Workers who had just begun work at a construction site in northeastern Brazil discovered several human bones and ceramic fragments. But the surprises are not over yet. Very quickly, excavations at a site in the coastal city of San Luis uncovered thousands of ancient artifacts that may be 9,000 years old. A treasure that, according to archaeologists, could rewrite the history of human settlements in Brazil.

The archaeologist coordinating the dig, Wellington Lage, admits he had no idea what he was about to discover when the Brazilian construction giant contacted his company W Lage Arqueologia in 2019 to conduct an on-site survey, a standard procedure before construction. . houses, France Presse and Agerpres report.

Covered in tropical vegetation and bordering the urban agglomeration of San Luis, the ever-expanding capital of the state of Maranhão, this site stretches over six hectares.

During his research, Wellington Lage learned that interesting discoveries had been made at the site since the 1970s, and in 1991 a piece of a human jaw was found.

Soon his team found many more items: many stone tools, pottery shards and bones.

Four years of excavations have yielded 43 human skeletons and more than 100,000 ancient artifacts, according to Brazil’s Institute of History and Artistic Heritage (Iphan), which announced the “remarkable” discovery a few days ago.

1400 years older than previously thought

The researchers will now make an inventory of the objects, analyze them in detail before putting them on display and publishing the results.

“We’ve been working for four years and we’ve barely scratched the surface,” insists Wellington Lage, 70, a São Paulo native whose wife and two children are also archaeologists.

The first discoveries are already attracting the attention of the scientific community.

Wellington Lage said his team, now 27 strong, including archaeologists, chemists, a historian and a documentary filmmaker, had identified four distinct eras at the site.

The top layer was left by the Tupinamba people who lived in the region when European settlers founded the city of San Luis in 1612.

Next is a layer of ancient objects typical of the peoples of the Amazon forest, and then the “sambaqui”: a pile of pottery, shards and bones that certain indigenous communities used to build their houses or to bury their dead.

Below, at a depth of about two meters, is another layer left by a group that made rudimentary pottery and lived about 8,000-9,000 years ago, according to estimates.

According to Wellington Lage, this layer is much earlier than the oldest “pre-Sambaki” discovered so far in the region, which dates to about 6,600 years ago.

In his opinion, “this can completely change the history not only of the region, but also of the whole of Brazil.”

“Landmark”

Scientists have long argued about when and how the first people arrived on the American continent from Asia.

The conclusions of the Brazilian specialist indicate that the first people settled in this region of modern Brazil at least 1,400 years earlier than previously thought.

Archaeologists are planning more detailed analyzes to more accurately date the objects.

The site is already a “milestone in Brazil’s prehistory,” Ifan explained in a press release.

According to the Brazilian institute, “the discovery is evidence of a long history of human settlement” in the region, “revealing a past that precedes” the periods already documented.

Archaeologist Arkley Bandeira of the Federal University of Maranhao, who is building a laboratory and museum to house this treasure with funding from the MRV group, also notes that the site could provide valuable information about the culture and history of ancient peoples that disappeared so long ago.

In his opinion, these discoveries “play a decisive role in telling our long history.”