{"id":515519,"date":"2024-07-17T15:35:18","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T18:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=515519"},"modified":"2024-07-17T15:35:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T18:35:18","slug":"digital-map-reveals-rock-art-in-sao-paulo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/digital-map-reveals-rock-art-in-sao-paulo\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital map reveals rock art in S\u00e3o Paulo"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a long time, in the field of archaeology, S\u00e3o Paulo was considered a state with almost no records of the past. \u201cUntil now, studies in the region had been isolated, without systematic research that would allow the identification of sites, in addition to the characterization and analysis of rupestrian records,\u201d says archaeologist Mar\u00edlia Perazzo, a researcher on a postdoctoral fellowship at the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research in Evolution, Culture, and Environment of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (LEVOC-MAE-USP). \u201cOur research fills a gap within the scope of archaeology in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, enabling S\u00e3o Paulo to be put on the rupestrian map of Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the context of the project led by archaeologist Astolfo Araujo, Perazzo and colleagues from LEVOC have been surveying these areas since 2019 and have now created an interactive map<\/a> of the archaeological sites with rupestrian records in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo. With 21 known sites when they started, in 2023 the team from MAE recorded another 33, totaling 54.<\/p>\n

On the map, it is possible to see photographs of rocky panels, three-dimensional models, bibliographic references, dates, and other general information about the sites. The group used photogrammetry and laser scanning techniques to create digital replicas of the engravings and paintings that are on the site, and classify the sites into three categories: visited, not visited by the LEVOC team\u2014but with records of its existence in the literature\u2014and destroyed sites. The team has already processed 3D images for six of them.<\/p>\n

The S\u00e3o Paulo map was inspired by the Summa Arqueol\u00f3gica project, of the Museum of the American Man Foundation (FUMDHAM), in S\u00e3o Raimundo Nonato, in the state of Piau\u00ed, headquarters of the National Institute of Archaeology, Paleontology, and Environment of the Semiarid Region (INAPAS), which is dedicated to mapping archaeological and paleontological information from the semiarid region of the Northeast of Brazil. The research center is one of the National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCT) funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). There are 2,172 recorded sites on the platform, which is being redesigned to be quicker, among other improvements.<\/p>\n

\u201cMapping is a trend in the field of archaeology. Researchers have long-sought an interactive way of connecting the information that they gather with society, generating content for education and scientific dissemination,\u201d says computer scientist Eduardo Krempser, a researcher from INAPAS and one of those responsible for the development of the Summa project and of the map of rupestrian records of S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cIn the S\u00e3o Paulo case, we use robust technologies and programming languages, all with open access,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

To supply the map, Krempser adopted a platform on which the researcher, upon returning from a field visit, inserts the collected data, which are made available in real time for the user of the map. \u201cIt stores the information from the collection in the field until its storage in a research institute or in a museum,\u201d he says. \u201cTherefore, it is possible to reconstruct the entire work process of the scientific finding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personally, Perazzo has visited 39 sites in four years of research. \u201cSome are very tiring to reach, you walk a lot,\u201d says the archaeologist, who cannot choose a favorite but gets enchanted on every field trip. \u201cWhen I arrive and see those figures it’s as if I hadn’t walked at all, I am refreshed and sit there for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Marilia Perazzo\/USP<\/span>Sites in Pedregulho, in the north of the state of S\u00e3o Paulo: rock paintings represent animalsMarilia Perazzo\/USP<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt is very important that this work has been done at this time, because it records the existence of sites before their disappearance,\u201d remarks archaeologist Daniela Cisneiros, coordinator of the Graduate Program in Archaeology at UFPE and a researcher at FUMDHAM who did not take part in the USP study. \u201cMany of the S\u00e3o Paulo sites are in an advanced state of deterioration and are very fragile, in nonprotected areas. Knowledge about them can contribute towards their protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most impressive panels visited is the Pedra do Dioguinho in the municipality of Dourado, in the middle of the state, 280 kilometers from the state capital. Measuring 48 meters in length, it is considered the largest rock art panel in the state<\/a>. There are types of graphics called tri-digits, which are line drawings that resemble bird footprints, as well as linear shapes, and figures in simple circles, semicircles, and dotted lines. In total, 16 graphic marks have been identified. \u201cIt is a beautiful site, one of the most significant in S\u00e3o Paulo,\u201d states Perazzo.<\/p>\n

The analyses indicate a date of around 4,000 years ago\u2014which does not mean that human groups made records at the same time, warns the archaeologist. She highlights another two sites that the LEVOC team has been able to date: Abrigo do Alvo, in Anal\u00e2ndia, and Abrigo de Itapeva (in the city of the same name). The first is the oldest that is known in the state, with rupestrian records from around 7,500 years ago; the second is estimated to be 4,700 years old.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to pinpoint the meaning of the engravings and paintings, especially due to the lack of context. For this reason, the work of the researchers from USP is aimed more at cataloging, preservation, and typification. It is notable, however, that there may have been some type of intention on the part of whoever drew the scenes and shapes on the rocks. \u201cThe rupestrian records, whether paintings or engravings, are memory markers of the authorial groups,\u201d Cisneiros adds.<\/p>\n

In S\u00e3o Paulo, the engravings, carved directly into the rock, are more frequent than paintings, which involve pigments and are more prevalent in the Northeast. \u201cIn the Southeast, there is a dominance of geometrical shapes, with few scenes and more isolated graphisms: the figures are not very dynamic, they are more static,\u201d analyzes the archaeologist from UFPE. A large part of the records in the Northeast are found on riverbanks out in the open, unlike the ones in S\u00e3o Paulo, which are mostly located in shelters protected by rock.<\/p>\n

All the characteristics of the rupestrian records make Cisneiros think about the people that lived here thousands of years ago. \u201cComing into contact with this information, being able to see these engravings, for me, it is an encounter with ancestry, it goes far beyond a scientific discovery,\u201d she reflects.<\/p>\n

Project<\/strong>
\nHuman occupation of southeastern South America throughout the Holocene: An interdisciplinary, multiscalar, and diachronic approach (n\u00ba 19\/18664-9<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong> Thematic Project; Principal Investigator<\/strong> Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo (USP); Investment<\/strong> R$2,236,584.53.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles
\n<\/strong>AMARAL, M. P. V. et al<\/em>. Registros rupestres na regi\u00e3o central do estado de S\u00e3o Paulo: O Abrigo do Alvo, Anal\u00e2ndia, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brasil<\/a>. Boletim do Museu Paraense Em\u00edlio Goeldi<\/strong>. Vol. 17, no. 2. Online. Dec. 2022.
\nPERAZZO, M., et al<\/em>. Caracteriza\u00e7\u00e3o e an\u00e1lise dos registros rupestres do s\u00edtio Santo Ant\u00f4nio, Serra Azul, SP \u2013 Brasil<\/a>. FUMDHAMentos<\/strong>. Vol. XVIII, no. 2, pp. 73\u2013101. May 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cutting-edge technology used to unite data about sites with prehistoric paintings and engravings in the state in an interactive format","protected":false},"author":721,"featured_media":515524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[202],"coauthors":[4241],"class_list":["post-515519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-archaeology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/721"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515519"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":525587,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515519\/revisions\/525587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515519"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=515519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}