Pleistocene Archaeological sites in Serra de Capivara: Manufacture and use of Lithic implements at Vale da Pedra Furada (Piauí, Brazil)

Abstract

The research carried out to date on the lithic assemblage at the site of Vale da Pedra Furada has applied criteria to be able to differentiate between an artefact and a geofact at a technical level. It has determined how the different types of tools were made, according to their different sizes and shapes. Finally, the macro- and microscopic analysis of the use-wear traces has characterised the implements in terms of the tasks they performed. The data obtained through this research is beginning to bear its fruits as the study of the archaeological levels at Vale da Pedra and the other sites, particularly in the limestone zone. In this latter zone it will also be possible to establish a relationship with the fauna that has been found, and more data will be obtained about the manufacture, use, upkeep and abandonment of the means of production of the human groups that occupied the sites during the Pleistocene. In this sense, cooperation between different specialists will be essential for the archaeological research to advance.