Integrated results of GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) and sedimentological analysis are presented for the Jabuticabeira II archaeological site (shell mound), Santa Catarina, Brazil. By means of radarfacies identification, this study aims to delimit the archaeological site and differentiate the coastal depositional systems that compose its substrates. For these purposes, available models of the temporal–spatial distribution of depositional systems in the area were used and sedimentological analysis (granulometry, quantification of heavy minerals and clay-mineral characterization) were performed on samples spaced at 0.5-m vertical intervals in auger drills cutting the identified radarfacies. GPR data were obtained along a radial grid, which allowed the rapid mapping of a large area (several hundred square metres). The results allowed to characterize an archaeological layer, the soil and two sedimentary layers (palaeolagoon and aeolian) in the substrates under and around the site. The high porosity and the grain size, cementation and heavy mineral segregation contrasts along wind-controlled laminations are for the reflector sharpness in the aeolian deposits. The archaeological site settlement mostly overlies the palaeolagoon, which was a newly emerged land during the epoch of occupation and is situated on the margins of aeolian deposits that formed in the region after the Holocene maximum flooding. This configuration reinforces the sambaquis occupation model of south-central Santa Catarina during the Holocene, strongly controlled by the proximity to lagoon bodies. The resolution of the data in this study was sufficient to advance our understanding of the regional sedimentary evolution and its relation with sambaqui occupation.
AmaralPGCGianniniPCFSylvestreF. (2012) Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of a Late Quaternary lagoon system in southern Brazil (Jaguaruna region, Santa Catarina state) based on multi-proxy analysis. Journal of Quaternary Science27(2): 181–191.
2.
AnguloRJGianniniPCFSuguioK. (1999) Relative sea level changes during the last 5500 years in the Laguna-Imbituba region (Santa Catarina, Brazil), based on vermetid radiocarbon ages. Marine Geology159: 323–339.
3.
AnguloRJLessaGCSouzaMC (2006) A critical review of mid- to late-Holocene sea-level fluctuations on the eastern Brazilian coastline. Quaternary Science Reviews25: 486–506.
4.
ClemmensenLBNielsenL (2010) Internal architecture of a raised beach ridge system (Anholt, Denmark) resolved by ground-penetrating radar investigations. Sedimentary Geology223: 281–290.
5.
CostasSFitzGeraldD (2011) Sedimentary architecture of a spit-end (Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts): The imprints of sea-level rise and inlet dynamics. Marine Geology284: 203–216.
6.
DeBlasisPFishSKGasparMD. (1998) Some references for the discussion of complexity among the sambaqui moundbuilders from the southern shores of Brasil. Revista de Arqueologia Americana15: 75–105.
7.
DeBlasisPKneipAScheel-YbertR. (2007) Sambaqui e Paisagem: Dinâmica natural e arqueologia regional no litoral do sul do Brasil. Arqueologia Sul-americana3(1): 29–67.
8.
EvansMEHellerF (2003) Environmental Magnetism: Principles and Applications of Enviromagnetics. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 299 pp.
9.
FishSKDeBlasisPGasparMD. (2000) Eventos incrementais na construção de sambaquis, litoral sul do Estado de Santa Catarina. Revista do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia10: 69–87.
10.
FornariMGianniniPCFNascimentoDRJr (2012) Facies associations and controls on the evolution from a coastal bay to a lagoon system, Santa Catarina Coast, Brazil. Marine Geology323: 56–68.
11.
ForteEPipanM (2008) Integrated seismic tomography and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for the high-resolution study of burial mounds (tumuli). Journal of Archaeological Science35(9): 1505–1513.
12.
FrybergerSGSchenkC (1988) Pin stripe lamination: A distinctive feature of modern and ancient eolian sediments. Sedimentary Geology55(1/2): 1–15.
13.
GasparMD (2000) Sambaqui: arqueologia do litoral brasileiro. Coleção Descobrindo o Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Jorge Zahar, 89 pp.
14.
GasparMDDeBlasisPFishSK. (2008) Sambaqui (shell mound) societies of coastal Brazil. In: SilvermanHJohn IsbellW (ed.) Handbook of South American Archaeology. New York: Springer, pp. 319–335.
GianniniPCF (2002) Complexo lagunar centro-sul catarinense. In: SchobbenhausCCamposDAQueirozET. (eds) Sítios Geológicos e Paleontológicos do Brasil. Brasília: DNPM, SIGEP – Comissão Brasileira de Sítios Geológicos e Paleontológicos, pp. 213–222. Available at: http://www.unb.br/ig/sigep.
17.
GianniniPCFDeBlasisPSawakuchiAO et al. (2005) Processos e materiais geológicos e a construção de sambaquis no litoral sul de Santa Catarina. In: Proceedings of 10° Congresso da Associação Brasileira de Estudos do Quaternário (Abequa), Guarapari, Espirito Santo, Paper code 137, CD-ROM.
18.
GianniniPCFSawakuchiAOMartinhoCT. (2007) Eolian depositional episodes controlled by Late Quaternary relative sea level changes on the Laguna-Imbituba coast, South Brazil. Marine Geology237, 143–168.
19.
GianniniPCFVillagranXSFornariM. (2010) Interações entre evolução sedimentar e ocupação humana na costa centro-sul de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Belém, Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Ciências Humanas5(1): 105–128.
20.
GirardiJDDavisDM (2010) Parabolic dune reactivation and migration at Napeague, NY, USA: Insights from aerial and GPR imagery. Geomorphology114: 530–541.
21.
GlennieKW (1970) Sedimentary Environments (Developments in Sedimentology, 14). Amsterdam: Elsevier, 222 pp.
22.
GomesMJS (2003) Utilização de métodos geofísicos em sambaquis fluviais, região do Vale do Ribeira de Iguape – SP/PR. Dissertação (Mestrado), Faculdade de Filosofia Letras e Ciências Humanas. Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, 135 pp.
23.
Google Earth (2009) Software – Mapas. Versão: 5.0.11733.9347. Available at: http://earth.google.com (accessed on 10 June 2009).
24.
GranjaHRochaFMatiasM. (2010) Lagoa da Apulia: A residual lagoon from the Late Holocene (NW coastal zone of Portugal). Quaternary International221: 46–57.
25.
HunterRE (1974) Types of eolian strata and pseudostrata (abstract). In: Annual Meeting Abstract, 1 American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, pp. 47–48.
26.
HunterRE (1976) Comparison of eolian and subaqueous sandflow cross-strata (abstract). Bulletin – American Association of Petrol Geologists60(4): 683–684.
27.
HunterRE (1977) Basic types of stratification in small dunes. Sedimentology24(3): 361–387.
28.
KlöklerD (2008) Food for Body and Soul: Mortuary Ritual in Shell Mounds (Laguna – Brazil). Tese de Doutorado, University of Arizona, 369 pp.
29.
KneipA (2004) O Povo da Lagoa: Uso do SIG para o Modelamento e Simulação na Área Arqueológica do Camacho. Tese (Doutorado), Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas, Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, 171 pp.
30.
KocurekGDottRHJr (1981) Distinction and uses of stratification types in the interpretation of eolian sand. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology51(2): 579–595.
31.
LancasterN (1995) The Geomorphology of Desert Dunes. London: Routledge, 312 pp.
32.
MallinsonDJSmithCWCulverSJ. (2010) Geological characteristics and spatial distribution of paleo-inlet channels beneath the outer banks barrier islands, North Carolina, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science88: 175–189.
33.
MallinsonDJSmithCWMahanS. (2011) Barrier island response to late Holocene climate events, North Carolina, USA. Quaternary Research76: 46–57.
34.
MartinhoCTGianniniPCF (2001) Petrografia e microscopia eletrônica de varredura de diferentes gerações de paleodunas eólicas quaternárias do morro de Santa Marta, município de Laguna, SC. Porto Alegre, Revista Pesquisas em Geociências28(2): 53–66.
MendesVRGianniniPCFGuedesCCF. (2015) Central Santa Catarina coastal dunefields chronology and their relation with relative sea level and climatic changes (VI Latin American Congress of Sedimentology Special Issue). Brazilian Journal of Geology.
37.
MukherjeeDKhanSDSullivanC (2012) Upper Albian rudist buildups of the Edwards Formation in central Texas: A GPR-assisted reservoir analog study. Sedimentary Geology247–248: 71–81.
38.
MurrayASWintleAG (2000) Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements32(1): 57–73.
39.
NealA (2004) Ground-penetrating radar and its use in sedimentology: Principles, problems and progress. Earth-Science Reviews66: 261–330.
40.
NewbyPEShumanBNDonnellyJP. (2011) Repeated century-scale droughts over the past 13,000 yr near the Hudson River watershed, USA. Quaternary Research75: 523–530.
41.
OliveiraMATPorsaniJLLimaGL. (2012) Upper Pleistocene to Holocene peatland evolution in Southern Brazilian highlands as depicted by radar stratigraphy, sedimentology and palynology. Quaternary Research77: 397–407.
RodriguesSI (2010) Contribuições dos métodos GPR e Eletromagnético Indutivo em estudos de sítios arqueológicos de sambaquis costeiros no Estado de Santa Catarina. Tese (Doutorado) – Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, 235 pp. Available at: http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/14/14132/tde-02032012-100449/pt-br.php.
44.
RodriguesSIPorsaniJLSantosVRN. (2009) GPR and inductive electromagnetic surveys applied in three coastal sambaqui (shell mounds) archaeological sites in Santa Catarina state, South Brazil. Journal of Archaeological Science36: 2081–2088.
45.
RodriguezABWatersMNPiehlerMF (2012) Burning peat and reworking loess contribute to the formation and evolution of a large Carolina-bay basin. Quaternary Research77: 171–181.
46.
SallengerAHJr (1979) Inverse grading and hydraulic equivalence in grain-flow deposits. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology42(2): 553–562.
47.
SandmeierKJ (2011) ReflexW Version 6.0.5 – Windows 9x/2000/NT/Vista/7. Program for Processing of Seismic, Acoustic or Electromagnetic Reflection, Refraction, and Transmission Data (software manual). Karlsruhe: Sandmeier, 345 pp.
48.
SchimmelPBPorsaniJLFigutiL. (2002) Aplicação de métodos geofísicos em arqueologia: primeiros resultados obtidos no sambaqui fluvial capelinha, Cajati-SP, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Arqueologia12: 43–54.
49.
StormsJEAWinterILOvereemI. (2012) The Holocene sedimentary history of the Kangerlussuaq Fjord-valley fill, West Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews35: 29–50.
50.
TairaASchollePA (1979) Origin of bimodal sands in some modern environments. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology49(3): 777–786.
Van DamRHendrickxJCassidyN. (2013) Effects of magnetite on high-frequency ground-penetrating radar. Geophysics78(5): H1–H11.
53.
VillagranXSGianniniPCF (2014) Shell mounds as environmental proxies on the southern coast of Brazil. The Holocene24: 1009–1016.
54.
VillagranXSGianniniPCFDeBlasisP (2009) Archaeofacies analysis: Using depositional attributes to identify anthropic processes of deposition in a monumental shell mound of Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal24(3): 311–335.
55.
VillagranXSKloklerDPeixotoS. (2011) Building coastal landscapes: Zooarchaeology and geoarchaeology of Brazilian shell mounds. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology6: 211–234.
56.
ZularASawakuchiAOGuedesCCF. (2012) Late Holocene intensification of colds fronts in southern Brazil as indicated by dune development and provenance changes in the São Francisco do Sul coastal barrier. Marine Geology335: 64–77.
