Reassessing museum archaeological collections: unprecedented osteological and ceramic data for the Sucuriju site at the Urubu River, Central Amazon, Brazil

Abstract

This article presents laboratory studies of the archaeological collection from the Sucuriju site which has been stored for decades at the technical reserve of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. These materials result from Mário Simões’ investigations at the Urubu River area, in the municipality of Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brazil, in the late 1970’s and 80’s. Recently, this region has been hypothesized as a cultural frontier and is considered key to understanding ethnogenetic and cultural interaction processes in late pre-Columbian times. The reassessment of this old collection, which remained untouched for over 20 years, yielded unprecedented osteological (dental) data for the site. The new analysis of Sucuriju ceramics enabled a better understanding of the local ceramic complexes. We highlight the need for integration between past and current research in this region in order to improve archaeological data both at local and regional scales.