Por um museu do forte vivo: Arqueologia Pàºblica junto aos quilombolas do Forte Pràncipe da Beira em tempos de pandemia
Resource type
Book chapter
Creator (person)
Cardoso de Mello, Louise
Date published
2025
Abstract
This paper presents Por um Museu do Forte Vivo, the heritage awareness and educational project developed alongside the Forte Pràncipe da Beira maroon-descendant community, with the aim of accompanying the return of the archaeological material rescued from the fire that ravaged Brazil’s National Museum to the Amazonian fortress. Inspired by the Museu Nacional Vive campaign, the project was designed with two questions in mind. Firstly, how to return this archaeological collection to society, and more specifically, to the local maroon-descendant community, not as scraps, but as material testimonies to a new chapter to be incorporated into the biography of these fragments and artefacts. Secondly, how this process of resignification prompts us to rethink the way the archaeological collection is represented at the local Fortress’ Museum. By means of a teaching-
-learning methodology derived from the need to adapt to the restrictions brought about by the pandemic, this article contributes to the debate on how archaeology may intersect with the production of knowledge in schools by focusing on the elaboration of school handouts as a key tool of Public Archaeology to bridge the gap between academia and schooling. Due to the inclusion of the Pràncipe da Beira Fortress in Unesco’s World Heritage tentative list, this project pursues two main objectives. On the one hand, it intends to collectively build the significance of the Pràncipe da Beira Fortress, whereas on the other, it aims to “resurrect” not only the archaeological material rescued, but also the Fortress’ Museum, by making it rise from the ashes of oblivion and disuse, to become a living museum with a new lease of life as an active part of the life and struggle of the local maroon-descendant community.
Book title
Pràªmio Luiz de Castro Faria: Artigos premiados entre os anos de 2017 a 2023
Editor
Medeiros da Silva, Francini
da Rosa Leal, Ana Paula
Publisher
IPHAN
Place of publication
Brasilia