This thesis is about the Kelabit, a tribal group living in the interior of the Fourth Division of Sarawak, East Malaysia. They are agriculturalists, growing rice as their symbolically focal crop, and also rely on hunting and gathering. For the Kelabit, the strength of human life is indicated through success in the production of rice and in the reproduction of human beings. Both of these can only be achieved through being 'big people', full adults, in the basic social unit, the hearth-group. The strength of one's life is indicated through on~s performance as 'big person' within the hearth group. This involves maintaining this group as a viable unit through the production of rice and the reproduction of children; the two are brought together through the successful performance of the rice meal within the hearth-group. The holding of such rice meals creates and confirms the prestige of the 'big people' who provide them. The hearth-group may be said to exist at levels above the basic one; at irau, feasts, the rice meal which is held, Which constructs the highest level of the hearthgroup by providing for the entire Kelabit population, generates differential prestige between the 'big people' of different base-level hearth-groups. The nature of the 'life' which is expressed through the performance of the rice meal is made explicit at it. The rice meal, although described as such, includes other foods besides rice; it cannot be a rice meal, in fact, without them. These foods are paradigmatically wild. There is a complementary opposition between rice, produced by human labour, and other foods, Which reproduce without human help. Both sides of the opposition are essential, although it is the rice which is explicitly valued and which stands for the entire complementary opposition. The couple, whose achievements are celebrated at . all rice meals but particularly at feasts, stands for rice itself, the key symbol of humanity, but also, through the association at one level of men with the wild, for the combination of rice with the wild which is essential to the construction of human society. In order to discuss the above thesis, I focus on Kelabit notions of food production and consumption. I look at rice-growing, at how it is marked as 'special' compared to other agricultural activities, and at how it is contrasted to hunting and gathering. I examine the attributes of the couple, the 'big people' of the hearthgroup who are responsible for food production and consumption at the rice meal, and at how these attributes are the basis of prestige generation in Kelabit society. I look at the structure of the rice meal and in particular at feasts, irau, super-rice meals, at which the complementary opposition between rice and wild foods and the nature of human life, which is associated with the nature of the couple, is most clearly stated.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é, através do estudo do material lítico polido do interior de Minas Gerais e São Paulo, compreender melhor os artefatos, identificá-los e, assim, contribuir para o conhecimento do modo de vida das populações que deles fizeram uso. Tratamos inicialmente dos cronistas, primeiras fontes sobre os artefatos, cuja riqueza das descrições nos permite preencher várias lacunas que de outra forma (apenas com os dados arqueológicos) permaneceriam. Em seguida definimos estes artefatos, descrevemos suas características essenciais. Com o auxílio da bibliografia discutimos as classificações elaboradas no passado para algumas destas peças e apontamos possíveis novas abordagens. Através da análise do material, identificamos tipos, apresentamos as peculiaridades e similitudes relativas às diferentes regiões e, quando possível, as respectivas associações a grupos culturais ou afiliações a Tradições Arqueológicas. Trazemos ainda informações obtidas através de trabalho de arqueologia experimental que julgamos essencial para uma compreensão mais ampla dos artefatos, os custos envolvidos em sua produção e manutenção. Finalmente apresentamos uma síntese do conhecimento obtido com toda a análise, buscando explicitar como o material lítico polido, freqüentemente preterido nos estudos, pode trazer contribuições importantes para a reconstrução dos passado dos habitantes desta parte das Américas. / The objective of the present work is, through the study of the polished lithic material from inland Minas Gerais and São Paulo, to have a better understanding of these artifacts, identify them, and to contribute for the knowledge in the way of life of the populations that made use of them. At first we write about the first sources on these artifacts, whose rich descriptions allows us to fill in several gaps that otherwise (trough the archeological data only) would stay. Then we defined these artifacts, describe their essential characteristics. With the aid of the bibliography we discus the classifications elaborated in the past for some of these and point new possible approaches. Through the analysis of these stone artifacts, we create types, present their peculiarities and similarities related with the different areas they were found and, when possible, the respective associations to cultural groups or affiliations to Archeological Traditions. We also bring information obtained through work of experimental archeology that we judged essential for a wider understanding of the artifacts, the costs involved in their production and maintenance. Finally we presented a synthesis of the knowledge obtained with the whole analysis, looking for stress how the polished lithic material, frequently ignored in the studies, can bring important contributions for the reconstruction of the inhabitants of this part of America\'s past.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é, através do estudo do material lítico polido do interior de Minas Gerais e São Paulo, compreender melhor os artefatos, identificá-los e, assim, contribuir para o conhecimento do modo de vida das populações que deles fizeram uso. Tratamos inicialmente dos cronistas, primeiras fontes sobre os artefatos, cuja riqueza das descrições nos permite preencher várias lacunas que de outra forma (apenas com os dados arqueológicos) permaneceriam. Em seguida definimos estes artefatos, descrevemos suas características essenciais. Com o auxílio da bibliografia discutimos as classificações elaboradas no passado para algumas destas peças e apontamos possíveis novas abordagens. Através da análise do material, identificamos tipos, apresentamos as peculiaridades e similitudes relativas às diferentes regiões e, quando possível, as respectivas associações a grupos culturais ou afiliações a Tradições Arqueológicas. Trazemos ainda informações obtidas através de trabalho de arqueologia experimental que julgamos essencial para uma compreensão mais ampla dos artefatos, os custos envolvidos em sua produção e manutenção. Finalmente apresentamos uma síntese do conhecimento obtido com toda a análise, buscando explicitar como o material lítico polido, freqüentemente preterido nos estudos, pode trazer contribuições importantes para a reconstrução dos passado dos habitantes desta parte das Américas. / The objective of the present work is, through the study of the polished lithic material from inland Minas Gerais and São Paulo, to have a better understanding of these artifacts, identify them, and to contribute for the knowledge in the way of life of the populations that made use of them. At first we write about the first sources on these artifacts, whose rich descriptions allows us to fill in several gaps that otherwise (trough the archeological data only) would stay. Then we defined these artifacts, describe their essential characteristics. With the aid of the bibliography we discus the classifications elaborated in the past for some of these and point new possible approaches. Through the analysis of these stone artifacts, we create types, present their peculiarities and similarities related with the different areas they were found and, when possible, the respective associations to cultural groups or affiliations to Archeological Traditions. We also bring information obtained through work of experimental archeology that we judged essential for a wider understanding of the artifacts, the costs involved in their production and maintenance. Finally we presented a synthesis of the knowledge obtained with the whole analysis, looking for stress how the polished lithic material, frequently ignored in the studies, can bring important contributions for the reconstruction of the inhabitants of this part of America\'s past.