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 本文报告了朗多尼亚联邦大学（Federal University of Rondônia）在圣保拉遗址（Santa Paula site）开展的考古研究初步成果。该遗址坐落于朗多尼亚州波多韦柳市境内马代拉河（Madeira River）上游特托尼奥瀑布（Teotônio waterfall）左岸阶地之上。本次田野考古工作于2014至2016年间实施，作为本土文化史研究的重要组成部分，为区域考古学发展提供了关键支撑。本次工作涵盖历史文化背景梳理、地形测绘、考古发掘、年代测定、藏品管理与陶瓷器物分析等内容。研究结果显示，该遗址拥有超过3000年的人类居住史，早期先民使用圣保拉制陶风格，并依托波科-阿库图巴（Pocó-Açutuba）、莫罗多斯马卡科斯（Morro dos Macacos）、巴兰科伊德（Barrancoid）与多彩纹（Polychrome）制陶技术传统；该区域历史上还存在已被学界认知的原住民群体、葡萄牙殖民者与沿河定居者。但该遗址最显著的改造活动——如围绕中央广场修筑土丘、生产亚马逊黑土（Amazon dark earth soils）——始于1600年前的巴兰科伊德人群。与波科-阿库图巴制陶传统一致，巴兰科伊德文化可与阿拉瓦克人（Arawak）在亚马逊流域及更广范围的族群扩张与文化辐射效应相挂钩。