Rafael Corteletti

O texto apresenta o contexto ambiental e socioeconômico da Bacia Hidrográfica Mirim-São Gonçalo e os aspectos políticos da sua natureza transfronteiriça. Também são ilustrados marcos institucionais e legais pioneiros de gestão compartilhada desse recurso hídrico expressos pela criação da Comissão Mista Brasileiro-Uruguaia para o Aproveitamento da Bacia da Lagoa Mirim (CLM) e pela assinatura do Tratado da Lagoa Mirim. Por fim, é apresentada a Agência para o Desenvolvimento da Lagoa Mirim (ALM), ator público presente no território, e como sua atuação pode robustecer o modelo de gestão existente ao promover e aprofundar a coordenação com os demais atores públicos e a sociedade civil.

Neste artigo discutimos a ocupação Jê Meridional no Alto Vale do Ribeira de Iguape, no município de Adrianópolis-PR, localizado entre os estados do Paraná e São Paulo. A partir dos resultados da análise do material lítico e cerâmico de dois sítios (Margem I e Margem II) datados entre 1304 cal EC (Era Comun) e 1440 cal EC, foi possível levantar questões sobre a mobilidade dos grupos Jê no Vale do Ribeira. A grande concentração de material cerâmico e a diversidade de matérias-primas líticas indicaram o local como um possível ponto de convergência na paisagem. Para testar estas hipóteses aplicamos um modelo espacial usando Sistemas de Informação Geográfica (SIG) para calcular rotas e o custo energético de movimentação na paisagem, através da utilização de ferramentas hidrológicas do software ArcGIS 10.1. O modelo final resultou na delimitação de seis áreas distintas de mobilidade, semelhantes a bacias hidrográficas, e na definição de uma série de rotas hierarquizadas de acordo com o volume de movimento acumulado na paisagem, compondo uma rede de mobilidade regional. Nesta rede também foi identificado a presença de um ponto de conexão de rotas (nodal point) de duas principais vias com o local onde está presente um importante sítio funerário proto-Jê no Vale do Ribeira, demonstrando aspectos da articulação espacial do território Jê Meridional local que corroboram com modelos apresentados para outras regiões do sul do país. Nesta pesquisa foi possível demonstrar a aplicabilidade de modelagem espacial para a interpretação da paisagem arqueológica, e explicitando a inter-relação entre os aspectos fisiográficos, sociais, políticos e simbólicos que compõem a paisagem.

In the highlands of southern Brazil an anthropogenitcally driven expansion of forest occurred at the expense of grasslands between 1410 and 900 cal BP, coincident with a period of demographic and cultural change in the region. Previous studies have debated the relative contributions of increasing wetter and warmer climate conditions and human landscape modifications to forest expansion, but generally lacked high resoltiuon proxies to measure these effects, or have relied on single proxies to reconstruct both climate and vegetation. Here, we develop and test a model of natural ecosystem distribution against vegetation histories, paleoclimate proxies, and the archaeological record to distinguish human from temperature and precipitation impacts on the distribution and expansion of Araucaria forests during the late Holocene. Carbon isotopes from soil profiles confirm that in spite of climatic fluctuations, vegetation was stable and forests were spatially limited to south-facing slopes in the absence of human inputs. In contrast, forest management strategies for the past 1400 years expanded this economically important forest beyond its natural geographic boundaries in areas of dense pre-Columbian occupation, suggesting that landscape modifications were linked to demographic changes, the effects of which are still visible today. In the face of global climate change and intensifying population pressure, understanding the drivers of vegetation change is critical for developing appropriate conservation practices to secure global biodiversity. A pressing issue is the legacy of past human activity on landscapes. Traditional research methods have often been unable to uncou-ple the causal relationships among humans, climate, and vegetation, resulting in ongoing unresolved debates, which can result in ineffectual policy and can unnecessarily negatively impact local economies. An area of particular significance is the southern Brazilian highlands, which is part of the Atlantic Forest Biome. Recognised as a global diversity hotspot, the area represents an important region for conserving global diversity due to its floristic importance and modern conservation challenges 1. The keystone species of the forest is the iconic Araucaria tree. The tree is a valuable source of timber, fuel, and resin, and the seeds are an abundant and reliable food source that has been a critical component of indigenous economies. Today, of the 19 extant species, five are classified as endangered and two, including the Brazilian Araucaria angustifolia, are critically endangered. Between 1410 and 900 cal BP, forest expansion in the southern Brazilian highlands coincided with the growth of indigenous southern proto Jê populations and increasingly complex cultural institutions. The principal driver of this dynamic period have been debated 2–6. Did wetter climate drive forest expansion, providing a greater resource base that enabled community development? Or, did growing populations result in widespread

Cárdenas, M. L. Mayle, F. E. Iriarte, J. I. de Souza, J. G. Ulguim, P. F. Robinson, M. Corteletti, R. Deblasis, P. 2017. Past vegetation changes in the context of land use and late Holocene expansion of the Jê pre-Columbian culture in Southern Brazil. Paper Presented at PAGES OSM May 2017, Zaragoza, Spain.

Palaeoecological research can provide important insights into the impacts of humans vs climate change upon ecosystems in the past, which can inform land-use and conservation planning. Our international project aims to reveal past dynamics of the iconic Araucaria forest in the context of land use by the pre-Columbian Jê culture in southern Brazil over the last c. 2000 years. Our palaeoecological research is based on three bog cores collected within archaeological sites representing different land uses associated with the mixed-economy Jê culture. We use modern and fossil pollen, charcoal, isotopes and geochemical analysis of the sediments to reconstruct vegetation, fire, land-use histories, as well as past agricultural practices at the sites. We also integrate this information with local archaeological and independent palaeoclimatic data to understand the relationship with climate change. Our results show varied vegetation development within the same region that seems to be related to the type of land-use. For example, we find that Araucaria forest expansion occurred at habitation sites but not at funerary sites. Where we do observe Araucaria forest expansion, it was less pronounced than the previously recorded, interpreted as climate-driven, regional-scale Araucaria expansion ca. 2000 yr BP. Our study therefore suggests that pre-Columbian human land-use had significant and diverse impacts on Araucaria forest at the local scale – through ritual practices, habitation and agriculture – nested within a long-term, regional scale trend of Araucaria expansion. This expansion of the forest correlates in part to the increasing rainfall, as revealed by comparison with previously published speleothem data. This case study reveals complex human-vegetation-climate dynamics, and provides key information about baseline ecological conditions relevant for conservation policy and land-use planning.

Cárdenas, M. L. Mayle, F. E. Iriarte, J. I. De Souza, J. G. Ulguim, P. F. Robinson, M. Corteletti, R. Deblasis, P. 2016. Pre-Columbian human land use versus climate change: understanding Araucaria forest expansion during the Late Holocene in southern Brazil. Paper Presented at XIV International Palynological Congress - X International Organisation of Palaeobotany Conference, 23 - 28 October 2016, Salvador, Brazil.

We present palaeoecological results from an interdisciplinary project, which seeks to understand the relationship between late Holocene expansion of Araucaria forest, climate change, and land use by the pre-Columbian (pre-1492) Jê culture in southern Brazil. Previous palaeoecologial studies in the southern highlands of Brazil (Iriarte & Behling 2007) have shown a significant expansion of Araucaria (monkey-puzzle) forest at around 1,000 yr BP (cal yrs before present). This expansion was attributed by the authors to an increase in precipitation. Nevertheless, further archaeological evidence has shown that this forest expansion coincides with an increase in built landscapes, such as mound and enclosures and pit houses, created by the local Jê people. It is known that Araucaria pine nuts were an essential part of the diet and culture of this indigenous group, raising the possibility that the Jê culture may also have played a role in the expansion of Araucaria forest. Here we present new palaeoecological data from three bog cores collected amongst archaeological locations, two in habitation sites (27°42'32.52"S, 50°46'12.78"W & 27°50'31.42"S, 51°10'22.48"W ) and one in a funerary mound-and-enclosure complex (27°40'15.48"S, 50°44'34.56"W), built by the Jê group. We reconstruct vegetation and fire history, land use and past agricultural practices at the sites, based upon fossil pollen, charcoal and geochemical analysis of the sediments. We integrate this information with the local archaeological data, as well as independent palaeoclimatic data (speleothems), to understand the relationship between human land use, climate change, and vegetation dynamics over the last 6,000 years. Our results show an initial local expansion of Araucaria forest at the expense of ‘campos’ grasslands ca. 4,000 yr BP, but with a later expansion to peak abundance at ca. 1,000 yr BP. The latter occurs at all sites, concomitant with the major expansion of the Jê culture around 1000 yr BP, although it was followed by a sharp decline in Araucaria at the funerary site. New high resolution oxygen isotope data from the Botuverá speleothem site in Santa Catarina (Cruz, unpublished data) confirm that the initial Araucaria expansion at 4,000 yr BP was likely driven by increasing precipitation, but the lack of significant climate change over the past 3,000 years suggests that the Jê culture was largely responsible for the subsequent expansion of this economically important species ca. 1,000 yr BP. These findings demonstrate that humans played a much greater role in the biogeographic history of this iconic tree species than previously assumed. Keywords: Late Holocene, indigenous, Araucaria, human land use, pollen, southern Brazil Reference: Iriarte, J. and H. Behling. 2007. The expansion of Araucaria forest in the southern Brazilian highlands during the last 4000 years and its implications for the development of the Taquara/Itararé Tradition. Environmental Archaeology 12:115-127.

Excavations at Abreu Garcia provide a detailed case study of a mound and enclosure mortuary complex used by the southern proto-Jê in the southern Brazilian highlands. The recovery of 16 secondary cremation deposits within a single mound allows an in-depth discussion of spatial aspects of mortuary practices. A spatial division in the placement of the interments adds another level of duality to the mortuary landscape, which comprises: (1) paired mound and enclosures, (2) twin mounds within a mound and enclosure, and (3) the dual division in the mound interior. The multiple levels of nested asymmetric dualism evoke similarities to the moiety system that characterizes modern southern Jê groups, highlighting both the opposition and the complementarity of the social system. The findings offer deeper insight into fundamental aspects of southern proto-Jê social organization, including the dual nature of the community, the manifestation of social structure in the landscape, and its incorporation into mortuary ritual. The results have implications for research design and developing appropriate methodologies to answer culture-specific questions. Furthermore, the parallels among archaeology, ethnohistory, and ethnography enable an understanding of the foundation of modern descendent groups and an assessment of the continuity in indigenous culture beyond European contact. As escavações no sítio Abreu Garcia oferecem um estudo de caso detalhado de um conjunto de recintos e montículos funerários utilizado pelos grupos proto-Jê meridionais nas terras altas do sul do Brasil. A descoberta de dezesseis depósitos cremados secundários dentro de um único montículo permite uma discussão profunda da dos aspectos espaciais das práticas mortuárias. Uma divisão espacial na disposição dos enterramentos acrescenta outro nível de dualidade à paisagem mortuária, que compreende: (1) recintos e montículos dispostos em pares, (2) montículos duplos no interior de um único recinto, e (3) a divisão dual no interior do montículo. Os múltiplos níveis de dualismo assimétrico evocam similaridades com o sistema de metades que caracteriza os grupos Jê meridionais modernos, ressaltando tanto a oposição quanto a complementaridade no sistema social. As descobertas propiciam uma compreensão mais profunda dos aspectos fundamentais da organização social proto-Jê meridional, incluindo a natureza dual da comunidade, as manifestações da estrutura social na paisagem e a sua incorporação no rito mortuário. Os resultados têm implicações para o planejamento das pesquisas e desenvolvimento de metodologias apropriadas para responder questões culturais específicas. Além disso, os paralelos entre arqueologia, etno-história e etnografia permitem uma compreensão da fundação dos grupos descendentes modernos e uma avaliação da continuidade das culturas indígenaspara além do momento de contato com os europeus.

Cárdenas, M. L., M. Robinson, R. Corteletti, P. F. Ulguim, J. G. Souza, J. Iriarte, F. E. Mayle, D. S. E. de Farias, and P. DeBlasis. 2015. “Integrating Archaeology and Palaeoecology to Understand Jê Landscapes in Southern Brazil.” Antiquity. http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/cárdenas348.

Este artigo apresenta os resultados das analises de grãos de amido e de fitólito de 14 fragmentos cerâmicos recuperados em duas estruturas de cocção domésticas de uma casa semissubterânea dos proto-Jê Meridionais no sítio Bonin (Urubici, Santa Catarina) que datam entre os anos 1280 e 1420 cal. AD e 1280 e 1400 cal. AD. A inédita aplicação de técnicas para estudos de microvestígios botânicos nesta região revelou, pela primeira vez, o consumo da mandioca (Manihot esculenta), feijão (Phaseolus sp.), e, possivelmente, cará (cf. Dioscorea sp.) além de milho (Zea mays) e abóbora (Cucurbita sp.). Estes resultados mostram que os proto-Jê meridionais tiveram uma economia de subsistência baseada em uma ampla gama de alimentos de origem vegetal e praticavam a produção de alimentos mais de um século antes da conquista européia. Ao contrário dos modelos tradicionais sobre a mobilidade proto-Jê meridional, nossos dados sugerem que a produção de alimentos pode ter permitido que estas populações permanecessem o ano inteiro no planalto sul brasileiro, sem a necessidade de realizar movimentos sazonais para a encosta e para o litoral afim de adquirir a maior parte dos recursos alimentares. Nossos dados complementam evidências arqueológicas que apontam para o sedentarismo e a emergênica da complexidade social entre grupos proto-Jê do sul, incluindo a construção de grandes e bem planejadas aldeias de casas semissubterrâneas, e a criação de uma paisagem altamente estruturada no entorno de estruturas funerárias.

In this article, we examine the emergence of the funerary mound and enclosure complexes of the southern Brazilian highlands during the last 1000 years in relation to processes of population expansion, contact, conflict and the establishment of frontiers. We test the hypothesis that such monuments emerged among the local southern proto-Jê peoples as a response to the migration of a foreign group, the Tupi-Guarani. We compared the spatio-temporal distribution of mound and enclosure complexes in respect to sites of interaction between the two groups. The results indicate that the rise of funerary architecture coincides with the first incursions of the Tupi-Guarani to the southern proto-Jê heartland, and that mounds are concentrated in areas devoid of interaction. We conclude that highly monumentalized landscapes emerged in areas where local groups chose not to interact with the Tupi-Guarani, showing that funerary monuments were an important component in the establishment of impermeable frontiers to resist outsiders.

With the aim of investigating the socio-political organization of Taquara/Itararé groups during the late Holocene in the highlands of southern Brazil and Argentina during the second field season of our project we carried out reconnaissance, systematic and opportunistic survey and small-scale excavations in the upper Piray Mini River, Misiones Province, Argentina. The preliminary results obtained from this project are beginning to document how southern Jê groups were organized at a regional level in the transition between the lowland semideciduos and mixed Araucaria forest allowing us to assess for the first time their socio-political organization. The distinctiveness of southern Jê settlement types and ceremonial architecture in relation to other Andean and Amazonian Formative processes will make an important contribution to the comparative study of the rise and dynamics of complex societies in lowland South America and elsewhere.