Sambaqui Figueirinha
Sambaqui da Figueirinha · Jaguaruna Sambaqui
Sambaqui (c.7000–1500 BCE) South-Central Brazilian Coast·Sambaqui – Camacho fishermen-collectors·🇧🇷 Santa Catarina, Jaguaruna, Brazil
About
About Sambaqui Figueirinha
Sambaqui Figueirinha near Jaguaruna, Santa Catarina, is a giant late Holocene shell mound (sambaqui) on the Imaruí–Garopaba coastal lagoon plain at 5 m asl. Built 3500–2000 BCE by Sambaqui fisher-collectors, its 8m-high stratigraphy alternates shell (Anomalocardia), charcoal feasting layers and 80+ flexed burials with red ochre, zoolithic stone animal sculptures (sharks, birds), bone tools and posthole dwelling floors. Figueirinha's meticulous excavation (DeBlasis, Eggers, Pessis 2006–2018) reveals mass feasting of marine resources, structured cemetery growth and the Sambaqui social complexity that collapses before ceramic Jê expansion c.1500 BCE.
Why it mattersSambaqui Figueirinha near Jaguaruna, Santa Catarina, is a giant late Holocene shell mound (sambaqui) on the Imaruí–Garopaba coastal lagoon plain at 5 m asl. Built 3500–2000 BCE by Sambaqui fisher-collectors, its 8m-high stratigraphy alternates shell (Anomalocardia), charcoal feasting layers and 80+ Type-site defining regional sequence.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction
- 02Function of elite vs communal architecture
Theories
- 01Regional capital coordinating irrigation and exchange
- 02Ritual-ceremonial amphitheatre aligned to astronomy
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3500–2000 BCE major mound building
- Period
- Sambaqui (c.7000–1500 BCE) South-Central Brazilian Coast
- Culture
- Sambaqui – Camacho fishermen-collectors
- Builders
- Sambaqui peoples
- Purpose
- 8m-high shell-mound cemetery-ritual village with burials, feasting pits and bone zoolithics on Imaruí lagoon
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.3500–2000 BCE major mound building
Initial construction
c.800–900 CE
Major occupation / refurbishment
c.1000–1532
Late horizon / Inca incorporation where applicable
On the ground
Structures & features
28.6160° S · 49.0170° W · 5 m · 2 mapped features
Central Shell Mound Stratigraphy and Burials
mound8m stratigraphy with 80+ flexed burials and ochre-zoolith layers
28.6158° S · 49.0169° WFeasting Pits and Dwelling Floors (Lagoon Margin)
ancient village1.5m pits with Anomalocardia shell, charcoal feasting deposits and postholes
28.6162° S · 49.0171° W