Molecular and zooarchaeological identification of 5000 year old whale-bone harpoons in coastal Brazil.

Abstract

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.