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South America
Brazil 2016
Iporanga and Maxiliano Cavern
Iporanga town, São Paulo State
In 2016 while I was in Brazil to work on the Bastos site and do a knapping workshop, my colleagues Astolfo Araujo and Mercedes Okumura took me to see a rock
shelter site in southern São Paulo State. The site had been tested by an amateur where he found several burials and an early date. It is in a State park and only accessible with a guide. It involved a challenging hike through the forest, seven river crossings and trails up and down mountain sides. We also wore 'gators' because of the frequency of poisonous snakes. Unfortunately we didn't see any. The river was cold clear and fast in some places. At one point we had to walk in the river for several hundred meters. It
was numbing. The
river issues from a
substantial cavern;
Maxiliano. We investigated the rock shelter and there is a lot of potential for further discoveries. Then our guide took us through the caverns. They are active with some areas of stalagmites and other formations. It was very strenuous.
Trail through the forest
River crossing preparation
Astolfo at the cavern mouth
Cavern mouth from inside.
Merecdes crossing the river
It was a really interesting adventure and by the time we got back to our truck I really understood the concept of 'rubber legs'. I am currently included in a grant proposal to do archaeological work in the area with Mercedes. Perhaps it will include returning to Maxiliano Cavern
Stalagmite