Prehistoric sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.) domestication in Mexico

Early remains of Helianthus annuus L. unearthed at the San Andrés site in the Gulf Coast region of Tabasco, Mexico, constitute the earliest record of domesticated sunflower. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) age determinations of a large domesticated seed and achene produced dates of 4130 ± 40 years before the present (B.P.) and 4085 ± 50 B.P., respectively. These discoveries challenge the longstanding hypothesis that sunflower was domesticated in eastern North America. Moreover, when considered with other recent discoveries on plant domestication, these data suggest a reconsideration of the idea that the eastern United States was an independent hearth for domestication.     

Prehistoric Chronology of the Common Bean in the New World: The Linguistic Evidence

Glottochronology and the comparative method of historical linguistics provide a linguistic approach for dating the common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) that both complements and supplements archaeological dating techniques such as accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). For example, the comparative approach reveals that prehistoric languages of eastern North America having glottochronological dates earlier than 700 B.P., such as Proto-Iroquoian (2700 B.P.), lacked words for bean. Protolanguages of the region with glottochronological dates younger than 700 B.P. had bean terms. These linguistic results accord with the AMS finding that beans do not become archaeologically visible in the region until around C.E. 1300. The earliest AMS date for beans of Mesoamerica is around 2300 B.P. This date is considerably younger than glottochronological dates for prehistoric languages of the area, such as Proto-Mayan (3400 B.P.), for which bean terms are posited. Linguistic findings for protolanguages of Mesoamerica suggest that the regional bean chronology is considerably older than that indicated through archaeological dating.     

Phylogeography of a morphologically diverse Neotropical montane species, the Common Bush-Tanager (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus)

The Common Bush-Tanager (Chlorospingus ophthalmicus) is distributed in Neotropical cloud-forests from Mexico to Argentina and contains 25 subspecies divided into eight subspecies groups based on biogeography, eye coloration, presence of a postocular spot and chest band. All of Central America is occupied by a single subspecies group; whereas the Andes are believed to be occupied by seven additional subspecies groups. We used five mitochondrial genes to investigate the phylogeography and possible species limits of the ophthalmicus complex. A total of 14 monophyletic lineages were uncovered within the ophthalmicus complex, including three clades currently classified as separate species (C. semifuscus, inornatus and tacarcunae). Divergence estimates for these clades date between 0.8 and 5.2 million years ago (Ma). Contrary to expectations based on morphological diversity, phylogeographic structure was greatest in Mexico and Central America and weakest in the Andes. Morphological and genetic divergences were not significantly correlated and most morphologically defined subspecies groups were not supported. Our evidence suggests the ophthalmicus complex originated in Mexico ca. 6.0 Ma (million years ago) and spread south into the Andes ca. 4.7 Ma before the completion of the Isthmus of Panama. Three genetically divergent lineages of ophthalmicus that formed in the Andes possess a complex checkerboard distribution, with a single lineage represented by disjunct populations from Venezuela and the southern Andes, while intervening populations in Ecuador and Central Peru form two genetically and morphologically divergent lineages.     

Intentional cranial deformation in the preColumbian populations of ecuador

Using 151 crania, 8 Preceramic, 86 Formative, 29 Regional Developmental, 28 Integration Period and some isolated skulls from Ecuador I can clarify some origins and diffusion of American cranial deformation. To Imbelloni's classification of Tabular erecta, Tabular obliqua, and Annular I add a new type, Cuneiform, marked by flattening of the entire occiput (not just the upper, membraneous-derived bone) without evidence of counter pressure in front. The Cuneiform type starts in Guayas about 2000 B.C. (perhaps the earliest in America) with diffusion to coastal Peru in Chavin times. Tabular erecta, of coastal origin between Manabi province and the Guyas river basin, about 1,000 B.C. , also spreads to coastal Peru. Tabular obliqua appears in Esmeraldas province probably from Mexico 2000 years ago, and diffuses south into Chile. Annular type starts early in the Southern Andes and appears late in the highlands of Ecuador.     

Diversity in the rhizobia associated with Phaseolus vulgaris L. in Ecuador, and comparisons with Mexican bean rhizobia

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) have centers of origin in both Mesoamerica and Andean South America, and have been domesticated in each region for perhaps 5000 years. A third major gene pool may exist in Ecuador and Northern Peru. The diversity of the rhizobia associated with beans has also been studied, but to date with an emphasis on the Mesoamerican center of origin. In this study we compared bean rhizobia from Mexico and Andean South America using both phenotypic and phylogenetic approaches. When differences between the rhizobia of these two regions were shown, we then examined the influence of bean cultivar on the most probable number (MPN) count and biodiversity of rhizobia recovered from different soils. Three clusters of bean rhizobia were distinguished using phenotypic analysis and principal-component analysis of Box AIR-PCR banding patterns. They corresponded principally to isolates from Mexico, and the northern and southern Andean regions, with isolates from southern Ecuador exhibiting significant genetic diversity. Rhizobia from Dalea spp., which are infective and effective on beans, may have contributed to the apparent diversity of rhizobia recovered from the Mesoamerican region, while the rhizobia of wild Phaseolus aborigineus from Argentina showed only limited similarity to the other bean rhizobia tested. Use of P. vulgaris cultivars from the Mesoamerican and Andean Phaseolus gene pools as trap hosts did not significantly affect MPN counts of bean rhizobia from the soils of each region, but did influence the diversity of the rhizobia recovered. Such differences in compatibility of host and Rhizobium could be a factor in the poor reputation for nodulation and N2 fixation in this crop.     

Flying shells: historical dispersal of marine snails across Central America

The geological rise of the Central American Isthmus separated the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans about 3 Ma, creating a formidable barrier to dispersal for marine species. However, similar to Simpson's proposal that terrestrial species can 'win sweepstakes routes'-whereby highly improbable dispersal events result in colonization across geographical barriers-marine species may also breach land barriers given enough time. To test this hypothesis, we asked whether intertidal marine snails have crossed Central America to successfully establish in new ocean basins. We used a mitochondrial DNA genetic comparison of sister snails (Cerithideopsis spp.) separated by the rise of the Isthmus. Genetic variation in these snails revealed evidence of at least two successful dispersal events between the Pacific and the Atlantic after the final closure of the Isthmus. A combination of ancestral area analyses and molecular dating techniques indicated that dispersal from the Pacific to the Atlantic occurred about 750 000 years ago and that dispersal in the opposite direction occurred about 72 000 years ago. The geographical distribution of haplotypes and published field evidence further suggest that migratory shorebirds transported the snails across Central America at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico. Migratory birds could disperse other intertidal invertebrates this way, suggesting the Central American Isthmus may not be as impassable for marine species as previously assumed.     

Morphometric Analysis of Sunflower (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Helianthus annuus</Emphasis> L.) Achenes from Mexico and Eastern North America<Superscript>1</Superscript>

Morphometric Analysis of Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L.) Achenes from Mexico and Eastern North America. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) has played a major role in the evolution of agricultural systems in the Americas. The discovery of ancient domesticated remains from archaeological deposits in pre-Columbian Mexico offers new dimensions to widely accepted viewpoints on the domestication pattern of H. annuus. Although American sunflower populations north of Mexico have been examined extensively, Mexican indigenous domesticated landraces have not been studied in any detail. In this study, we morphologically assessed wild and domesticated sunflower achenes from Mexico and compared them to similar datasets from eastern North America. Additionally, we evaluated the utility of four computer-assisted shape measurements in discriminating between wild and domesticated sunflower achenes (fruits) and compared variation in achene size among modern wild and cultivated populations from both Mexico and the U.S. We found that, of the shape parameters tested, none were informative in distinguishing wild achenes from domesticated varieties. Subsequent size analysis, using conventional parameters of length, width, and thickness, showed that modern wild populations from Mexico had smaller achenes compared to modern populations from eastern North America. Domesticated achenes unearthed from Mexican archaeological sites, however, were significantly larger than the early domesticated specimens recovered from eastern North America. Our methodological results indicate that variation in archaeological sunflower achenes is better described by conventional size parameters rather than computerized shape analysis.     

Allozyme diversity in wild Phaseolus vulgaris: further evidence for two major centers of genetic diversity

Summary Allozyme analysis was performed on 83 wild Phaseolus vulgaris accessions, representing a wide geographical distribution from Mesoamerica to Argentina, to determine levels of genetic diversity and geographic patterns of variability at nine polymorphic isozyme loci. The collection can be divided into two major groups, one consisting of accessions from Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Peru, and the other consisting of accessions from Peru and Argentina. One accession from northern Peru is distinct from the two major groups, and may delineate a transition zone between the two divergent groups. The level of genetic diversity within wild P. vulgaris (Ht=0.132) is comparable with those found in other Phaseolus species. There was no significant within-accession gene diversity (Hs=0.006); however, there is a moderate level of genetic diversity (Dst=0.126) between accessions. Our results are consistent with previous studies on the genetic diversity of wild P. vulgaris using phaseolin, the major seed storage protein of beans.     

The origins of agriculture in the Americas

Three independent centers of domestication and agricultural origin have been identified in the Americas: the south-central Andes, Mexico, and most recently, eastern North America. Much of the evidence for early domesticates in these three regions has been excavated from higher elevation dry caves and rock shelters. These sites contain remarkably well preserved plant and animal remains, along with a record of short-term occupation by small groups of hunter-gatherers and early cultivators. As a result it has long been thought that plants and animals were brought under domestication in the Americas by small, seasonally mobile societies living in upland settings. The age of small seeds and other plant materials recovered from such dry caves and believed to represent early domesticates was, of necessity, determined indirectly, through conventional large-sample radiocarbon dating of organic material thought to be contemporaneous. In each of the three regions, the earliest domesticates were believed to date between 7,000 and 10,000 B.P. The origin of agriculture in the Americas was thought to be roughly contemporary with the transition from foraging to farming in the Near East (Fertile Crescent, ca. 10,000 B.P.) and China (Yangtze Corridor, ca. 8,500 B.P.). Since the mid-1980s, however, the age of many of the proposed early domesticates in the Americas, as well as their contexts of domestication, have been re-examined, beginning in eastern North America. The excavation of larger and more sedentary river valley settlements in eastern North America has yielded ample evidence of the cultivation of domesticated seed plants. This evidence is as old as or older than that recovered from seasonally occupied upland caves and rock shelters. In addition, a new and more rigorous standard for evidence of domestication has been adopted in eastern North America. That standard, which requires direct dating of seeds and other plant parts that exhibit clear, unequivocal, and well-documented morphological markers of domestication, is now being applied throughout the Americas, producing conservative timetables of domestication and agricultural origins that contradict alternative, more speculative chronological frameworks. Under the new standard of evidence, domestication of plants in all three independent centers (and in the Andes, domestication of animals) appears to have taken place between about 5,500 and 4,000 years ago, much more recently than previously was thought. Several lines of evidence also suggest that the Native American societies that first brought these species under domestication may not have been exclusively seasonally mobile hunter-gatherers of higher-elevation environments. In each of the three regions, domesticates recovered from upland caves may reflect a transition to a farming way of life accomplished by societies occupying more sedentary settlements in river valleys. In some cases, upland caves containing domesticates may represent one component in the seasonal round of early food production by societies occupying nearby river valleys; in others, they may mark the subsequent expansion of food production economies out of rich river valley resource zones into adjacent upland environments.     

Clovis in context: New light on the peopling of the Americas

Until recently, the first Americans were thought to be fluted-point spear-hunters from the Siberian steppes. Near the end of the Ice Age, they followed big-game herds over the Bering land bridge into the open, upland habitats of the interior of North America about 12,000 years ago. Rapidly extinguishing the big game herds with their deadly hunting methods, they pressed southward in search of new herds and reached the tip of South America about a thousand years later. Today, nearly 70 years after the first excavations at Clovis, New Mexico, the type site for this culture, new sites and new dates from both North and South America are forcing a revision of the earlier picture of the migrations and adaptations of the first Americans. But despite recurring claims that human colonization of the Western Hemisphere began as early as 20,000 or more years ago with the arrival of generalized foragers lacking a projectile-point tradition, no definitive data gives empirical support for a human presence before c. 12,000 before the present (B.P.). All supposed pre-Clovis cultures except one in Alaska have failed to withstand careful scrutiny of their data. In addition, despite recent claims for cultural and biological links of the migrants to Europe or the Pacific Islands, the skeletons and cultural assemblages of Paleoindians throughout the hemisphere point consistently to a northeast Asian origin. According to new data, Paleoindian ancestors in Beringia c. 12,000 years ago were not specialized, fluted-point hunters of large game, but broad-spectrum hunter-gatherers using triangular or bipointed, lanceolates. Diverse cultures descended from these ancestors, not only the big-game hunting Clovis culture of the North American high plains. And just as Clovis did not set the cultural pattern for the hemisphere, it was not the earliest culture. Fully contemporary with the earliest possible Clovis dates of c. 11,200, in South America there already were maritime foragers on the Pacific coast, small-game hunters in the southern pampas, and tropical forest riverine foragers in the eastern tropical lowlands. The Clovis culture thus was just one of several regional cultures developed in the millennium after the initial migration. It could not have been the ancestor of the other early Paleoindian cultures. This new picture of Paleoindian cultures changes understanding of initial human adaptive radiation in the Americas and has implications for general theories of human evolution and behavioral ecology.     

The Tertiary history of the northern temperate element in the northern Latin American biota

The time of origin of cool-to-cold-temperate plants of northern affinities in the Latin American biota is unsettled. Two models have been proposed-a Paleogene origin from a once widespread temperate rain forest, and a Neogene origin by introductions from the north which is best supported by new evidence. Fourteen palynofloras of Tertiary age are now available from Mexico and Central America, in addition to numerous others from the southeastern United States and northern South America. Pollen of cool-temperate plants occurs in the Eocene of southeastern United States, but not in northern Mexico, central Panama, or northern South America. In the Miocene this pollen is sparse in deposits from Mexico and Guatemala, rare in Panama, and absent from northern South America. In the Pliocene pollen representing a diverse northern temperate element of ten genera is present in the Pliocene of southeastern Veracruz, Mexico, five in northeastern Guatemala, and two (Myrica, Salix) first appear in northern South America; Alnus and Quercus are added in the Pleistocene. This north-to-south and early-to-late pattern is consistent with the appearance of highlands in southern Central America and northern South America in the Neogene, closure of the isthmian marine portal between 3.5 and 2.5 Ma (million years ago), and the late Cenozoic cooling trend evident in the O/O-based paleotemperature curve.     

Targeted Sequencing for Studying Economically Useful Traits and Phylogenetic Diversity of Ancient Sheep

Russian Journal of Genetics - Sheep were one of the first animals to be domesticated. The history of sheep domestication and their widespread distribution dates to about ten thousand years ago,...     

Domestication patterns in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and the origin of the Mesoamerican and Andean cultivated races

Chloroplast DNA polymorphisms were studied by PCR sequencing and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 165 accessions of domesticated landraces of common bean from Latin America and the USA, 23 accessions of weedy beans, and 134 accessions of wild beans covering the entire geographic range of wild Phaseolus vulgaris. Fourteen chloroplast haplotypes were identified in wild beans, only five of which occur also in domesticated beans. The chloroplast data agree with those obtained from analyses based on morphology and isozymes and with other DNA polymorphisms in supporting independent domestications of common bean in Mesoamerica and the Andean region and in demonstrating a founder effect associated with domestication in each region. Andean landraces have been classified into three different racial groups, but all share the same chloroplast haplotype. This suggests that common bean was domesticated once only in South America and that the races diverged post-domestication. The haplotype found in Andean domesticated beans is confined to the southern part of the range of wild beans, so Andean beans were probably domesticated somewhere within this area. Mesoamerican landraces have been classified into four racial groups. Our limited samples of Races Jalisco and Guatemala differ from the more widespread and commercially important Races Mesoamerica and Durango in types and/or frequencies of haplotypes. All four Mesoamerican races share their haplotypes with local wild beans in parts of their ranges. Independent domestications of at least some of the races in Mesoamerica and/or conversion of some locally adapted wild beans to cultigens by hybridization with introduced domesticated beans, followed by introgression of the domestication syndrome seem the most plausible explanations of the chloroplast and other molecular data.     

A critical review of the German Paleolithic hominin record

We review the hominin fossil record from western Central Europe in light of the recent major revisions of the geochronological context. The mandible from Mauer (Homo heidelbergensis), dated to circa 500,000 years ago, continues to represent the earliest German hominin and may coincide with the occupation of Europe north of the high alpine mountain chains. Only limited new evidence is available for the Middle Pleistocene, mostly in the form of skull fragments, a pattern that may relate to taphonomic processes. These finds and their ages suggest the gradual evolution of a suite of Neandertal features during this period. Despite new finds of classic Neandertals, there is no clear proof for Neandertal burial from Germany. Alternatively, cut marks on a skull fragment from the Neandertal type site suggest special treatment of that individual. New Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of previous finds leave little reliably dated evidence for anatomically modern humans (AMH) in Europe before 30,000 BP; the remains from Hahn?fersand, Binshof-Speyer, Paderborn-Sande, and Vogelherd are now of Holocene age. Thus, a correlation of AMH with the Aurignacian remains to be proven, and the general idea of a long coexistence of Neandertals and AMH in Europe may be questioned. In western Central Europe, evidence of Gravettian human fossils is also very limited, although a new double grave from lower Austria may be relevant. The only dated burial from the German Upper Paleolithic (from Mittlere Klause) falls into a time period (circa 18,600 BP) represented by only a few occupation sites in western Central Europe. A number of human remains at Magdalenian sites appear to result from variable (secondary) burial practices. In contrast, the Final Paleolithic (circa 12,000-9600 cal. BC) yields an increase of hominin finds, including multiple burials (Bonn-Oberkassel, Neuwied-Irlich), similar to the situation in western and southern Europe.     

Present and potential future distribution of common vampire bats in the americas and the associated risk to cattle

Success of the cattle industry in Latin America is impeded by the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, through decreases in milk production and mass gain and increased risk of secondary infection and rabies. We used ecological niche modeling to predict the current potential distribution of D. rotundus and the future distribution of the species for the years 2030, 2050, and 2080 based on the A2, A1B, and B1 climate scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We then combined the present day potential distribution with cattle density estimates to identify areas where cattle are at higher risk for the negative impacts due to D. rotundus. We evaluated our risk prediction by plotting 17 documented outbreaks of cattle rabies. Our results indicated highly suitable habitat for D. rotundus occurs throughout most of Mexico and Central America as well as portions of Venezuela, Guyana, the Brazilian highlands, western Ecuador, northern Argentina, and east of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. With future climate projections suitable habitat for D. rotundus is predicted in these same areas and additional areas in French Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Columbia; however D. rotundus are not likely to expand into the U.S. because of inadequate 'temperature seasonality.' Areas with large portions of cattle at risk include Mexico, Central America, Paraguay, and Brazil. Twelve of 17 documented cattle rabies outbreaks were represented in regions predicted at risk. Our present day and future predictions can help authorities focus rabies prevention efforts and inform cattle ranchers which areas are at an increased risk of cattle rabies because it has suitable habitat for D. rotundus.     

Are the early holocene cattle in the eastern sahara domestic or wild?

Questions relating to the antiquity of domestic cattle in the Sahara are among the most controversial in North African prehistory. It is generally believed that cattle were first domesticated in southwest Asia, particularly Anatolia, or in southeast Europe, where their remains have been found in several sites dated between 9,000 and 8,000 years ago.1 The discovery, in several small sites in the Western Desert of Egypt, of large bovid bones identified as domestic cattle and having radiocarbon dates ranging between 9,500 and 8,000 B.P. has raised the possibility that there was a separate, independent center for cattle domestication in northeast Africa (Fig. 1).^2–4 However, it has not been universally accepted that these bones are from cattle or, if so, that the cattle were domestic.     

Ancient West Mexican Metallurgy: South and Central American Origins and West Mexican Transformations

Metallurgy first appeared in Mesoamerica at about A.D. 800, introduced via a maritime route from Central and South America into West Mexico. During the initial period of the establishment of the technology (approximately A.D. 800 to between A.D. 1200 and 1300) technical links were closest with the metallurgies of Ecuador, Colombia, and lower Central America. During the second period of West Mexican metallurgy (A.D. 1200–1300 to the Spanish invasion) new elements from these same regional metallurgies were introduced, in addition to technical components from the metallurgy of southern Peru. Although the roots of West Mexican metallurgy lay in the metallurgies to the south, the elements that had been introduced from those areas were reinterpreted and transformed, resulting in the development of a technically original, highly inventive regional technology in West Mexico.     

Evidence of Botanical Diversity and Species Continuity from Chancay Sites in The Huaura Valley,Peru<Superscript>1</Superscript>

Evidence Of Botanical Diversity and Species Continuity from Chancay Sites in The Huaura Valley, Peru. This study reports on new botanical evidence from the north-central coast of Peru. The material dates to the Late Intermediate Period (approximately CE 1100–1435) and is from archaeological excavation at the sites of Rontoy, Quipico, and Chambara located in the Huaura Valley. All three sites belong to what has been defined as the Chancay culture. The diversity of species present is consistent with the plants utilized in the region beginning in the Preceramic Period. Data also show differential distribution of plant taxa by site that cannot be explained by ecological zone or site location.     

Ecogeographic distribution ofPhaseolus spp. (Fabaceae) in Bolivia

WildPhaseolus vulgaris is distributed between northern Mexico and northern Argentina. Analysis of phaseolin and molecular markers (isozymes, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms or RFLPs) indicate that this gene pool consists of two major groups, Mesoamerican and Andean, and a third intermediate group found in northwestern South America. Previous to this study, only four accessions of wildP. vulgaris beans from Bolivia had been collected and their genetic relationship with other wild beans from Latin America was not known. Due to the problem of intense erosion in some areas of Bolivia, it was our objective to survey and documentPhaseolus spp. in this area before their extinction. We conducted a collection expedition in May 1994 in the departments of Cochabamba, Chuquisaca and Tarija. This resulted in collections of four populations ofP. augusti, two of cultivatedP. lunatus and two mixtures of cultivatedP. vulgaris. The first mixture was made of “k’opurus” or beans consumed after toasting, and represented an addition of 17 accessions to the Bolivian collection. The second mixture was made of “porotos” and resulted in the addition of 10 new accessions. Seven germplasm collections of wildP. vulgaris were found, which allowed us to increase the number of known populations of wild common bean for Bolivia. Another accession was found as a wild-weed-crop complex. Seven of these wildP. vulgaris accessions along with another accession from Bolivia collected previously, and a number of P. vulgaris accessions from Mexico (17), Guatemala (3), Colombia (10), Ecuador (6), Peru (17) and Argentina (16) were analyzed with RAPDs. The use of 14 random primers and one SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) resulted in 90 bands, of which 83 were polymorphic. This data was used to construct a dendrogram which shows clear separation into three clusters, corresponding to each of the gene pools and an intermediate group. The Bolivian wild P. vulgaris beans grouped with the accessions of southern Peru and Argentina into the Andean gene pool. RAPD analysis of genetic diversity correlated well with genetic diversity obtained with other markers. Moreover, the ease of analysis allowed us to obtain a large number of bands which was conducive to greater sensitivity and identification of geographic subgroups and accessions of hybrid origin.     

Late Holocene mangrove dynamics of Marajó Island in Amazonia,northern Brazil

Two sediment cores from the eastern coastal region of Marajó Island, Pará State, northern Brazil have been studied by pollen analysis to reconstruct late Holocene mangrove dynamics and environmental changes. Seven AMS radiocarbon dates provide time control. Mangrove vegetation became established at the Barra Velha site at about 2750 B.P. (2880 cal B.P.) and at the Praia do Pesqueiro site at about 650 B.P. (670 cal B.P.). Rhizophora was the dominant mangrove tree throughout the recorded period, while Avicennia and Laguncularia were rare. Existing remnants of the former coastal Amazon rain forest were replaced by mangrove in the Barra Velha area between about 2750 and 740 B.P. (2880–760 cal B.P.) and at Praia do Pesqueiro area between about 650 and 530 B.P. (670–540 cal B.P.), suggesting a rise in relative sea level or, alternatively, an increase in discharge from the river Amazon. Areas of coastal shrub and herb vegetation, the so-called restinga vegetation, also became slightly reduced during the late Holocene. The largest area of mangrove at the two sites suggests that the highest sea level was probably reached during the last 200–250 years. The only evidence of human activity at the two sites is an indication of cattle pastureland at the Barra Velha area during the last decades.