Ecohistory of the Cerrado

Ecohistory, a concept coined by Paulo Bertran (1994), is an historical approach that seeks to mark the relationship of human beings in their environment to build knowledge about the world, allowing a particular meaning to a particular region

The Santa Elina Archaeological Site is located in Serra das Araras, in the municipality of Jangada-MT. This site is considered the second oldest in Brazil due to the presence of human remains; which proves the coexistence of humans and fauna. In it was found the bones of a giant sloth, extinct 10,000 years ago. 

The expression Homo-cerratensis was created by researcher Paulo Bertran to symbolically name the discovery of the oldest human skeleton in the Americas - Man from Serra do Cafezal in Serranópolis, Goiás - made by professor and researcher Altair Sales Barbosa.

In time, the term “homo cerratensis” also came to designate the traditional inhabitant of the Cerrado, fruit of the encounter of indigenous, Portuguese and African people. 

A very important place is the Lagoa Santa region which is internationally famous for its enormous amount of archeological sites dating from the Early Holocene Period (11,500 to 8000 years ago) and studied since the beginning of the 19th century. This region is located in the middle of the Cerrado.    

Peter W. Lund, who lived for 46 years in the region of Lagoa Santa, provided a landmark in Brazilian paleontology, archeology and speleology. In 1832 he made the first discoveries of fossils in caves and shelters of Lagoa Santa. 

It is interesting that pequi, marolo, and jatobá, available in the dry periods, when game is less abundant, was already an important source of food at that time, still enjoyed today in the region. They are carbohydrate-rich fruits and charred fragments of them have been found at Lagoa Santa sites.

The etchings or petroglyphs were composed of grooves made in the rock support.

The Bisnau Archaeological Site is situated 42 kilometers from the municipality of Formosa, in the state of Goiás, on the Taquari estate and is a 2600 square meter natural space of slightly sloping sedimentary rock with rock inscriptions in low relief.    

Tourists visiting Bisnau have not helped to preserve it. To increase the visibility of the design, they scratch the bas-relief with chalk, paint, and other stones. Unnecessary action, because nature itself gives prominence to prehistoric work.

“There is the Federal District: all of it is palatable and useful, in line with the indigenous and sertanejo tastes. Its toponymy is eaten, dressed, used in ranches and domestic utilities and, above all, it builds a vast ecosystem discourse on the roots of history. Pure matter of Eco-History” (Bertran 2000:23).

Iphan has registered 64 archeological sites in the Federal District, 30 of which are linked to hunter-gatherer groups, 8 are villages of agricultural and ceramicist societies. 26 historic sites related to farms, paths and the construction of Brasília (IPHAN-DF, 2019).

The archaeological sites in the Federal District are located in the Administrative Regions of Ceilândia, Taguatinga, Núcleo Bandeirante, Brazlândia, Jardim Botânico, Santa Maria, São Sebastião, Riacho Fundo, Gama and Paranoá (IPHAN-DF, 2019).