Univille Contributes to Discovery That Rewrites the History of Whale Hunting Worldwide; Study Published in Nature

Artifacts were found in shell middens in Babitonga Bay (Credit: Autonomous University of Barcelona)

Researchers from the University of the Region of Joinville (Univille) are part of an international study published in Nature, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, which presents unprecedented evidence that Indigenous peoples along the coast of Santa Catarina were hunting large whales approximately 5,000 years ago. Until now, the scientific consensus had placed this type of practice mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and thousands of years later.

Dione da Rocha Bandeira, from the Laboratory of Archaeology and Archaeological Heritage (LapArq), and Marta Jussara Cremer, from the Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation of Marine and Coastal Tetrapods (TetraMar), both affiliated with Univille, contributed fundamental analyses based on archaeological collections and accumulated scientific knowledge from the Babitonga Bay region (Santa Catarina).

“The publication in Nature reinforces Univille’s integration into international high-impact research networks, highlighting the university’s role in producing globally recognized scientific knowledge and in valuing the archaeological and environmental heritage of Santa Catarina,” emphasized Paulo Henrique Condeixa de França, Vice-Rector for Research, Graduate Studies and Innovation at Univille.

The Study

“The shell mound peoples were once viewed as simple shellfish gatherers. Later, we recognized that they were sophisticated fishers. Now we have discovered that they were also whale hunters, which required a very high level of social organization, maritime knowledge, and technology,” explains Prof. Dr. Dione Bandeira.

The study analyzed cetacean bone remains and bone tools from shell mounds in Babitonga Bay. By combining advanced techniques in archaeology, zooarchaeology, and molecular analysis, the researchers demonstrated that these groups had mastered specialized technologies for the active hunting of large whales much earlier than previously believed.

The participation of the Univille researchers was crucial to the interpretation of local archaeological contexts and to establishing connections between Brazilian museum collections and European research centers. The work is connected to international scientific cooperation initiatives, such as the Tradition and SeaChange projects, which involve Univille students and faculty members.

For Prof. Dr. Marta Jussara Cremer, in addition to repositioning the coast of Santa Catarina on the map of world archaeology, the research broadens our understanding of pre-colonial Indigenous maritime knowledge and provides valuable insights for contemporary marine conservation studies.

“It is an invitation for Brazilian society to recognize the depth of its coastal roots and the vital importance of its regional science.”

Illustration published in the Nature article depicting the artifacts studied