Nesta dissertação são analisados os sítios cerimoniais associados à ocupação Jê do Sul no município de Pinhal da Serra, RS. Os sítios são compostos por aterros anelares (muros de terra) isolados ou cercando montículos. É proposta uma classificação que leva em conta a variabilidade arquitetônica de tais sítios, conforme as dimensões dos aterros, seu formato e a presença ou ausência de montículos. São considerados também os dados de escavações que evidenciam as atividades realizadas nesses locais. O tipo de sítio mais freqüente consiste em pequenos aterros anelares cercando montículos que contêm sepultamentos cremados. Pode-se interpretá-los como cemitérios de grupos que habitavam em sítios de casas subterrâneas vizinhos. Os aterros anelares de grandes dimensões e sem montículos são interpretados como centros cerimoniais regionais onde se reunia uma população mais ampla. Sítios com arquitetura complexa - aterros de diferentes formatos combinados e muitos montículos - apresentaram evidências de ritos mais elaborados, envolvendo festins mortuários. Possivelmente, eram locais de sepultamento de indivíduos de maior status. Os dados dos sítios mortuários são combinados com os dos assentamentos, que também sugerem um padrão hierárquico, com sítios densos (aglomerados com muitas casas subterrâneas) regularmente espaçados e cercados por sítios menos densos. Por fim, consideram-se as continuidades com os cacicados Kaingang históricos, que mantiveram a construção de montículos funerários como elemento importante da autoridade dos caciques no momento de enfrentamento com os colonizadores europeus. / This dissertation analyzes the ceremonial sites associated with a Southern Jê occupation in the city of Pinhal da Serra, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The sites consist in earthworks which can be either isolated or surrounding mounds. A classification is proposed considering the architectonic variability of the sites, according to earthwork size, shape, and the presence or absence of mounds. Excavation data which reveal activities performed in such places are also taken into consideration. The most frequent site type consists in small earthworks surrounding mounds which contain cremated burials. They can be interpreted as cemeteries for groups that inhabited pithouse sites nearby. Large earthworks without mounds are interpreted as regional ceremonial centers where a larger population gathered. Sites with complex architecture - earthworks of different shapes combined and surrounding many mounds - exhibited evidences of more elaborate rites including funerary feasting. It is possible that they were places for the burial of individuals with higher status. The data from the mortuary sites are combined with those from the settlements, which also suggest a hierarchical pattern with dense sites (clusters of many pithouses) regularly spaced and surrounded by less dense sites. Finally, I consider continuities with the historical Kaingang chiefdoms, where the construction of burial mounds had been maintained as an important element of chiefly authority during the confrontation with the european colonizers.

Esta dissertação descreve as atividades realizadas durante duas etapas de escavações em 2006 e 2007 nos sítios Lago do Iranduba e Laguinho, ambos localizados no município de Iranduba (AM), e apresenta os resultados e conclusões oriundas desta pesquisa. Buscou-se, desde a primeira intervenção, compreender os padrões de uso, ocupação e abandono dos sítios, além de estabelecer uma cronologia baseada em datações relativas e absolutas. As pesquisas realizadas pelo PAC (Projeto Amazônia Central) em sítios na região sugerem um ápice demográfico da ocupação humana pré-colonial na Amazônia central durante o fim do primeiro milênio DC. Confirmar esse clímax ocupacional nos sítios Lago do Iranduba e Laguinho é o principal objetivo desta pesquisa. Para testar esta hipótese, investigamos as informações contidas no material cerâmico, sobretudo diagnosticando-o em relação às fases já estabelecidas para a região. Interpretamos também as feições e montículos como correlatos materiais destas ocupações humanas. Sugerimos nesta dissertação um método de classificação das feições baseada em seu conteúdo, morfologia e volume, que gerou uma tipologia; e calculamos o volume dos grandes montículos do sítio Laguinho para discorrer sobre sua monumentalidade e criar quadros hipotéticos sobre o esforço humano envolvido em sua construção. Nesta pesquisa identificamos duas ocupações humanas no sítio Lago do Iranduba, relacionadas às fases cerâmicas Paredão e Guarita. No sítio Laguinho foram identificadas três ocupações distintas, relacionadas à cerâmica das fases Açutuba, Paredão e Guarita. Através das datações absolutas e relativas e da interpretação do registro arqueológico confirmamos a hipótese do apogeu demográfico, ocorrido no fim do primeiro milênio na Amazônia central, por grupos fabricantes da cerâmica Paredão. Ocupação humana responsável pelas principais modificações da paisagem, representadas na construção dos grandes montículos e da maior parte das feições no sítio Laguinho. / This dissertation describes the two excavation seasons in 2006 and 2007, in Lago do Iranduba and Laguinho sites, both in Iranduba city, estate of Amazonas - Brazil; and presents the results and conclusions of this research. Since the first archaeological intervention, we have been trying to comprehend the patterns of use, occupation and abandon of the sites and to establish a chronology based on relative and absolute dates. The research developed by PAC (Central Amazon Project) in the region sites suggests a demographical apex in the pre-colonial occupations in central Amazon during the end of the first millennium AD. To confirm this climax in the occupations in Laguinho and Lago do Iranduba sites is the main goal of this research. To test this hypothesis, we investigate the data enclosed in the ceramics to diagnose it in accordance with the ceramic phases already established to the area. The features and the mounds were also considered correlated materials of these human occupations. We suggest in this dissertation a classification method for features that rely on its content, morphology and volume, and create a typology; we also calculate the volume of the larger mounds of Laguinho site to discuss its monumentality and develop simulations about human effort involved on its construction. In this research we identified two occupations in Lago do Iranduba site, related to Paredão and Guarita phases. In Laguinho site three different occupations were identified, related to Açutuba, Paredão and Guarita phases. Through the absolute and relative dates and the interpretation of the archaeological record we confirm the hypothesis of demographic apogee occurring in the en of the first millennium in central Amazon, by groups that manufactured the ceramics classified as Paredão phase. The same human occupation is responsible for the major changes in the landscape, represented on the building of the large mounds and most of the features.

No Brasil, os sítios arqueológicos conhecidos como \"Sambaquis\" estão geograficamente distribuídos ao longo da linha costeira e também perto de alguns rios e regiões lagunares. As análises tafonômicas foram aplicadas aos estudos dos remanescentes ósseos humanos recuperados dos sítios arqueológicos, denominados \"Sambaquis fluviais\", Capelinha, Moraes e Pavão XVI todos eles localizados no vale do rio Ribeira de Iguape, no sul do estado de São Paulo, distantes aproximadamente 30 km da linha costeira. Nesta pesquisa espero apresentar, que mesmo com a observação e análise de fragmentos ósseos, podemos contribuir com algumas hipóteses sobre os rituais funerários e os processos de formação, preservação e destruição dos sepultamentos e se possível dos sítios arqueológicos em questão. Nestas análises usei a fragmentação do osso como uma fonte de informações sobre as diferenças entre quebras ante-mortem, peri-mortem e pos-mortem. Procuramos também observar as relações entre os tipos de fraturas, o stress biomecânico e alguns outros agentes tafonômicos que estariam relacionadas com a fragmentação dos elementos ósseos no sepultamento. Quebras recentes podem ser diferenciadas de quebras antigas e este foi uma das observações coletadas. A variável \"weathering bone\" foi utilizada como um indicador de exposição do osso ao sol. Observei também os processos de cremação e marcas de fogo, marcas de cortes, ação de fungos, ação de raízes e a ação de animais. As variáveis foram computadas levando-se em consideração as suas posições em cada elemento ósseo. Nos resultados não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre a preservação óssea entre os sexos. Já a presença de restos esqueletais infantis corrobora a hipótese que a preservação óssea esta associada a praticas funerárias e a composição química dos depósitos conchíferos, mas que ela depende muito dos procedimentos de exumação. Com relação à diferença de preservação entre os níveis arqueológicos, os indivíduos nas camadas intermediarias apresentam mais ossos íntegros do que as camadas iniciais e finais. A variável \'buraco tafonômico\" apresentou mais ocorrências nos indivíduos das camadas intermediarias e de base e atingiu praticamente todos os indivíduos dos três sítios. Foram analisados praticamente 10.000 fragmentos e ossos íntegros. / In Brazil, the archaeological sites known as \"Sambaquis\" - shell-mounds are geographically distributed in the coastal line and near by some rivers too. The taphonomic analyses are been applied to the study of the human bones recovered from the shell-mounds sites Capelinha, Moraes and Pavão XVI all them from the valley of the river Ribeira de Iguape, South of São Paulo State, distant from the coastal line approximately 20 miles/30 km. In this brief\'s presentation I expect to show that even with fragments of bones we can contributed with some hypothesis about burial rituals and the formation process of the archaeological sites. In these analyses I use the fragmentation of the bone as one source of information about the differences between an ante-mortem, peri-mortem and pos-mortem fractures. Looking for relations between types of fractures, biomechanics aspects and position of the bones in the burial as others different types of taphonomic agents that should influenced the bone fragmentation. Recent fractures can be distinguished from old ones, and the excavation and posexcavation (laboratory) treatment should be seen as one taphonomic agent too. Weathering bone was used as an indicator of the exposure of bone to the sun. I look for fire/cremation process, cut marks, fungal actions, roots damage and animal damage too. The variables was scored by it\'s the position in each bone recovered. In the results, I\'d not found significant differences between the bone preservation between the sex. Already the presence of infantile skeletal remaining portions corroborates the hypothesis that the bone preservation it is associated with the funerary and the chemical composition of the shell-mounds deposits, but that depends very on the exhumation procedures. With regard to the difference of preservation between the archaeological levels, the individuals in the layers intermediate would present more complete bones that from the initial and final layers. The variable \"tafonomic hole\" presented more occurrences in the individuals of the layers intermediate and base and it was present in all individuals from the three sites. It\'s been analyzed almost 10.000 human bones and fragments.

A presente dissertação discorre sobre a ocupação pré-histórica da Ilha de São Luís-Maranhão, a partir do estudo arqueológico realizado no sambaqui do Bacanga, que evidenciou vestígios materiais de populações pescadoras- coletoras- caçadoras e ceramistas, que se estabeleceram na região, em torno de 6.600 anos antes do presente e permaneceram habitando esse assentamento até o ano 900 antes do presente. A pesquisa em questão, pautada nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Arqueologia da Paisagem e da Antropologia das Técnicas, aglutinou uma gama de especialidades, que se envolveram na datação de material arqueológico, na análise técnica da cerâmica, na identificação dos vestígios arqueofaunísticos, no levantamento topográfico, altimétrico e na execução de plantas e desenhos da distribuição espacial dos vestígios, bem como na caracterização geoambiental, além da própria análise dos dados arqueológicos, principalmente o material cerâmico. A descrição, interpretação e a correlação das informações obtidas no sambaqui do Bacanga permitiram construir conhecimento inédito sobre os processos ocorridos na préhistória da Ilha de São Luís, ao atestar a existência e permanência, por um longo período de tempo, de populações pescadoras- coletoras- caçadoras e ceramistas adaptadas a ambiente estuarino-marinho, cuja dieta envolvia a captura de uma variedade de animais e a coleta de algumas espécies vegetais, mas que contudo, encontrava a sua base de sustentação na pesca e na utilização de crustáceos e moluscos como alimentos. O foco da análise centrou-se na investigação do modo de vida de tais populações, a partir da caracterização técnica e tipológica da cerâmica, uma vez que a presença desse tipo de evidência em sambaquis tem sua área geográfica bastante circunscrita no Brasil, envolvendo majoritariamente algumas regiões do Pará, Maranhão e em menor escala Sergipe e Bahia. Além disso, um aspecto de fundamental importância para arqueologia brasileira e que não se obteve paralelo na literatura analisada relacionou-se à descoberta de um assentamento ceramista pré-sambaqui, cuja localização era a mesma do sambaqui do Bacanga, estando situado nas camadas mais antigas de ocupação, algo entre 6.600 a 5.500 anos antes do presente, com grande concentração de cerâmica, sem, no entanto, apresentar o acúmulo de restos alimentares nos pisos de ocupação. Ao passo que as populações pescadoras- coletoras- caçadoras e ceramistas do sambaqui propriamente dito, assentaram-se entre 5.000 a 900 anos antes do presente. Em síntese, a inserção do sítio em questão, nas escalas espaciais, temporais e ambientais, bem como o estudo dos vestígios arqueológicos estabeleceram parâmetros pioneiros para que futuras pesquisas no Maranhão encontrem referenciais de suporte e levem em consideração a história de longa duração dos primeiros povoadores da Ilha de São Luís. / The present dissertation discusses about the pre-historic occupation at São Luís Island-Maranhão, from the archaeological study realized at Bacanga Shell Mound, that appointed material vestiges of the fishing-collecting-hunters and ceramists populations that settled in the region, around 6.600 years before present and remained living this settlement until 900 before present. The research, based in theorical-methodological issues of the Landscape Archaeology and the Technicist Anthropology, united a variety of specialties, that were involved in the archaeological material process of date, in the analyses of ceramics, in the identification of archaeofaunistical vestiges, in the topographical, altimetrical research and in the execution of plants and drawings of this site, in the geoenvironmental characterization, besides the analyses of the archaeological information, mainly the ceramics remains. The description, interpretation and co-relation of the information obtained at Bacanga Shell Mound allowed to build inedited knowledge about the processes occurred in the pre-history of São Luís Island, testifying the existence and permanence, for a long period, of fishing-collecting-hunters and ceramists population adapted to estuary-sea environmental, whose diet involved the gathering of a variety of animals and gathering of some vegetable species, but, the, however, found support in the fishing and in the crustacean and mollusks as food. The focus of analyses was centered in the investigation of the way of life of this population, from the technicist and typological characterization of ceramics, considering that the presence of this kind of evidence in shell mounds has its geographical area really circumscribed in Brazil, involving majorly some regions in Pará, Maranhão, and, in a minor scale, Sergipe and Bahia. Besides that, as aspect of fundamental importance to the brazilian archaeology and that does not have parallel in the literature analyzed related to the discovery of a pre-shell mound ceramist settlement, whose, localization was the same of Bacanga shell mound, being localized in the older layers of the settlement, from 6.600 to 5.5000 years before present, with big concentration of ceramics, without, however, presenting an accumulation of food residues in the settlement floors. Making a summary, the insertion of this site, in spatial, temporal, and environmental scales, and the study of archaeological vestiges establish primary parameters to future researches in Maranhão, finding references of support and considering the long duration history of the first population in São Luís Island.

Phylloid-algal mounds form heterogeneous hydrocarbon reservoirs in the southeastern portion (Blanding sub-basin) of the Paradox Basin. Well-studied Lower Ismay mounds exposed along walls of the San Juan River gorge in the vicinity of Eight Foot Rapids, the west limb of the Raplee Anticline, and at the classic Honaker Trail locality (southwestern Paradox Basin) have often been cited as outcrop analogs of productive subsurface mounds. Until now, however, there has not been a complete description of the distribution, size, and spacing of outcropping algal mounds at the classic Eight Foot Rapids locality. The Lower Ismay sequence was analyzed in the context of a build-and-fill model of deposition. There are three facies associations within the sequence: 1) a basal lowstand to middle highstand pre-mound facies association, 2) a late highstand to middle falling stage phylloid algal-dominated relief-building facies association, and 3) a late falling stage, post-mound relief-filling facies association. Above the basal maximum flooding surface (Gothic Shale), the facies succession displays a distinct shallowing upward trend through the Lower Ismay sequence. Mound dimensions and facies stacking patterns permit evaluation of two depositional models. The first is a traditional, moderate- to low-energy model of vertical and radial mound accumulation of phylloid algal plates. The second is a high-energy, tidally influenced model of accumulation wherein mounds become hydrodynamically elongate. Outcrop data indicate that algal-dominated buildups are domal in shape with no preferred axis of elongation. These patterns do not support a hydrodynamic accumulation of loose algal plate fragments. The absence of in-situ algal thalli in all but the upper few tens of centimeters of the mounds, however, argues against a purely biological/ecological origin of mounds. A down-stepping ramp model is proposed wherein a muddy algal facies was deposited at the base of the mounds in the low energy of the outer ramp, followed by a grain-rich algal core in the mid-ramp environment. Mounds tops accumulated in an algal bafflestone facies in the inner ramp setting. Restriction of energy due to basinward algal buildup may have also contributed to deposition of algal bafflestone. Mounds accumulated radially at differential rates and were influenced by these variations in energy. This differential deposition of microfacies and subsequent diagenetic alteration have produced heterogeneities in algal reservoir rock, producing algal mound reservoirs that have a high potential for compartmentalization.

This thesis represents the first example of a pre-agricultural, pre-colonial land disturbance event in the archaeological record of North America. It demonstrates the critical importance of multivariate analysis and µ-XRF core scanning in determining precise chronologies for episodes of heightened clastic input from soil erosion, enhanced by human occupation, shellfish harvesting, and burial mound construction. / Serpent Mounds is a prehistoric (Middle Woodland Period, ca. 2000--1000 BP) burial mound complex located on the north shore of Rice Lake, in southern Ontario, Canada. The complex includes a 60m long and 10m wide sinuous earthwork ridge interpreted as a serpent effigy and eight smaller oval mound structures. Archaeological excavations determined seasonal site occupation for harvesting wild rice and shellfish and conducting mortuary rites. The timing of mound construction and site occupation is poorly constrained by limited radiocarbon dates, restricted to burials. The site is of high cultural importance as the only known effigy mound structure in Canada and is a sacred First Nations burial ground; thus all investigation must employ non-invasive techniques. High-resolution XRF Core Scanning and micropaleontologic analysis (testate amoebae) of 12 lake sediment cores was employed to investigate the timing of mound construction, and assess geochemical records of prehistoric land disturbance. Land disturbance is indicated by increased sediment flux, by rising abundance of minerogenic elements (K, Ti, Zr, Si, Fe) within a distinctive silt-rich gyttja unit. The event is also recorded in the thecamoebian assemblage, which is dominated by indicators of a eutrophic, turbid lake environment. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis of µ-XRF data identify distinctive chemofacies across several cores. AMS 14C dates for the prehistoric land disturbance episode correspond with the Point Peninsula occupation, indicating a protracted occupation period of \textasciitilde 750 years (2050 - 1300 cal BP) with two major peaks in soil erosion at 1900 and 1450 cal BP. The sedimentation rate (>1.5mm/yr) during the Middle Woodland phase of enhanced erosion was comparable to that during the 1838 CE dam construction at Hastings. The reconstructed Middle Woodland paleoshoreline and water levels indicate a shallow lake and wetland environment, with viable habitats for wild rice stands and shellfish resources. The results demonstrate that XRF Core Scanning and micropaleontological methods are important for the investigation of culturally-sensitive archaeological sites, including sacred burial grounds where conventional archaeological excavation cannot be undertaken. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Serpent Mounds is a prehistoric (Middle Woodland Period, ca. 2000 - 1000 BP) burial mound complex located in Rice Lake, Ontario. Archaeological excavation (1897 - 1970) determined the site was occupied by people of the Point Peninsula culture (ca. 2200 - 1350 BP) on a seasonal basis, for burial rites and shellfish gathering. Many questions remain with regard to the date of mounds construction, how long the site was occupied, and how occupation and construction activities impacted the local environment. The site has been designated as a National Historical Site and excavation is no longer permitted in the interest of site preservation and cultural value to First Nations. This study investigated the history of environmental changes associated with prehistoric indigenous and European land use changes using minimally-invasive methods, including sonar bathymetric mapping, XRF Core Scanning and microfossil analysis of lake sediment cores. Sonar data were employed to map the lake bottom relief (bathymetry) and to reconstruct past changes in lake levels and shoreline positions. µ-XRF methods measures changes in elemental abundance in lake core samples to identify human occupation phases and land disturbance. Microfossils (testate amoebae) track the ecosystem response to environmental changes associated with human occupation. The geochemical and microfossil data identified an interval of increased sediment delivery to Rice Lake, coinciding with the arrival of Point Peninsula peoples. The land disturbance is recognized in cores by an increase in zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti) and other soil-derived elements. During this phase, lake levels rose gradually, wetlands expanded and wild rice was abundant resource available to indigenous peoples. Following European colonization in the 1820’s, and the construction of the Hastings Dam (1838 CE), lake levels increased rapidly by over \SI{2}{\metre}, causing a shift to a more nutrient-rich (eutrophic) lake environment and a decline in wild rice stands. Soil erosion associated with European land clearance is recorded by in a dramatic increase in the abundance of soil-derived elements.

This study was made with the express purpose to shine a light on how we use the present to understand the past. My focus was directed at how the view on gender during the last couple of hundred years has influenced how we construct arbitrary gender norms for a Scandinavian bronze age society. To complete this study, I looked at the Swedish gravemound “Hågahögen”, on the outskirts of Uppsala, and compared it to three Danish mounds with similar properties. Hågahögen consists of the cremated remains of one, or possibly two, individuals who have been interpreted as male due to the presence of a sword in the grave. The Danish graves are all located on the Danish mainland, known as Jutland, and are called Egtved, Borum Eshøj and Trindhøj. Due to the extraordinarily well-preserved remains in these graves they proved to be an excellent counter to Hågahögen. Because of this the biological sex of these individuals are not in question, therefore I could use them to compare various arguments and how their sex was being portrayed. My sources consisted of various articles, archaeological textbooks, reports and popular science books. My results show that graves that contain males are generally valued higher than those that contain females. Power is more often attributed to the male remains while the females are often seen as objects to empower males. The women I studied were either seen as mothers, wives or sexual objects. The men were seen as chieftains, kings, ritual masters or they weren’t described in enough detail to conclude a role for them. The individual in Hågahögen was given masculinity because of the sword in the grave, but also due to the implied sway and power over those who built the grave after their death. That sort of power is rarely seen as a feminine trait, therefor it was impossible for the archaeologists of old to see the occupant of the grave as anything other than male.

African elephants are ‘keystone’ species with respect to biodiversity conservation in Africa since they maintain habitats that support several animal communities by changing vegetation structure through foraging and by dispersing seeds between landscapes. Elephants are also ‘flagship’ species because, given their impressive size, they can make people sympathetic and stimulate local and international concerns for their protection. Economically, elephants contribute to national revenues as tourists are willing to pay to watch them. Despite all these factors, little is known however about elephant movement and how they utilize resources, especially in miombo-wetland ecosystems. This thesis investigates how elephants utilize resources in a miombo-wetland ecosystem in the Ugalla landscape of Western Tanzania over different protected areas containing different resource users. Using Global Positioning System (GPS) collars fitted to six elephants, it was observed that some elephant families are not confined in one protected area in the Ugalla landscape. Rather, they moved readily between different protected areas. Elephant movements were restricted to areas near the rivers, especially the Ugalla River, during the dry season and were dispersed widely during the wet season. As they move, elephants in the miombo woodlands of Ugalla selected the most abundant woody plants for browsing. Common to many woody plants, the browsed plants were short of mineral nutrients (e.g., sodium, calcium). Elephants obtained additional minerals by eating soils from certain termite mounds. Soils from termite mounds are richer in mineral elements (e.g., sodium, calcium, iron) compared to soils from the surrounding flood plain or compared to the browsed plants. However, the recorded termite mounds from which elephants eat soils were not evenly distributed in the landscape but confined mainly to the flood plains in the Ugalla Game Reserve. The Ugalla River, which is the main source of water for the elephants and other animals and also supports fishing activities by the local people in Ugalla during the dry seasons, is infested by the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). Such infestation potentially limits access to these precious surface water supplies. In addition at the regional level, the Ugalla River is among the major rivers that flow into the Lake Tanganyika which is shared by the countries of Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Thus, the spread of water hyacinth if left unchecked threatens to impact Lake Tanganyika, affecting many countries and ecosystem services. This thesis highlights that sustainable conservation of biodiversity in different protected areas in the Ugalla landscape requires an integrated management approach that will embrace conservation of different interrelated landscape resources required by both wildlife and the rural poor populations for their livelihoods. Regular coordinated wildlife anti-poaching patrols should be initiated across the entire Ugalla landscape because the elephants, among other wildlife, utilize different protected areas in Ugalla. Local communities should also be engaged in conservation initiatives (e.g., controlling the spread of the water hyacinth) as these directly impact local livelihoods. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p> / INTEGRATED NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

This essay provides a study of five Swedish locales in the Mälar Valley and Öland, namely Arkels tingstad, Aspa löt, Tingstad flisor, Anundshög and Signhilds kulle/Fornsigtuna, and their possible use as sites of Viking Age thing assemblies. Historical texts, place names and archaeological excavations are queried through the aid of a theoretical assemblage drawing on De Landa, Deleuze &amp; Guattari, as well as Icelandic, British and Scandinavian research. Following this, I propose that the locales chosen as thing sites were communicational nexuses localised on commons in borderzones between land domains. Thus, space commonly understood as in the elite's periphery insteadbecomes of central importance.

O estudo de oito sambaquis do litoral sul do Estado de Santa Catarina e de um concheiro da Terra do Fogo permitiu entender a dinâmica dos processos de formação de diferentes tipos de concheiros. No caso dos sambaquis catarinenses, o objetivo principal foi compreender os processos de formação culturais(atividades humanas) e naturais (tafonômicos) e suas mudanças ao longo do tempo, a partir da análise estratigráfica de sítios cuja cronologia envolve todo o período de ocupação humana pré-histórica da região (c. 7400-1000 anos AP). No caso fueguino, realizou-se o estudo micro-estratigráfico de um concheiro etno-histórico, para servir como modelo interpretativo na formulação de hipóteses sobre a formação dos concheiros. Os métodos utilizadospara caracterização dos sedimentos arqueológicos incluíram: granulometria, zooarqueologia, isotopia de C e N ( \'? POT.13\'C e \'? POT.15\' N), micromorfologia e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Utilizou-se também a analogia experimental com fogueiras acesas em diversos contextos conhecidos e queima controlada de moluscos. Três tipos de sambaquis foram analisados: quatro de padrão estratigráfico conchífero; dois de núcleo arenoso; e dois em montículo ictiológico. A formação do primeiro e terceiro tipos seguiu um padrão recorrente e contínuo que envolve retrabalhamento de elementos depositados e queimados em localdiferente do final. Estes elementos incluem resíduos alimentares, como conchas, restos de peixe (ossos e tecidos) e material vegetais (carvões e plantas de ciclo fotossintético \'C IND.3\'), assim como componentes terrígenos relacionados com o substrato sedimentar nos arredores do sambaqui e com sedimentos provenientes dos bancos de moluscos explorados. Os sambaquis de núcleo arenoso representam ocupações efêmeras, mas planejadas. A sua formação envolveu levantamento de montículos de areia e/ou aproveitamento de dunas eólicas, com posterior deposição de moluscos e resíduos de fogueiras. Desta análise, extraem-se duas implicações substanciais: 1) o hábito de retrabalhamento de resíduos pode ter incluído a destruição dos locais de moradia, nunca achados até o momento, associados aos grandes sambaquis; 2) a correspondência entre o processo de formação identificado nos montículos ictiológicos e nos sambaquis conchíferos sugere continuidade na atividade deposicional, apesar da mudança dematéria prima (substituição das conchas por restos de peixe) e da adoção da tecnologia cerâmica em tempos recentes. O concheiro etno-histórico analisado paracomparação geo-etnoarqueológica foi formado a partir de ocupações domésticas, recorrentes durante pelo menos um século. A análise do anel de conchas periférico possibilitou caracterizar micromorfologicamente os episódios de deposição massiva de conchas, pisoteamentoe abandono do sítio. A análise das fogueiras localizadas na área central do concheiro permitiuidentificar estruturas de combustão de temperatura alta e moderada (superior e inferior a 500° C, respectivamente). A comparação das microfácies do concheiro fueguino com as microfácies identificadas nos sambaquis catarinenses mostra diferentes trajetórias pré-deposicionais, relacionadas, no primeiro caso, com a deposição imediata e secundária de detritos de alimentação nos arredores do local de moradia, e, no caso dos sambaquis, com a sucessão intrincada de ações de deposição, queima e transporte, associada à formação de depósitos terciários. Estas observações corroboram a maior complexidade no processo de formação dos sambaquis. / To understand site formation processes in shell sites, eight sambaquis(shell mounds) from the southern coast of Santa Catarina and one shell midden (conchero) from Tierra del Fuego were studied. For the sambaquis of Santa Catarina, the aim was to understand the cultural and natural formation processes (human activities and taphonomy) and the way they changed through time through the whole period of prehistoric human occupation in the region (c. 7400-1000 years BP). In Tierra del Fuego, the micro-stratgraphic study of an ethnohistoric shell midden was done to serve as model for hypothesis on formation processes of shell sites. The methods used for characterization of archaeological sediments included: grain-size analyses, zooarchaeology, C and N isotopy (\'? POT.13\'C e \'? POT.15\' N), micromorphology and scanning electron microscopy. Experimental archaeology was done using different hearths lit on known contexts and by controlled burning of mollusk shell. Three types of sambaquis were analyzed: four shell mounds; two sand mounds; and two fish mounds. Formation of the first and third group followed a recurrent and continuous pattern of reworking of items, accumulated and burnt in a different location than the final. These items included food refuse, like shell, fish remains (bone and tissue) and plant material (charcoal and residues of \'C IND.3\' plants), as well as terrigenous components from the sedimentary substrate of the surroundings of the site and from the exploredshell beds. Sand mounds are ephemeral but planned occupations. Their formation involved rising of a sand mound and/or occupation over sand dunes, with deposition of shells and plant remains on top. Two substantial implications are extracted from this analyses: 1) the reworking of food residues may be destructing the remains of daily occupations associated with the large sambaquis, that have never been found to this moment; 2) the correspondence of formation process in shell mounds and fish mounds suggests continuity in the depositional activities, besides the change in material (substitution of shell by fish remains) and adoption of ceramic technology in recent times. The ethnohistorical site analyzed for geo-ethnoarchaeological comparison was formed by recurrent domestic occupations that lasted for a century. Analyses of the peripheral shell ring allowed the micromorphological characterization of episodes of massive shell deposition, trampling and site abandonment. Analyses of hearths located in the central habitation area showed micromorphological indicators of high temperature and moderate temperature combustion structures (over and under 500° C, respectivley). Comparison of microfacies from the fueguian shell midden and microfacies from the sambaquis shows different pre-depositional trajectories. In the first case, deposition is related with the immediate and secondary discard of food refuse around the living space. In the second case, formation is related with an intricate succession of deposition, burning and transport of items that resulted in a tertiary deposit. These observations corroborate the great complexity in the formation processes of sambaquis.