, are subordinate in function and meaning to the location itself (Vastokasl992, 37). …

Anurans are among the most diverse groups of vertebrates globally, and environmental heterogeneity plays a key role in shaping their diversity patterns. This study aimed to update the anuran checklist of the Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí State, northeastern Brazil, and investigate the influence of local heterogeneity on anuran abundance and richness. We recorded 16 anuran species across five families - Bufonidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Microhylidae, and Phyllomedusidae - most of which are typical Caatinga species or widely distributed taxa. Our results indicate that local heterogeneity did not significantly affect species richness; however, it had a notable impact on anuran abundance. We highlight the importance of heterogeneous habitats in supporting larger anuran populations and enhancing population stability. This study contributes to the understanding of biodiversity patterns and the primary environmental factors affecting anuran communities in Serra da Capivara National Park, offering insights to inform current and future conservation strategies.

ESR dating of Smilodon populator from Toca de Cima dos Pilão, Piauí, Brazil

No Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara e nas circunvizinhanças, na região Sudeste do Piauí, no Brasil, foram realizados estudos morfoestratigráficos, sedimentológicos e geocronológicos de depósitos superficiais para a interpretação de eventos paleoambientais, principalmente paleoclimáticos quaternários. Os depósitos sedimentares associados às unidades morfoestruturais são: leques coluviais no Vale da Serra Branca; depósitos elúvio-coluviais no Reverso da Cuesta e depósitos coluviais do Patamar Estrutural. Fora do Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara ocorrem também colúvios e depósitos aluviais do Rio Piauí. Muitos depósitos coluviais e aluviais são contemporâneos e indicativos de clima semiárido. De acordo com datações obtidas por luminescência (termoluminescência e luminescência opticamente estimulada), a evolução da paisagem atual iniciou-se há no mínimo 436 ± 51,5 ka, quando o rio Piauí depositou sedimentos argilosos. Entre 296,55 ± 46,95 ka e 114,8 ± 14,2 ka, o canal fluvial deste rio exibia provavelmente padrão entrelaçado e depositava barras de areia e cascalhos. Areias e lamas penecontemporâneas, com idades entre 202,75 ± 32,81 ka, 135 ± 16,4 ka e 117 ± 14,5 ka, foram depositadas nas vertentes do Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara. Novo episódio de coluviação ocorreu entre 84,7 ± 13,4 ka a 76,2 ± 9,35 ka, sem depósitos aluviais correspondentes. Durante o último máximo glacial do Hemisfério Norte parece ter ocorrido intensificação dos processos de coluviação e aluviação. Nova retomada desses processos deposicionais teria ocorrido entre 15,8 ± 1,9 e 8,9 ± 1,52 ka na transição Pleistoceno-Holoceno.

A Companion to Rock Art Edited by Jo McDonald and Peter Veth Wiley Blackwell, 2012 ISBN 978-1-4443-3424-1. Pp. xxxiv+680. 133.30 [pounds sterling]. This international volume on rock art provides a complete, comprehensive and up-to-date overview of most of the main research theories and methods used, and the research questions addressed, in current archaeological debates on rock art, be they global or regional. It was conceived by the editors as a tool teaching the next generation of rock art researchers in a 13-week semester cycle. But this volume is more than a collection of educational materials. It gathers research papers addressing some key topics in rock-art studies, and thus becomes essential reading for anyone interested and/or conducting rock-art research today. The 37 contributions by 57 international scholars from five continents are structured into 11 meaningful sections, with two to four papers per section. While the chapters in each section are intended to address a specific issue, well defined by the section headings (I. Explanatory frameworks; II. Inscribed landscapes; III. Rock art at the regional level; IV. Engendered approaches; V. Form, style and aesthetics; VI. Contextual rock art; VII. The mediating role of rock art; VIII. Rock art, identity and indigeneity; IX. Rock art management and interpretation, X. Dating rock art, XI. Rock art in the digital age), some key questions are explored recursively across the volume. This shows their significance for achieving a more complete understanding of rock art, as a tool for exploring past and present human behaviour and cultural practices. Questions of time (relative or chronometric), place, past and present as well as individual and group identities, function and/or meaning are explored through the systematic deconstruction and analysis of the motifs, themes and panels, their patterns of variation, the context and/or the landscapes, from a variety of international perspectives and backgrounds. Case studies from Australia and the Pacific, Northern and Southern America, Siberia, Europe, Africa and India, and a wide range of periods, from the European Upper Palaeolithic to current Australian rock art, fully illustrate these questions. All these studies remind us once more that rock art is not only about the decoration of passive surfaces with beautiful images, as emphasised by Blinkhorn et al. in chapter 11. Rock art is an alternative source of information about human behaviour and practices, and can be used to explore continuities and discontinuities, human interaction, past territoriality, group mobility, symbolic behaviour and so forth. The large number of chapters prevents us from briefly summarising each of them, but some key issues for current debates are worth mentioning. Of special interest for interpretative approaches is Lewis-Williams' reflective contribution (chapter 2) on the misinterpretation and misuse of his concept of to universally interpret rock art. As he states, shamanism is only one of the many potential interpretations of rock art, and thus it cannot be systematically used to interpret past arts. While past interpretative trends used to emphasise a unique function for Pleistocene art (for a brief summary of past interpretative schools, see Moro and Gonzalez, chapter 15), current studies recognise the multiple functions of past and present imagery and the variety of social contexts (religious, social and political) in which art operates. Take as an example the multiple functions of Western Desert People's rock art, summarised by McDonald and Veth (chapter 6: 96), which includes marking place and individual's affiliation, storytelling or instructive purposes, initiation ceremonies, visual representation of an ancestral being or event, and so forth. It is fully accepted throughout the volume that only through a thoughtful analysis and understanding of the context of rock art (the walls, the surrounding archaeological site, the geographical context, the acoustic or other sensorial properties, etc. …