Lucas Bond Reis

Bridging Indigenous philosophies and Archaeological Practice, this research explores the Southern Je’s long-term trajectory of interactions with plants, land, and other peoples in the Upper Itaja’ Valley (UIV), Brazil. By arguing that the rise of social complexity in the Southern Brazilian Plateau around 1000 BP is associated with the arrival of outsiders, scholars suggest that warfare has catalyzed the increase of inequality among the Southern Je, resulting in power centralization according to prestige and inheritance. Challenging that understanding, this research investigates how Southern Je complexities were composed and transformed by bundled relationships, contemplating the Lakl’n’-Xokleng (Je speakers) millenary past in the region. The goals are to assess (1) how people, plants, and land bundled interactions shaped the Southern Je settlement organization, land use, and relationships with outsiders; and (2) what Indigenous philosophies can inform and how they influence the composition of complexity and inequality. A pedestrian survey, site excavation, drone mapping, and GIS analysis will be deployed to attain these objectives. Radiocarbon dating, phytoliths identification, and analysis of lithics, ceramics, and architecture will aid in the investigation of continuities and changes. Interviews with key Lakl’n’-Xokleng elders will contribute to the interpretation of bundled complexities and inequalities according to Indigenous perspectives.