Open Access24.0 kyr cal BP stone artefact from Vale da Pedra Furada, Piauí, Brazil: Techno-functional analysis
Author(s) -
Éric Boëda,
Marcos Paulo Ramos,
Antonio Pérez,
Christine Hatté,
Christelle Lahaye,
Mario Pino,
David Hérisson,
Ignacio ClementeConte,
Michel Fontugne,
Guillaume Guérin,
Ximena Villagrán,
Janaina C. Santos,
L. Costa,
Lucie Germond,
Nelson Ahmed-Delacroix,
Amélie Da Costa,
Carolina de Campos Borges,
Sirley Hoeltz,
Gisele Daltrini Felice,
María Gluchy,
Grégoire van Havre,
Christophe Griggo,
Lívia de Oliveira e Lucas,
Iderlan de Souza,
Sibeli Aparecida Viana,
André Strauss,
Jennifer Kerner,
Niéde Guidon
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0247965
Subject(s) - projectile point , knapping , pleistocene , archaeology , context (archaeology) , radiocarbon dating , character (mathematics) , paleoanthropology , stone tool , geography , geology , paleontology , geometry , mathematics
Current archaeological paradigm proposes that the first peopling of the Americas does not exceed the Last Glacial Maximum period. In this context, the acceptance of the anthropogenic character of the earliest stone artefacts generally rests on the presence of projectile points considered no more as typocentric but as typognomonic, since it allows, by itself, to certify the human character of the other associated artefacts. In other words, without this presence, nothing is certain. Archaeological research at Piauí (Brazil) attests to a Pleistocene human presence between 41 and 14 cal kyr BP, without any record of lithic projectile points. Here, we report the discovery and interpretation of an unusual stone artefact in the Vale da Pedra Furada site, in a context dating back to 24 cal kyr BP. The knapping stigmata and macroscopic use-wear traces reveal a conception centred on the configuration of double bevels and the production in the same specimen of at least two successive artefacts with probably different functions. This piece unambiguously presents an anthropic character and reveals a technical novelty during the Pleistocene occupation of South America.