People in Brazil enjoyed annual summer gatherings over 2,000 years ago

The shores of the Patos Lagoon in Brazil are characterised by settled earthen mounds known as ‘Cerritos,’ which were built by the pre-colonial ancestors of the Pampean indigenous groups called the Charrúas and the Minuano.

The cerritos were used for multifaceted purposes, playing a paramount role in the social and economical life of the mound builders. After discovering and analising pottery fragments dating back to between 2,300 and 1,200 years ago which were discovered around the area, a research team was able to identify some of the earliest evidence of alcoholic drink production in the region made by the pre-colonial groups.

The analysis of the pottery revealed traces of beverages made using vegetables likely to have been tubers, sweetcorn, and palm. Other pottery fragments contained evidence of the processing of fish.

The discovery and analysis were carried out by an international team of scientists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the University of York (United Kingdon), and the Universidade Federal de Pelotas (Brazil), adding evidence to the belief that pre-colonial people may have gathered around the mounds to celebrate and feast on seasonally abundant fish.

The mounds held symbolicsignificance as burials, territorial markers, and monuments. A previous study in this area using isoope analysis of ancient human remains unearthed in-situ indicated that the inhabitants had diverse diets.

This suggested that people may have travelled to the Lagoon from the wider region.

All this suggests that pre-colonial people in Brazil already held an annual summer gathering where they enjoyed a feast featuring abundant seasonal fish and alcoholic beverages.

These festivities, held over 2,000 years ago, could perhaps be the origins of the famous Carnival held in Brazil at the start of the summer.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Marjolein Admiraal, who carried out the research while at the Bioarchaelogy Laboratory (BioArCh) at the University of York, suggests seasonal gatherings at the mounds were important cultural events, drawing dispersed communities together to exploit and celebrate the return of migrating fish such as the Whitemouth croaker, which likely required collective effort to process. You can read the full study here.

“We see examples of such practices around the world, often related to seasonal abundance of migratory species. These events provide an excellent opportunity for social activities such as funerals, and marriages, and hold great cultural significance,” says Dr. Admiraal.

Dr. Admiraal's statement highlights how practices related to the seasonal abundance of migratory species, such as those found in ancient Brazilian communities celebrating fish migrations, serve as opportunities for significant social activities like funerals and marriages, and hold immense cultural importance. These events, sometimes involving fermented beverages and feasting, are supported by archaeological evidence like pottery analysis, which reveals the use of ancient tools and techniques.

More specifically, Dr. Admiraal's research on pre-colonial communities in Brazil, who celebrated seasonal fish migrations with feasts and fermented drinks around 300 BC, provides compelling evidence of these practices.

Professor Oliver Craig from BioArCh at the University of York said in a statement: “through detailed chemical analysis we were able to determine what products were present in the Cerritos pottery vessels but also how people prepared these products, through heating, storage, and potentially fermentation. This brings us one step closer to understanding the culinary role of different foodstuffs in past societies”

The discovery sheds new light on the life-ways of these pre-colonial groups, highlighting the multifaceted purposes of the Cerritos and their role in the social and economic life of the mound builders.