| Resumo: |
This study analyzes the use of aquatic mammals by prehistoric societies of Santa Catarina Island, Southern Brazil. Samples from two archaeological sites were examined: Rio do Meio (RM) and Porto do Rio Vermelho (SCPRV). Nine aquatic mammal species were found: a) pinnipeds: Arctocephalus australis (Zimmerman, 1783) and A. tropicalis (Gray, 1872), and b) cetaceans: Eubalaena australis (Desmoulins, 1822), Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758, Stenella frontalis (Cuvier, 1829), Steno bredanensis (Lesson, 1828), Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821), Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844) and a non-identified rorqual from the genus Balaenoptera Lacépède, 1804. Three especies of semi-aquatic mammals were also recorded: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Linnaeus, 1758), Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) and Lontra longicaudis (Olfers,1818). Both sites presented similar species diversity, although abundance was greater at the most recent site (RM). There were more samples from axial skeletons, but in genera the anatomical regions were homogeneously distributed among the identified taxa.
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