Ancient Individual

A woman buried in Brazil in the Shell Mound era

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A woman buried in Brazil during the Sambaqui Culture of Limão

A fragment of the ancient world, preserved across millennia in strands of DNA.

EPS001

1442 CE - 1616 CE

Female

Brazil

Explore Their Story Discover Your Shared Roots

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Chapter I

Identity

The biological and cultural markers that define this ancient individual

Sample ID

EPS001

Date Range

1442 CE - 1616 CE

Cultural Period

Sambaqui Culture of Limão

Biological Sex

Female

mtDNA Haplogroup

Y-DNA Haplogroup

N/A (Female)

Social Role

Gatherer (AI estimate, era-typical)

Chapter II

Place

Where this individual was discovered

Country Brazil

Locality Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast)

Coordinates -23.8900, -46.4200

Chapter III

Time

When this individual lived in the broader context of human history

EPS001 1442 CE - 1616 CE

Chapter IV

Story

The narrative of this ancient life

Overview

Sambaqui societies left behind prominent shell mounds that record recurring coastal use. “Limão Sambaqui” designates a regional pattern within this broader tradition, where mounds formed through repeated food processing and occupation activities.

Region & Environment

The setting is Brazil’s coast, where coastal ecosystems provided dependable access to shellfish and other marine resources. Lagoons, bays, and sheltered shorelines created favorable conditions for repeated harvesting, while estuaries and river systems supported additional foraging options.

Historical Context

From approximately 4000 to 1000 BCE, groups repeatedly returned to coastal locales that offered rich and predictable food. Over many generations, these repeated occupations accumulated into layered shell mounds, preserving sequences of daily life in archaeological stratigraphy.

Populations & Lifeways

Sambaqui-associated populations are best characterized as coastal foragers and fishermen with economies strongly tied to marine gathering. Shellfish procurement and processing formed a substantial part of subsistence and, by extension, of the refuse that built up the mounds. Seasonal movement likely occurred, but mound areas served as long-term focal points.

Archaeology & Material Culture

The principal archaeological evidence is the mound itself: stratified shell and other remnants of food processing and habitation. Assemblages commonly include stone tools and other locally sourced materials recovered in mound contexts. The mound’s construction history—multiple layers rather than a single dump—indicates prolonged or recurrent use.

Culture & Society

The scale and persistence of sambaqui mounds imply social coordination and shared norms regarding where to gather and how to deposit refuse. The “Limão” label reflects recognizable regional traditions within the larger sambaqui complex, observable in patterns of deposition and artifact associations.

Legacy & Transition

Sambaqui mounds remain critical for understanding Holocene coastal adaptations in Brazil. Changes after this interval likely involved shifts in how coastal resources were used and how communities organized settlement, though continued reliance on marine habitats is a durable feature of the region’s long-term past.

Chapter V

Genetics

These comparisons show genetic similarity, not identity or origin. The populations listed are those whose genomes show statistical alignment to this ancient individual.

Similarity reflects shared history, not shared identity. These are analytical comparisons, not claims about who this person was.

Modern Genetic Admixture

This analysis compares the DNA profile with present-day reference populations, showing statistical similarity to modern reference populations from different regions. The excavation site records where this individual was found, not a fixed modern genetic identity.

America 94.2%

Native American 94.2%

Asia 5.7%

Northern Asian 3.9%

Mongolian 3.9%

Central Asian, Northern Indian & Pakistani 1.5%

Indian 1.5%

Context

Related Samples

This individual exists within a broader network of ancient samples. No ancient genome stands alone.

Sample ID	Culture/Period	Date	Location	Action
CAP007	Lagoa Santa Culture	8547 BCE	Capelinha (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
CBE003	Sambaqui Culture of Cabeçuda	1685 BCE	Cabeçuda (South Coast) , Brazil	View
CBE004	Sambaqui Culture of Cabeçuda	1386 BCE	Cabeçuda (South Coast) , Brazil	View
CUB002	Sambaqui Culture of Cubatão	756 BCE	Cubatão I (South Coast), Brazil	View
CUB008	Sambaqui Culture of Cubatão	807 BCE	Cubatão I (South Coast), Brazil	View
EPS001	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	1442 CE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
EPS002	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	811 BCE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
EPS003	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	36 BCE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
EPS004	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	76 CE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
EPS005	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	50 BCE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
EPS011	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	850 BCE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
GA4002	Sambaqui Culture of Galheta IV	644 CE	Galheta IV (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT001	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	720 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT002	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	721 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT009	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	455 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT010	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	742 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT011	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	700 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT012	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	410 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT013	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	723 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT014	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	184 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT015	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	364 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT018	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	541 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT019	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	553 CE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT020	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	403 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT021	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	400 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT022	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	700 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT023	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	700 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT025	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	719 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
JBT026	Sambaqui Culture of Jabuticabeira II	395 BCE	Jabuticabeira II (South Coast), Brazil	View
PAI001	Sambaqui Culture	7315 BCE	Central, Loca do Suin, Brazil	View
PLM001	Sambaqui Culture	1426 CE	Palmeiras-Xingu (Southeast Amazonia), Brazil	View
SAM014	Kaingang Burial Culture of Sambaqui	1699 CE	Kaingang (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View
TDA002	Brazilian Archaic Lagoa de Encantada Hunter-Gatherer	2900 BCE	Pedra do Alexandre (Rio Grande du Norde, Carnauba dos Dantas), Brazil	View
VSM001	Sambaqui Culture of Vau-Una	1318 CE	Northeast, Vau - Sta.M.Vitória, Brazil	View

Sample ID	Culture/Period	Date	Location	Action
EPS001	Sambaqui Culture of Limão	1442 CE	Sambaqui do Limão (Southeast Coast), Brazil	View

Sources

References

Scientific publications and genetic data that inform this profile.

Scientific Publication

Genomic history of coastal societies from eastern South America

Authors Ferraz T, Suarez Villagran X, Nägele K, Radzevičiūtė R, Barbosa Lemes R et al.

Abstract

Sambaqui (shellmound) societies are among the most intriguing archaeological phenomena in pre-colonial South America, extending from approximately 8,000 to 1,000 years before present (yr BP) across 3,000 km on the Atlantic coast. However, little is known about their connection to early Holocene hunter-gatherers, how this may have contributed to different historical pathways and the processes through which late Holocene ceramists came to rule the coast shortly before European contact. To contribute to our understanding of the population history of indigenous societies on the eastern coast of South America, we produced genome-wide data from 34 ancient individuals as early as 10,000 yr BP from four different regions in Brazil. Early Holocene hunter-gatherers were found to lack shared genetic drift among themselves and with later populations from eastern South America, suggesting that they derived from a common radiation and did not contribute substantially to later coastal groups. Our analyses show genetic heterogeneity among contemporaneous Sambaqui groups from the southeastern and southern Brazilian coast, contrary to the similarity expressed in the archaeological record. The complex history of intercultural contact between inland horticulturists and coastal populations becomes genetically evident during the final horizon of Sambaqui societies, from around 2,200 yr BP, corroborating evidence of cultural change.

View in DNAGENICS View Original Publication

G25 Coordinates

These coordinates represent a position in genetic space, a tool for comparison, not a conclusion. You can use these to perform custom admixture analysis in G25 Studio.

EPS001,0.05692332,-0.3107264,0.11192918,0.10051172,-0.11079538,-0.01182628,-0.29592622,-0.34910938,-0.01373596,-0.01878202,-0.00046964,-0.0014948,-0.001747,0.02454354,-0.00642212,0.0005863,0.00488118,0.00159412,0.00209966,-0.0019803,-0.00069812,0.0072652,-0.00178156,-0.00592762,-0.00653691

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