Anthropology

Gurupá: Past, Present, and Future
(215 Dauer Hall, Monday 4/11, 2:00 – 4:30 pm)
 
Sponsored by UF Tropical Conservation and Development Program,
Center of Latin American Studies and Department of Anthropology.
 
Gurupá, an agroextractivist community along the lower Amazon River, is well-known to social scientists through the iconic ethnography Amazon Town: A Study of Man in the Tropics (1953), by Charles Wagley, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Florida and pioneer in Amazon studies.  This group of lectures considers the legacy of Gurupá based on recent interdisciplinary research conducted by US and Brazilian scholars. They situate Gurupá in the deeper history and archaeology of the Lower Amazon, as recently revealed through in-depth studies conducted over the past two years.  Rather than a remote outpost, Gurupá was a major hub of interaction and thriving center in late pre-Columbian times and in various historical periods, including the descendant communities that are active participants in contemporary research. Results are considered in the context of ongoing practices and challenges to contemporary groups as they struggle to improve their future and that of the Amazon.
 
Dr. Richard Pace (Middle Tennessee State University): 2:15-2:35 pm
Gurupá: Past, Present, and Future
Dr. Helena Lima (Museu Paraense Emilío Goeldi): 3:30-3:50 pm
Archaeological research at the mouth of the Xingu: first results and future perspectives
Dr. Nigel J. Smith (University of Florida): 3:05-3:25 pm
Ethnobotany in Gurupá
 Dr. Anna T. Browne Ribeiro (University of Kentucky Louisville): 2:40-3:00 pm
Remembering places forgotten: material traces, social memory, and senses of place on the Lower Xingu River, Pará, Brazil
Discussant: Cristiana Barreto (Universidade de São Paulo): 3:55-4:15