Analysing local settlement systems: an experience with full-coverage survey in the middle Ribeira Valley, São Paulo State

Abstract

This article discusses the methodological approach and the research design of an archaeological survey conducted on a small valley in the middle Ribeira basin, south of São Paulo state, a very hilly and forested environment. The main expectation of the project was understand the local characteristics of the Archaic period settlement system, as well as of the contemporary traditional community that still lives in the same place. Due to low surface visibility in the area, full-coverage survey has been applied with a tight grid of sub-surface test pits all over the valley, with excellent results in terms of discovering many different kinds of sites (including a whole occupation from the ceramic period) and its spatial distribution patterns.