Molecular and zooarchaeological identification of 5000 year old whale-bone harpoons in coastal Brazil
McGrath, Krista Michelle (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Fossile, Thiago (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
da Rocha Bandeira, Dione (Universidade da Região de Joinville (Brazil))
Borba, Fernanda Mara (Museu Arqueológico de Sambaqui de Joinville (Brazil))
Cremer, Marta J. (Universidade da Região de Joinville (Brazil))
van der Sluis, Laura G. (University of Vienna. Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (Àustria))
Higham, Thomas (University of Vienna. Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (Àustria))
Klahold Rosa, Ana Paula (Museu Arqueológico de Sambaqui de Joinville (Brazil))
Saña Seguí, Maria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Prehistòria)
Colonese, Andre Carlo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Data:	2026
Resum:	The hunting of large whales has shaped the lifeways of many coastal communities for millennia, yet its origins remain debated, often associated with postglacial cultures in Arctic and subarctic regions dating to approximately 3500-2500 years ago. Here, we present evidence that large baleen whales were likely hunted 5000 years ago by Indigenous groups in southern Brazil. We analysed museum collections of cetacean bones and artefacts from archaeological shellmounds, known as sambaquis, in the region of Babitonga Bay. Zooarchaeological, typological, and molecular analyses of bone remains and artefacts indicate that Sambaqui people exploited southern right whales (Eubalaena australis), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and dolphins in coastal waters. The abundance of whale bone remains, the presence of specialised marine hunting artefacts, and the importance of whales in funerary contexts are consistent with archaeological and ethnographic evidence of whaling societies. Our results also illuminate species distributions prior to commercial exploitation, providing insights for conservation strategies. Whale exploitation was an element of Indigenous maritime knowledge in southern Brazil long before European contact; an unwritten history preserved in museum collections and in the sambaquis that have survived the impacts of modern human activities. Sambaquis are archaeological shellmounds found in Brazil. Here, the authors use archaeological and molecular methods to show southern right whale, humpback whale, and dolphin were exploited 5000 years ago by Sambaqui groups to manufacture whale-bone harpoons and other artefacts.
Ajuts:	European Commission 817911 Agencia Estatal de Investigación CEX2024-001506-M Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00527
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Archaeology ; Biodiversity ; Palaeoecology
Publicat a:	Nature communications, Vol. 17 (January 2026) , art. 48, ISSN 2041-1723

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67530-w
PMID: 41513657

14 p, 3.1 MB

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