Pedra Furada Sites - Excavations

Excavations

Pedra Furada includes a collection of rock shelters used for thousands of years by human populations. The first excavations yielded artifacts with Carbon-14 dates of 48,000 to 32,000 years BP. Repeated analysis has confirmed this dating, carrying the range of dates up to 60,000 BP. Archaeological levels that are well excavated yield dates between 32,160 ± 1,000 years BP and 17,000 ± 400 BP. The collection of stone age artifacts includes darts and atlatls but no arrows or bows.

Guidon has established 15 distinct levels, classified in three cultural phases, called Pedra Furada, that includes the oldest remains, Serra Talhada, from 12,000 to 7,000 BP, with tools like knives, scrapers, flakes used "as is" or with some retouch and lithic cores, all made of quartz or quartzite. Finally there is Agreste late phase. The site also has hundreds of rock paintings dated from 5,000 to 11,000 years ago.