Cave Paleontology in the Lagoa Santa Karst

Abstract

In Brazil, the majority of fossils of Quaternary tetrapods were found in caves. Among the fossil sites, the Lagoa Santa Karst stands out, especially regarding mammal paleontology. This chapter aims to present a review of the paleontological research in the area, which started in the beginning of the nineteenth century with Danish naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund. Besides having discovered 22 extinct mammal species, Lund also described eight living species. Lund also performed studies about other verte- brates such as birds. He was also the fi rst to discover remains of humans associated with the extinct megafauna. It took nearly one hundred years before systematic paleontological research in Lagoa Santa was resumed, through the work of members of the Academia Mineira de Ci ê ncias (Minas Gerais Academy of Sciences) and National Museum at Rio de Janeiro. Among the scientists, the names of An í bal Mattos, H.V. Walter, Fausto Souza Cunha, and Carlos de Paula Couto stand out. Up to now, the life and works of Peter Lund are still being researched. In the 2000s, more sophisticated techniques were applied to Lagoa Santa fossil sites, including radiometric dating and a taphonomical approach, allowing the con fi rmation of the contemporaneity between humans and the extinct fauna. Efforts were also made toward understanding the mechanisms associated with the formation of the fossil- iferous cave deposits in the area.