Archaeology during the Portuguese Dictatorship: The Role of Regional Institutions

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Portugal's authoritarian regime, the conservative and nationalist Estado Novo (1933–1974), attempted to create a nationwide network of commissions dedicated to the supervision of archaeological, historical, and artistic monuments. The Municipal Commissions for Art and Archaeology (MCAAs, Comissões Municipais de Arte e Arqueologia, in the original) were created as early as 1937, with some lasting until 1977, three years after the fall of the regime. This time frame, 1937–1977, makes the MCAAs exceptional case studies for understanding the context in which archaeological activities developed during and immediately after the dictatorship. In this paper I will briefly present some preliminary results of the MCAAs research project, which aims to determine what specific activities these MCAAs carried out in relation to archaeology and cultural heritage, whether they contributed to the strengthening of the regime at the local level, and whether there is any lasting influence of the MCAAs on the development of Portuguese archaeology since the end of the dictatorship.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39753.0