Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Ministry of Health: Final toll from airstrike on car in Zebdine, Nabatieh District: Two martyrs, four injured
Egyptian media: Indirect talks between Hamas and Israelis begin in Sharm el-Sheikh.
AFP: France's new PM Sebastein Lecornu resigns just hours after unveiling cabinet.
Trump: Technical teams will meet again on Monday in Egypt to discuss and clarify the final details, and the first phase is scheduled to be completed this week
US President Donald Trump: Talks with Hamas have been very successful and are moving at a rapid pace
Local sources in Aleppo: Violent clashes erupt between the SDF and factions affiliated with the transitional authority on the Deir Hafer and Tishrin Dam fronts in the eastern Aleppo countryside
Israeli media: Interceptor missiles fired in an attempt to shoot down the drone
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded amid suspected "enemy aircraft" infiltrating the Eilat area
Israeli media: "Israel" won the battle but lost the war strategically and politically
Israeli media: Ben Gurion Airport's airspace closed to air traffic following missile launch from Yemen

Ancient village in Amazon possibly based on Pleiades star cluster

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Art Newspaper
  • 14 Aug 2023 14:49
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

The Brazilian village was used for around 500 years, until the 10th century.

  • x
  • A bowl from Formoso that possibly had a ritual or ceremonial function (Alexandre Guida Navarro/The Art Newspaper)
    A bowl from Formoso that possibly had a ritual or ceremonial function (Alexandre Guida Navarro/The Art Newspaper)

It is possible that a prehistoric town in Brazil served as a site for ritual or ceremonial gatherings with a Pleiades star cluster as its inspiration. Following a survey of the pre-Hispanic stilt houses in northeastern Brazil's estuaries of the Maranho River, archaeologists came across the discovery. Formoso was one of the settlements examined, and it stood out due to its distinctive layout, elaborate pottery, size, and duration of use.

In the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, archaeologist Christopher Davis of McHenry County College in Illinois published the research with archaeologist Alexandre Guida Navarro of the Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Brazil, and said it looks to them "that the Formoso site may have been an elite ritual meeting site where sacred knowledge (like astronomy) was shared."

In Formoso, the crew investigated and found clusters of stilts that originally held larger structures than would be expected for residences, as well as unusually ornate ceramics with a fusion of local and foreign forms. 

Formoso, one of the several stilt villages examined, also demonstrated the longest period of continuous use; radiocarbon data showed that it was founded as early as 441CE and was sustained for around 500 years -- a marker of its significance.

Intriguingly, Navarro observed that the clusters of stilts that supported Formoso's buildings didn't follow the typical rectangular or circular patterns of Amazonian stilt towns or villages on land. The result was an odd design for Formoso. 

"We then considered other possible construction patterns (for defense, as fishing weirs, to reduce drag resistance of water currents or wind) and those scenarios didn’t fit either," Davis says.

Related News

Israeli bill uses archaeology as cover to usurp more Palestinian land

51,000-year old cave painting oldest evidence of storytelling

The two researchers didn't notice Formoso's striking resemblance to the Pleiades, a star cluster that was very important to Lower Amazonian tribes, until they started looking at constellation patterns.

"Finding a resemblance to a constellation was a bit of a surprise, but it was not surprising that the star cluster was the Pleiades," Davis says. "If any astronomy marker were used, it makes sense that it would have been the Pleiades."

According to Davis, the Pleiades' emergence in the Lower Amazon signaled the start of the dry season, a period during which residents repaired structural damage to their homes, restored and relocated fishing weirs and dams, and prepared their fields for the upcoming growing season.

It was also the time of year when some civilizations staged rites of passage ceremonies, and it was the most advantageous for individuals to travel great distances for business or to visit loved ones. The star cluster itself was interpreted as a beehive, a honeycomb, a valuable trade good, or a bundle of fire sticks for clearing the fields.

"It was very challenging to find ways to test whether or not the similarity to the Pleiades was just by chance," Davis says. "We had to learn and calculate several statistical correlation tests and probability to demonstrate that the resemblance is greater than 95% confidence—the standard level of confidence for scientific significance."

Together, the evidence from Formoso gives a suggestion that the village was a seasonal ceremonial or ritual center, where people from various locations gathered, and that its arrangement was a homage to the Pleiades as a changing seasons' herald.

Formoso's similarity to the Pleiades is now unmatched among the Amazonian stilt settlements, and it may continue to be so even with more study. 

  • archeology
  • ancient civilization
  • Hispanic
  • Brazil
  • star cluster
  • Archaeologists
  • Formoso
  • Amazon

Most Read

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

  • West Asia
  • 30 Sep 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
ap

'Israel' pays influencers $7K per post to whitewash Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Hezbollah's representative in Iran, Sayyed Abdullah Safieddine, during an interview with Al Mayadeen which aired on October 6, 2025 (Al Mayadeen)
Politics

Tehran never interferes in Hezbollah decisions: Representative in Iran

Smoke billows over the Gaza Strip following an Israeli bombardment, as seen from southern Palestine, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Indirect talks for a ceasefire in Gaza begin in Sharm El-Sheikh: Egypt

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prepare to attend a military parad in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, Tuesday, August 12, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Security forces seal Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh districts

Amsterdam Captain Mohammed Ali Mohiuddin, who took part in the Global Sumud mission to Gaza, talks to Al Mayadeen on October 6, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

GSF captain says despite abuse, 'Israel weaker than spider's web'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS