FOR A LONG-TERM INDIGENOUS HISTORY: chronology of pre-colonial human occupations on the Island of São Luís – MA

Abstract

Abstract: The article synthesizes part of the results obtained in the doctoral thesis of the author, which dealt with the pre - colonial processes related to human occupation in the Island of São Luís – MA, in its long duration. It will be approached the chronology obtained in the research, especially the dates related to the different moments of occupation of the archaeological sites, from a regional, diachronic and inter-site perspective. The research focused on methods of Archeology to investigate five archaeological sites, namely the Bacanga’s, Panaquatira’s and Paço do Lumiar’s shellmounds and the Vinhais Velho’s and Maiobinha I’s ceramic sites. The results allowed to recognize the processes of formation of the archaeological record, the spatiality of the sites and the depositional context of the ancient settlements of several peoples who occupied the Island of São Luís, from 6,600 years ago, extending to the first centuries of colonial Brazil.

Keywords: Archeology. Chronology. Human occupations. Long-term.