Ethnoarchaeology of the Territory and Indigenous Peoples in a Historical Situation of Isolation in the Brazilian Amazon
This research analyzes the theoretical and methodological contributions of the ethnoarchaeology of the territory to understanding the forms of occupation, circulation, and relationship with space among indigenous peoples in a historical situation of isolation in the Brazilian Amazon. Considering the ethical and political restrictions arising from the guidelines of non-contact, the study mobilizes indirect sources of analysis, such as expedition records, material remains, geographical data, and institutional documentation linked to indigenous policy. The investigation also includes material and environmental evidence associated with the territorial practices of these groups, such as temporary housing structures (tapiris), traces of forest management, lithic and ceramic artifacts, and anthropic marks on the landscape, frequently related to rivers, forests, and trails that structure their mobility routes. In the dialogue between archaeology, anthropology, and studies on indigenous territoriality, the work problematizes interpretations that associate isolation with the absence of historicity or territorial mobility, highlighting the continuity of these peoples' relationships with their territories. Also noteworthy is the centrality of traditional indigenous knowledge in the interpretation of these processes, which is still poorly evidenced in historical and institutional records. Thus, the ethnoarchaeology of the territory is configured as a relevant analytical field for the analysis of these spatial relations and for the processes of territorial recognition and protection in the Amazon.
Rosalvo Ivarra Ortiz
Specialist in Indigenism at the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), currently working in the General Coordination of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (CGIIRC), linked to the Directorate of Territorial Protection (DPT). PhD candidate in Archaeology at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of the University of São Paulo (MAE-USP), where he develops research on material artifacts of isolated and recently contacted indigenous peoples at the interface between indigenous archaeology and museology, focusing on the Legal Amazon. He is also a PhD candidate in Social Anthropology at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), with a study focused on policies of non-contact with isolated indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley, in Amazonas. Holds a master's degree in Archaeology from MAE-USP, with research conducted among the Guarani and Kaiowá peoples in southern Mato Grosso do Sul. He is a researcher at the Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Studies on Technology and Territory (LINTT–MAE/USP), the Laboratory of Interfaces between Museologies, Communication, Mediation, Publics and Reception (INTERMUSEOLOGIAS–MAE/USP), and a guest researcher at the Laboratory and Study Group on Interethnic Relations (LAGERI/DAN–UnB).
Distance, Communication, and Self-Determination Among Isolated Indigenous Peoples in the Brazilian Amazon
This presentation examines the context of isolated indigenous peoples in the state of Rondônia, northwestern Brazilian Amazon, through an anthropological approach that develops between the limits and possibilities of non-contact ethnography. The analysis is based on archival records, institutional documents, and the knowledge of neighboring indigenous communities, as well as the work of indigenous protection agencies in Brazil. Focusing on the Uru Eu Wau Wau, Massaco, and Tanaru Indigenous Lands, the discussion situates isolation within broader histories of violence, territorial dispossession, and genocidal processes. Special attention is given to regimes of indirect communication – material vestiges, objects, signs in the landscape, and interspecific mediations – understood as semiotic and relational practices. Isolation, therefore, is understood not as absence or withdrawal, but approached as a historically constituted mode of relationality, through which autonomy, difference, and self-determination are continuously negotiated.
Amanda Villa
Doctoral candidate in Social Anthropology at the Postgraduate Program in Social Anthropology of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences of the University of São Paulo (PPGAS–FFLCH–USP). She holds a degree in Social Sciences from the State University of Campinas and a master's degree in Social Anthropology from the Postgraduate Program in Social Anthropology of the Federal University of São Carlos. Currently, she is a researcher at the Center for Amerindian Studies (CEstA–USP) and a member of the Observatory of Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (Opi). Her research experience in the area of indigenous ethnology focuses on the Middle Guaporé region (RO), where she has been developing investigations on the social phenomenon of isolation among indigenous populations in the region for over ten years.
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