Plants and people at the archaeological site Vale da Pedra Furada, Piauí, Brazil

Abstract

Vale da Pedra Furada, located in the Serra da Capivara National Park (Piauí, Brazil), is an open-air site with a long archaeological sequence. It was occupied from the late Pleistocene to middle Holocene. Charcoal samples retrieved during the excavation campaigns were analyzed aiming to reconstruct the use of plant resources by hunter-gatherers who occupied the area and the palaeovegetation around the site c. 24,000–6,000 cal BP. Taxa currently present in the cerrado and caatinga were identified, along with elements from the semi-deciduous forest close to the site. Anthracological results point to sporadic episodes of short-term occupation in this site.