Lapa do Santo

Lapa do Santo is an archaeological site in Brazil's Minas Gerais region, notable for its rich early human history dating back approximately 12,000 years. This karstic rockshelter was used by hunter-gatherer communities with low mobility and a plant and small to mid-sized mammal-based subsistence strategy. The site has yielded significant evidence of complex mortuary practices, including the earliest known decapitation in the New World, involving tooth removal, mutilation, and possible cannibalism. Artistic expressions from the early Holocene are found here, including anthropomorphic low-relief rock art. The site offers invaluable insight into early human life in South America, their subsistence strategies, and ritualistic behaviors.