Afro-Brazilian Archaeology

Abstract

In the last twenty years, Brazilian archaeologists have been bearing fruitful results for advancing our knowledge about African diaspora. They have scrutinized a broad spectrum of subjects: plantations' slave quarters, urban spaces, cemeteries, religious houses, and past and contemporary maroon settlements. With research covering most regions of Brazil, archaeologists have also provided various platforms for interdisciplinary analyses and collaborative scholarship. In this entry we take up the challenge of reviewing the arc of African diaspora archaeology in Brazil, addressing the advances undertaken in the last two decades, exactly on those areas in which we have seen some of the most recent developments: spiritual practices and ritual studies; and cultural creativity. Discussing both issues, we will emphasize the Afro-Brazilian agentive action, drawing our attention to spiritual practices and cultural creativity as means for contesting social control and for engaging with the hostile worlds of slave regimes.