Guarani Space and Time: a study about occupation, chronology and pre-colonial migration dynamics in the Taquari/Antas River Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

This study examines spatial and temporal relations of pre-colonial Guarani occupation in the Taquari/Antas River Basin.The perimeter of occupation and itsestablishment inthe landscapeare discussedas well as local and regional chronology and migrations. The data wereused to map 121 Guarani sites in the center-south portion of the river basin, in a perimeter of lowlands surrounding the highlands of the Plateau of the Araucarias.Results show that therewas a long regional occupation between the 14^th and 18^th centuries. The Guarani settlementsin this region occurred at the confluenceof the Jacuí and Taquari/Antasrivers, in a forcedexpansion from south to north, where contemporary settlements can be observed throughout the perimeter, and sites show evidence of longpermanence. Such dynamics can be understood as forms ofenvironmentmanagement, enabling village maintenance, allowing demographic growth and furtherexpansion. Apart fromdemographic motivation, the regional limits of the Guarani occupation were probably defined consciously, after an initial expansion impulse and ensuingstability, which must have defined forcedoccupation as a strategy of territorial politics.

Keywords
Guaraní archaeology; Lowlands of South America; Taquari/Antas River Basin; Spatial analysis; Chronology