Lapa do Santo
Lapa do Santo
Brazil · Minas Gerais
In brief
Lapa do Santo is an excavated cave entrance in the Lagoa Santa karst region. Human burials and treatments of the body document the changing funerary practices of early Holocene communities.
What was found?
- 1Well-preserved human skeletons
Numerous burials make it possible to compare the funerary practices of early communities. The preservation of the skeletons has enabled different forms of burial to be distinguished.
- 2Burial 26
A head separated from the body, cervical vertebrae and hands placed over the face were found together. According to researchers, this arrangement was part of a funerary ritual.
- 3Stone tools
The site contains a rich assemblage of stone tools. These document that the shelter, known for its burials, was also used for everyday life and production.
- 4Bone tools
Worked bone objects show that bone, alongside stone, was used as a raw material for tools. They complement the site's repertoire of craftsmanship.
What does it point to?
According to researchers, Lapa do Santo shows that complex funerary ceremonies were conducted even without monumental structures and rich grave goods. Changes in burial practices over time reveal that the community's traditions were not static.
What did it teach us?
- Documented diverse and elaborate funerary practices in eastern South America during the Early Holocene.
- According to researchers, isotope values consistent with the local community for the individual in burial 26 weakened the interpretation that the head was a war trophy taken from an enemy.
- Burials from different periods showed that funerary traditions changed over time at the same location.
Images


Record
- Culture
- Hunter-gatherer communities of the Lagoa Santa region
- First modern dig
- 2001
- Team / historical
- André Strauss; University of São Paulo, LAAAE
- Coordinates
- -19.4777°, -44.0155°
Sources
- sites.usp.br
- eva.mpg.de
- scielo.br
- researchgate.net
- PLOS ONE — 26 numaralı gömü araştırması, Max Planck arşivi
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- Monte Verde Archaeological Site 3,685 km
- Sacred City of Caral-Supe 3,713 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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