Body ornaments from the Carajás region: stone bead production in a regional perspective

Abstract The archaeological site MMA-02, found in the Serra dos Carajás region (state of Pará, Brazil) and associated with the Amazonian variant of the Tupiguarani tradition, was a specialized place for the production of body adornments in raw stone material, known as silicified kaolinite. Stone disc beads were the main goal of production, as evidenced by the predominance of bead preforms and cutting products among the collected assemblage. For this paper, a technological analysis was conducted on a sample of the pieces, focused on the ‘operational chain’ involved in the production of beads, with the aim of assessing choices made by those that used to frequent the site: which techniques were used and how were these enchained in successive operations for working the material. At the same time, an effort was made to understand the site both in relation to the settlement pattern observed for Tupiguarani occupations in the Southeastern Amazon, and to the Amazonian context during our Current Era, in which there is continuous reference to the circulation of bodily ornaments.