Sambaqui research and the interpretation of Brazilian shell mounds

Record summary

Research on Brazilian sambaquis, or coastal shell mounds, intensified during the 1970s and 1980s and challenged older assumptions that these formations were merely refuse heaps. Excavations documented burials, hearths, stone tools, fishing and shellfish remains, and substantial landscape modification along the Atlantic coast. The evidence is relevant to coastal migration, sedentism, food intensification, and responses to changing sea levels. Their formation histories vary by region, however, and arguments for permanent settlement, social hierarchy, or rapid environmental catastrophe cannot be generalized from every mound.