Back----------------------------------------------Firts cultures of Misiones

According to the resulting studies of the searches, excavations and archaeological rescues carried out in areas like: San Ignacio, Eldorado, Apostoles, San Pedro, etc., is considered that the misionero territory was inhabited behind from about 10.000 years. In accordance with the archaeologist's investigations Ruth Adela Poujade, we can carry out the following square of the cultures:
Altoparanaense in Misiones, Humaitá in Brazil 9950 A.P. - 3950 A.P.
Hunters recolectores of subtropical floresta.
becomes intimate relationship with the nature (it hunts, fishes, gathering) Seasonal Nomadismo. Temporary establishments where they manufactured tools to 100 meters on the level of the sea, in laterita hills and along the valleys of the Paraná and Uruguay, and flowing.
Devices: lithic tools: you nail right and curved (axes), thick raspers (brushes), wedges made starting from nodules (I sing smooth) or the thick lascas, works for simple percussion. Matter prevails: basalt and cuarcita.
Umbú (Common to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) 5950 A.P. - 2450 A.P.
Hunters recollectors.
Places: shop-quarry and shop-camp; at 74m. on the level of the sea, in valleys of the Paraná and their tributaries and field area very herborizado.
Devices: instruments have more than enough lascas, monkey and bifaciales altered to pressure. Forms: triangular projectile tips; with and without peduncle and with peduncle and fins, knives, raspers. Matter prevails: cuarcita, basalt, agate and opal.
Eldoradense-Tacuara (Common to Argentina and Brazil) 2000 A.P. - 450 A.P.
Hunters - recollectors - farmers (incipient)
Three types of establishments: house-well and embankments supplemented with funeral mounds, camps and temporary camps in caves. Capable places for agriculture.
Material culture: a) Simple Ceramic (bowls and pots of rounded bases, and conical and cylindrical glasses, with diameters of 8 to 20 cm). The flowerpots, refined, are flat of dark reddish brown color and decorations with geometric reasons (parallel, horizontal and traverse lines). b) Big lithic axes planed with and without neck for enmangue, mortar hands, and lascas. Matter prevails: basalt and cuarcita.
It hunts; gathering of mollusks and vegetables, and incipient agriculture.
Tupiguaraní (Common to Argentine, Brazil and Uruguay) 1.200 A.P. - 290 A.P.
Farmers of subtropical floresta.
Places Guarani: villages, cemeteries, camps in caves in eaves and outdoors. to a distance between 200 and 700 meters on the level of the sea.
a)Devices: to Ceramic painted in black and red on it kills or on white, with geometric designs; monochrome red; corrugada, unguicular and in form of broom. Forms: simple and complex bowls of bases rounded funeral urns with cover, b) Material lithic associate: sharpeners, mortar hands, axes refined petaloides, balls with and without furrow perimetraI, lenticular balls, lascas worked by direct percussion of different sizes and type, tembetás (labial decorations), pectoral (hanging).
c) Matter prevails: basalt, cuarcita, quartz hialino and milky, gritty for sharpeners. Economic strategies: it hunts, fishes, gathering of mollusks, agriculture (corn, manioc, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, beans, peanut, etc) and gathering of vegetables, fruits and seeds.
For convention the chronology archaeological taking like reference the year 1950; A.P. it means before the present, in connection with this year. For example, 9950 TO-P - expressed 9.950 years before 1950 (in our case, with a margin of more or less 100 year-old error.)