A Paleoindian campsite has been uncovered in stratified prehistoric deposits in Caverna da Pedra Pintada at Monte Alegre in the Brazilian Amazon. Fifty-six radiocarbon dates on carbonized plant remains and 13 luminescence dates on lithics and sediment indicate a late Pleistocene age contemporary with North American Paleoindians. Paintings, triangular bifacial spear points, and other tools in the cave document a culture distinct from North American cultures. Carbonized tree fruits and wood and faunal remains reveal a broad-spectrum economy of humid tropical forest and riverine foraging. The existence of this and related cultures east of the Andes changes understanding of the migrations and ecological adaptations of early foragers.

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GEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE AMAZON LATERITES. Lateritic rocks are widely found all over the Amazon region. They include mature and immature autochthonous laterites and allochthonous laterites, the latter usually reffered to as stone lines. The mature laterites were formed in the Tertiary, while the immature in the Quaternary. The mature laterites are characterized by well-defined and varied horizon when compared to immature laterite profiles. The parent rocks are of different ages and their petrochemical compositions have given rise to different kinds of laterites. among which the most prominent are the bauxitic, the phosphatic, the ferruginous, the caolinic, the manganesiferous and the nickelliferous. The outtermost cover is called Belterra Clay, a yellow clay material, originated from the lateritic profile weathering. Non-lateritic ironstones are common in the region, sometimes associated with the lateritic profiles. Besides their significant ore potentiality for iron, aluminium, nickel, gold, manganese, phosphates, kaolin, titanium, niobium and REE, laterites are important tools for geochemical exploration, geological mapping and also for geological and geomorphological studies of the evolution of the Amazon region.

Several types of structures are observed in the Precambrian, Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks of theAmazon region, which represent the major features of the neotectonic framework developed since theMiocene. They controlled the sediment deposition of the Upper Tertiary and Quaternary, as well as haveinfluenced the development of the present landform patterns and drainage systems. Transpressive andtranstensive areas are recognized based on their nature and geometry, and related to two main episodes oftranscurrent displacement of Miocene/Pliocene and Upper Pleistocene /Recent ages. Sets of E-W, ENEWSWand NE-SW right-hand strike-slip faults are present in most of these areas. These sets are linked bynormal faults trending NW-SE and NNW-SSE, or by thrust faults trendig NE-SW and ENE-WSW,depending upon their geometry. Large areas with N-S trending younger normal faults are also observed.Earthquakes, the phenomenon of “fallen lands”, fluvial channels migration, hot springs, etc., are related toareas where some of these faults remain active. All these structures are related to an intraplate E-W righthandshear system induced by the rotation of South American Plate towards west.

Holocene environments have been reconstructed by multiproxy studies of an 850-cm-long core from Rio Curuá dating to >8000 14C yr B.P. The low-energy river lies in the eastern Amazon rain forest in the Caxiuanã National Forest Reserve, 350 km west of Belem in northern Brazil. Sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical dates demonstrate that the deposits correspond to two different environments, sediments of an active river before 8000 14C yr B.P. and later a passive river system. The pollen analytical results indicate four different local and regional Holocene paleoenvironmental periods: (1) a transition to a passive fluvial system and a well-drained terra firme (unflooded upland) Amazon rain forest with very limited development of inundated forests (várzea and igapó) (>7990–7030 14C yr B.P.); (2) a sluggish river with a local Mauritia palm-swamp and similar regional vegetation, as before (7030–5970 14C yr B.P.); (3) a passive river, forming shallow lake conditions and with still-abundant terra firme forest in the study region (5970–2470 14C yr B.P.); and (4) a blocked river with high water levels and marked increase of inundated forests during the last 2470 14C yr B.P. Increased charcoal during this last period suggests the first strong presence of humans in this region. The Atlantic sea level rise was probably the major factor in paleoenvironmental changes, but high water stands might also be due to greater annual rainfall during the late Holocene.

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