Colonialism and Tupi Persistence on the South shore of São Paulo state - Brazil

Summary

During the last few decades, many studies deconstructed the traditional colonial narratives about the Americas. They rethought the history with a less eurocentric point of view, emphasizing the dynamic cultural values established among European, Indigenous peoples and Africans, contributing together to combine new and old social practices in colonial situations. This work aims an alternative narrative about Brazilian indigenous peoples, which uses a Tupi settlement located in Peruíbe on the South shore of the State of São Paulo, Brazil as a background. These are ruins of a Franciscan settlement (XVII cent.) and several older/more recent vestiges (15th.-19th. cent.). They indicate the historical persistence of Tupi people along centuries, which contrasts with the narrative centered on the extinction of this group. Thus, archaeological evidences play an important role on the reinterpretation of the colonial history and also identifies short-term events within the habitus concept. This work uses ceramics and other evidence for the construction of a more inclusive history of Tupi people. The results have indicated indicating the permanence of these peoples since pre-colonial times up to the nineteenth century, wherein they negotiated cultural practices as creative players in a constant process of self-determination in a long term history.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16779