sambaqui

sambaqui [MC].
Local name for Archaic Stage shell middens on the Brazilian coast of South America. Some examples date from about 4000 BC, although the floruit of the culture is the period 3500 BC down to 2000 BC. One especially distinctive element of material culture is the well-finished polished stone effigies of birds and fish. Each effigy has a hollow on the back surface and it has been suggested that they were used in the ritual taking of snuff.