The Empire Reloaded: Portuguese archaeology, lusotropicalism and the new age of discovery

Summary

Portuguese historical archaeologies (locally known as «post-medieval» or «modern») emerged in the 1990s as part of the academic diversification of the discipline and the rise of CRM projects in urban areas. Since late 1990s new generations of archaeologists have been committed to this sub-field, producing an increasing number of theses, dissertations, publications and international projects. However, much of the intellectual effort put in the sub-field is strongly attached to culture-history notions of the past and embedded of nationalist concepts, the so-called lusotropicalism. In this paper I will examine the development of historical archaeology among Portuguese archaeologists and look at how it is contributing to the recreation of nationalist narratives in the context of the European economic crisis.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Questions that Will Count in the Future: Global Perspectives on Historical Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-7,05