Africans were not alone. A view over African experience and expression in relation to other ‘subaltern’ groups

Summary

During the illegal slave trade period, thousands of Africans arrived in Brazil. A coastal community in this period, where free, poor and white-mestizo (branco e pardo) group of pottery makers lived side by side with Africans and their descendants, will be the subject of this presentation. From the archaeological perspective, locally made pottery in these contexts is frequently seen by Brazilian researchers as having African influence. They can, however, be observed in another perspective, with the participation of the ‘free and poor’ population. The objective of this presentation is to bring up the question of the acquaintanceship among different groups in social and political disadvantage during Brazilian slavery period. It will be considered the material expression of a silent dialogue between slaves and the so called “poor and free laborers”. How the production of pots by the white-mestizo population interacted with slaves, the main users of these objects in the domestic services? It would be argued that the aesthetic of these objects could express these social interactions and even trading venues and achievements of Africans in slavery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Enslavement and the Black Diaspora   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-73,03