Rev. do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, São Paulo, 3: 55-65,1993. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHELL - MIDDEN S AND NEOLITHIC PALEOSHORELINES WITH EXAMPLES FROM BRAZIL AND JAPAN * Kenitiro Suguio** SUGUIO, K. Relationship between shell-middens and neolithic paleoshorelines with examples from Brazil and Japan. Rev. do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Sâo Paulo, 3: 55-65, 1993. RESUMO: Este trabalho trata de aspectos gerais dos sambaquis da costa sudeste brasileira, particularmente da planície Cananéia-Iguape (SP), enfatizando a sua utilidade na reconstrução de paleolinhas de costa a partir do Holoceno médio. Algumas peculiaridades dos sambaquis da planície de Kanto (Japão), aproximadamente contemporâneos aos brasileiros, são também apresentadas. Em ambos os casos, para a identificação da posição de paleonível relativo do mar, as seguintes informações devem ser obtidas de cada sambaqui. (a) distância da atual borda marinha ou lagunar; (b) natureza e idade do substrato; (c) altitude do substrato acima do nível de maré alta; (d) épocas de ocupação e de abandono do sítio; (e) valores de Ô13C (PDB)dos carbonatos das conchas; (f) espécies predominantes de moluscos e (g) tamanho do sambaqui. UNITERMOS: Paleolinha de costa neolítica - Transgressão Santos - Transgressão Jomon - Holoceno, Brasil, Japão. Generalities hundreds of giant shell-middens (Fig. 2) are known. Their usefulness for sea-level height/ Artificial accumulations made up of shells of shoreline reconstruction has been not very clearly brackish water and marine organisms are very expressed in many papers, but this problem was commonly found in coastal regions around the more precisely emphasized in Brazil only in the world, as in Natal (South Africa), southern recent years (Martin & Suguio, 1976; Martin et Madagascar, eastern Australia (particularly the al., 1981/1982; 1986; Suguio, 1990 and Suguio “New England” coast of New South Wales), etal., 1992). Senegal, middle Atlantic coast of the United States (Martin et al., 1986). In coastal Brazil, between the states of Rio Information about sea-level height/paleo- de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul (Fig. 1), several shorelines to be derived from the shell-middens a) Geographic position - It may be assumed that (*) Presented in Poster Session on August 31, 1992, during the location of settlements is decided primarily by the 29* Internacional Geological Congress in Kyoto (Japan). (**) Dept*, de Paleontologia e Estratigrafía do Instituto de proximity to shellfish beds of sufficient richness Geociências da Universidade de São Paulo. to provide nourishment over a long period of time 55 cs £ cs ■CS a -g O'* 5 c •Cío ocs 0 o 1 ~~1 ,^õ k, SUGUIO, K. Relationship between shell-middens and neolithic paleoshorelines with examples from Brazil and Japan. Rev. do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, São Paulo, 3: 55-65, 1993. Fig. 2 - Some o f the shell-middens found in SE Brazil. 2A - An enormous shell-midden near Sal river mouth (State of Paraná), composed dominantly o f Anomalocardia brasiliana. 2B - A huge shell-midden within a coastal eolian dune field near the Jaguaruna town (State o f Santa Catarina) composed dominantly o f Anomalocardia brasiliana. 57 SUGUIO, K. Relationship between shell-middens and neolithic paleoshorelines with examples from Brazil and Japan. Rev. do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, São Paulo, 3: 55-65, 1993. (Fairbridge, 1976). If this is true, one may assume Modiolus brasiliensis Chemnitz a close relationship between the positions of the In Kanto plain (Japan) shell-middens, shell-middens and the paleoshorelines, and the according to Kosugi et al. (1989), some of the positions of some shell-middens well inland can dominant species are: Corbicula atrata, Tapes be explained only by a lagoon extension philippinarum andMeretrix lusoria. Most of these significantly greater, and hence a sea-level higher mollusks lived within sandy or clayey-sandy than at present. At the culmination stage of the sediments deposited in brackish to marine and postglacial trans-gression (Santos transgression in shallow-water lagoons and bays (Figs. 3 and 4). Brazil and Jomon transgression in Japan) some In general, the more inland shell-middens shell-middens occur as far as 30 to 35 km in Brazil have their dominant species composed of brackish and more than 50 km in Japan (Kanto plain). to almost fresh water mollusks. While it is relatively easy to establish the d) Types o f substrates - The coastal Brazil shell- geographic relationship between the position of a middens are located on four distinctive types of shell-midden and a nearby ancient lagoon, estuary, substrates (Fig. 5): or bay, it is much more difficult to establish the vertical relationship between the altitude of its Type I: Pleistocene marine terraces - These substrate and the sea-level during its construction. terraces are found inland from the maximum extent We can only assume that initially it was above the of Holocene lagoons, corresponding to periods of local high-water spring tide (HWST) level, a very highest Holocene sea-level (5,100 years B.P.). important assumption for interpreting shell- middens whose substrates are now located beneath Type II: Holocene marine tarraces - These the present HWST. terraces were deposited as beach-ridges following b) Size o f the shell-middens - In coastal Brazil the highest Holocene sea-level and, therefore, the they exhibit a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging shell-middens on these terraces have necessarily from huge elongated (300 x 60 x 6 m) or ellipsoidal been built after 5.100 years B.P (86 x 40 x 25 m) to small circular (10 xl ~ 1.5 m) accumulations. One shell-midden examined by Type III: Ancient lagoonal deposits - These Fairbridge (1976) in the State of Santa Catarina deposits are located in front of sandy marine was approximately 20 m high and 100 m in dia­ terraces. Hence, the shell-middens upon them must meter, representing about 2.5 billion shellfish, that have been constructed after a period of high sea- is, 100 shellfish per day for a group of 100 people level, probably during the ensuing lowering of the for 500 years. sea-level. It seems that the shell-middens from the Kanto plain (Japan) present much smaller size than in Type IV: Crystalline rock hills - These hills are Brazil. Perhaps, this can be explained by the fact located at the margins or centers of ancient lagoons that, according to Kosugi et al. (1989), the shellfish and bays. As they never covered by high sea stands, collecting activity was not usually so important in they may have been occupied at any time and are total food-gathering activities of the earlier Jomon thus not sensitive time markers. However, those stage of Japan. situated more inland may have been settled when In general, the more inland shell-middens are the lagoon reached its greatest extent. smaller than those situated near the present strandline. This is to be expected as maximum lagoonal extent periods were very short. Comparison of geological c) Faunal composition - About 50 different and archeological data on sea-level species of mollusks have been identified within in the Cananéia-Iguape and Kanto plains the shell-midden of the Brazilian coast (Bigarella, 1949), but there are only five dominant species: The Cananéia-Iguape coastal plain, situated Anomalocardia brasiliana Gmelin in southernmost State of São Paulo, has the shape Ostrea brasiliana sp. of a large crescent and covers an area of about Ostrea arborea Chemnitz 2,500 km^ (Fig. 6). A large part of the plain is Lucina jamaicensis Chemnitz occupied by remnants of more-or-less dissected 58 a ; oQ <=> c> V "I a oQ a O •o a ; oQ * o <2> 0 oC O «C O a 1■ 0 -Si a ! <4> .SC ■S3 sc «u 5 s 2 > § £ 1 » Ë 2 << .W. s •JC 1 »5 ^ <U °0 K ^ 'S ^ 1 ^ u ü ' '5ò ^ a «<3 •Sí> sS SUGUIO, K. Relationship between shetl-middens and neolithic paleoshorelines with examples from Brazil and Japan. Rev. dc Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, SHo Paulo, 3: 55-65, 1993. Fig. 4 - Paleogeography o f the Paleo-Okutokyo bay and its surrounding at the Kurohama Earlier Jomon age (5,500y.B.P.) (Kosugi et al., 1989). 60 'O Os £ -o £ £ ■S. ^3cu >s Ì 0O 1 «5 -g<u £ .o a ‘oc 1 5 -s:i> <o Cu -5 'o' u-1 a -o•o <0 'o' <U>0 tí- <u .> tic Q lr l 00 £ 0\ 0\ u 0 ^12 . o, Co1 •Sia CO k § KV, 2 'r, <3 O üj §• «I? a -S c a O <u ■§ §■ 5 0 1 0 00 .o Q 5 ~c Co 1 '>o ■Si3 £ SUGUIO, K. Relationship between shell-middens and neolithic paleoshorelines with examples from Brazil and Japan. Rev. do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Slo Paulo, 3: 55-65, 1993. Pleistocene marine terraces and by presently dried- far as 30 km inland from the present coastline. out ancient lagoonal area, at the far inland margins Shell debris and wood fragments from littoral of which several shell-middens have been found. marine or lagoonal deposits have been dated, and Since the end of the last century, about 100 shell- this information, when associated with the nature middens were known, some of them occurring as of the sediments, allowed us to reconstruct, at fig 7 _ Reconstruction o f relative sea-levelfluctuation curve for the past 7,000years in the Cananéia- Iguape region (State o f São Paulo) (Suguio et al., 1992). 63 SUGUIO, K. Relationship between shell-middens and neolithic paleoshorelines with examples from Brazil and Japan. Rev. do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Sio Paulo, 3\ 55-65, 1993. least partially, the past 7,000 years of the last provide additional confirmation of both the postglacial sea-level height/shoreline evolutionary geological and archaeological conclusions history (Fig.