Tribes and chiefdoms: An analytical study of some Brazilian ceramics

There is no evidence of urban civilization in Brazilian prehistory; most inhabitants lived in tribal organizations, probably with regional economic integration among several independent tribes. There is little evidence of seasonal migrations between the coastal and inland areas of southern Brazil. Some specialized horticulturists competed among themselves but other groups lived more in isolation, and probably peacefully, in the upper interfluvial regions.The chiefdom system is supposed to have existed only along the river Amazon. In this region, some pottery makers may have been specialized craftsmen, and the finest ceramics that could have been exported from one village or region to another can be found. Outside this region, pottery was generally plain, except the tupiguarani, which was partly decorated. In this study some limited possibilities were tested, in three different cultural and regional contexts, to find out if the application of chemical analysis to economically and politically 'simple' societies can produce any results of additional archaeological relevance. (author)