Archaeology at the Santa Paula site, upper Madeira, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil

Abstract This paper presents the preliminary results of archaeological research by the Federal University of Rondônia at the Santa Paula site, which is located on a terrace on the left bank of the Teotônio waterfall on the upper Madeira River, in Porto Velho, Rondônia. This fieldwork was conducted from 2014 to 2016 and contributes to regional archaeology as a form of indigenous cultural history. These activities included historical and cultural contextualization, topography, excavation, dating, curation, and analysis of ceramic objects. The findings indicate that the site was occupied for over three thousand years, initially by people who utilized Santa Paula ceramics and the Pocó-Açutuba, Morro dos Macacos, Barrancoid, and Polychrome technical traditions, as well as historically recognized indigenous peoples, the Portuguese, and river dwellers. But the most striking transformations to this site, such as the construction of mounds around a central plaza and production of Amazon dark earth soils, began 1,600 years ago by the Barrancoids, who like the Pocó-Açutuba tradition can be associated with the expansion and cultural influence of the Arawak throughout the Amazon and beyond.摘要：本研究呈现朗多尼亚联邦大学（Federal University of Rondônia）在圣保拉遗址（Santa Paula site）开展的考古初步研究成果。该遗址坐落于马代拉河（Madeira River）上游特奥托尼翁瀑布（Teotônio waterfall）左岸阶地，地处朗多尼亚州韦柳港（Porto Velho）境内。本次野外工作于2014至2016年间实施，作为本土文化史研究的组成部分，为区域考古学发展提供了重要支撑。研究工作涵盖历史与文化背景梳理、地形测绘、考古发掘、年代测定、文物管护以及陶瓷器分析等内容。结果表明，该遗址的人类活动时长超过3000年，最初的使用者为采用圣保拉陶瓷工艺，以及波科-阿库图巴（Pocó-Açutuba）、莫罗多斯马科斯（Morro dos Macacos）、巴兰科伊德（Barrancoid）、多彩（Polychrome）技术传统的人群，同时该遗址还与历史记载的原住民群体、葡萄牙殖民者及河畔定居者存在文化关联。不过该遗址最显著的变迁——如环绕中央广场的土丘营建与亚马逊黑土（Amazon dark earth soils）的制备——始于1600年前的巴兰科伊德人群；该人群与波科-阿库图巴技术传统一样，均与阿拉瓦克（Arawak）族群在亚马逊流域及更广范围的文化扩张与影响力辐射密切相关。