Living Things: fishermen, archaeologists and fish-traps in Amazon, Brazil.

Summary

This presentation deals with the use of ancient fish-traps by fishermen of Vila de Joanes, Ilha do Marajó, Amazon, concerning the status of these sites as a living thing and their role in the constitution of memorial narratives about fishing. Based on research conducted with a group of fishermen I suggest that: a) the contemporary use of the fish-traps is not an act of destruction, but a memorial engagement with the past; b) the continuous process of decay and reconstruction of the fish-traps by fishermen are part of the social life of these structures; c) there is a gap between the official discourse of conservation and the sensible relationships of these communities with the things of the past. Aiming at these reflections, I consider the discussions proposed by Smith (2011) and Holtorf (2005), in particular, the ideas that "heritage does not exist" and that "preservation destroys the living memories", respectively.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage