From the patron saint festivities to musical macrofestivals, celebrations in society are part of our cultural heritage. And they have been since time immemorial. On the eve of one of the most important festivals in the country, Carnival, a team of archaeologists has published a study on possible seasonal celebrations of pre -colonial Brazil.
A fish feast. A new study has found indications of the celebration of a festival in the pre -Columbian Brazil. This mass celebration would have had banquets focused on the consumption of fish and alcoholic beverages.
The study has been carried out by an international team, in which the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), in addition to researchers at the University of York and the Federal University of Balls, in Brazil.
The Cerritos. On the banks of the Laguna de los Patos, on the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, some curious geographical accidents can be found. These are mounds of land created by the prehistoric inhabitants of the region, Charrúas and Minuan, and that are called “Cerritos”.
We do not know the exact origin or function of these mounds, but some archaeological remains found in their environment can reveal an important aspect of the life of those pre -Columbian inhabitants of the region. Specifically, how they celebrated.
Fermented fish and drinks. Because the recent study of ceramic remains have given important clues about their habits. Following the track of these remains, the team was able to find evidence of the food and drinks that long ago were cooked or stored in these utensils.
They found fish remains and also, for the first time in the region, indications of alcoholic beverage production. These drinks would have been fermented from vegetables such as tubers, sweet corn or palm.
Ancient vessels. To achieve this, the team resorted to molecular and isotopic characterization techniques of food waste found in remains of ceramic vessels between 2,200 and 2,300 years old and found in the region. The details of the study were published in an article in the magazine PLOS One.
Long before the Carnival. From the results and previous studies, the team interprets that there are indications of the celebration of a kind of tradition associated with fish consumption in the surroundings of the Laguna de los Patos. The team suggests that meetings in the mounds area responded to seasonal celebrations probably linked to the fishing of migratory fish in the region, such as the blonde crowd, they point out.
“We see examples of these practices worldwide, often related to the seasonal abundance of certain migratory species. These events provide an excellent opportunity to carry out social activities, such as funerals and marriages, and have great cultural significance, ”says Marjolein Adramiraal, the main author of the work.
Deciphering the cerritos. The study gives us clues about the societies that inhabited the region and therefore on the mysterious hill found in the place. Research gives strength to the hypothesis that these mounds had some ritual or cultural importance, linked in one way or another to these festivities.
However, for now we have no conclusive evidence that this was its function. Hence, the team also highlights the need to preserve these places, cultural heritage of the region and key elements to find out new details about the companies that inhabited the region.
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Imagen | UAB
