Lagoa Santa (Holy Lagoon) is a municipality and region in the state of
Minas Gerais,
Brazil. It is located 37 km north-northeast from
Belo Horizonte and belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte. In 2020 the estimated population was 65,657.[1]
Cradle of Brazilian paleontology
The Danish palaeontologist
Peter Wilhelm Lund, known as the father of Brazilian paleontology, discovered a cave filled with human bones (15 skeletons) and
megafauna (very large mammals) dating to the
Pleistocene era.
Eugen Warming assisted Lund 1863–1866, and described the flora of the area and the adaptations of the plants to the hazards of
cerrado – drought and fire – in a work that still stands as a paradigm of ecological study (
'Lagoa Santa'). The tomb of illustrator
Peter Andreas Brandt, also an assistant of Lund, is located in the town.[2]
The municipality contains 56% of the 2,004 hectares (4,950 acres)
Sumidouro State Park, created in 1980, which protects the cave where Lund made his discovery of the "Lagoa Santa Man".[3]
A century later, in the 1970s, French archeologist
Annette Laming-Emperaire carried out excavations in the area and discovered the oldest human fossil in Brazil, over 11 thousand years old, given the nickname
Luzia.
Lagoa Santa (Holy Lagoon) is a municipality and region in the state of
Minas Gerais,
Brazil. It is located 37 km north-northeast from
Belo Horizonte and belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte. In 2020 the estimated population was 65,657.[1]
Cradle of Brazilian paleontology
The Danish palaeontologist
Peter Wilhelm Lund, known as the father of Brazilian paleontology, discovered a cave filled with human bones (15 skeletons) and
megafauna (very large mammals) dating to the
Pleistocene era.
Eugen Warming assisted Lund 1863–1866, and described the flora of the area and the adaptations of the plants to the hazards of
cerrado – drought and fire – in a work that still stands as a paradigm of ecological study (
'Lagoa Santa'). The tomb of illustrator
Peter Andreas Brandt, also an assistant of Lund, is located in the town.[2]
The municipality contains 56% of the 2,004 hectares (4,950 acres)
Sumidouro State Park, created in 1980, which protects the cave where Lund made his discovery of the "Lagoa Santa Man".[3]
A century later, in the 1970s, French archeologist
Annette Laming-Emperaire carried out excavations in the area and discovered the oldest human fossil in Brazil, over 11 thousand years old, given the nickname
Luzia.