Niède Guidon
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Niède Guidon is a Brazilian archaeologist who was born on the 12th of March, 1933 in Jaú, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. She is the head archaeologist at the Parque Nacional Serra de Capivara in Piauí, Brazil where she and her colleagues have discovered over 800 pre-historic sites regarding the occupation of America by human beings. The park encompasses an area protected by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and of which Niède is responsible for the preservation, development and management. Her findings and excavations have led to the possibility of previously believed early-American dates to be exceeded by more than 30,000 years.
Contributions Niède's contributions to the Brazilian community have been more than appreciated and her efforts have been greatly admired and recognized in both community and archaeological development. She has set up a cultural center, the Musée de l'Homme Américain, and numerous community support centers in local communities that offer civil services, education, medical aide, and training in ecology, prehistory, and restoration of archaeological artifacts. Niède has also made attempts at improving the educational opportunites in Brazil by leading petitions to build schools. She successfully established five new schools in local communities with a teaching faculty from the University of São Paulo, but they have slowly declined in activity due to the lack of governmental structure. A ceramics business was begun in her efforts (Cerâmica de Capivora), and when it began turning a profit she gave the reigns over to local entrepreneurs to assist in their business endeavors. Not only does she contribute to the welfare of children alike, she does her best to offer opportunities to the less appreciated female community of Brazil; after male employees failed to keep a sanitary working environment, Niède now only hires females as the park guards, whom have proved to be a successful alternative.
Niède holds a degree in Natural History from the University of São Paulo and a doctorette in Archaeology from the Sorbonne in Paris, France. In 1978 she petitioned the Brazilian government to create the Parque Nacional Serra de Capivara which solidified the next 25 years of her archaeological dedication. Her findings were first brought to the spotlight in 1986 with a publication in the British magazine "Nature", in which she claimed to have discovered 32,000 year old hearths and human artifacts. In 1988 she began a partnership with IBAMA (Brazilian Institution for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) which led to the continuation of her excavations.
[edit] Pedra Furada
Of Niède's most famous historical sites is the Toca do Boqueira de Pedra Furada (more appropriately Pedra Furada) which is located in the Sao Raimundo Nonato region in Brazil. She came across structure resembling a bonfire equipped with arranged logs and stones that date back to 48,700 years ago, though there is undisputed evidence dating back to 10,000 years. Pedra Furada is a rock shelter 55 feet deep that portrays over 1,150 pre-historic images along its walls. Here she has found thousands of artifacts that possibly suggest human handiwork.
−Donning a classic and casual style, Niède Guidon can usually be seen wearing old tennis shoes, jeans and a t-shirt during her typical 18-hour, 25 kilometer (walks) workdays. She has discovered over 800 historical sites of which over 600 are accompanied by paintings. She has recorded over 35,000 archaeological images and published multiple papers and books.
Geofacts or Artifacts? Her controversial findings have questioned the conventional wisdom that humans came to the Americas just 15,000 years ago, while some of her sites date to 45,000+ years ago. The most apparent argument in the Pedra Furada excavations is the questioning of Guidon's findings to be "geofacts" or "artifacts", whereas geofacts are fragments created by the natural environment and geological conditions. While American archaeologists are on either side of the fence, some accepting the dates unconditionally while others opt for dismissal, but the evidence keeps piling up. With numerous staff members and multiple projects continuously in motion, Guidon's hope of rewriting history as we know it keeps building itself a stronger case as each site is more carefully observed.
In 2005, Niède was awarded the Prince Claus Fund Award, an award or grant given to individuals/organizations in hopes of providing more opportunities for the future. She is now retired on a pension from the French government at the age of 73, but continues to lead excavations and push for the development of Brazil as a whole.
