O Paleolítico da jazida de Linda a Pastora

Separata da obra: "Da Pré-história à história : homenagem a Octávio da Veiga Ferreira"

Testemunhos megalíticos de Afonso Vicente (Alcoutim) : nota preliminar

A existência de uma longa pedra talhada, tombada no terreno, e de outras estruturas, nos arredores de Afonso Vicente, era conhecida por um de nós (A. N. J.), desde a sua meninice, dado ser natural daquela povoação. Contudo, só muito mais tarde lhe atribuiria importância arqueológica, visto suspeitar da correspondência daquela pedra a um menir e de um a outra estrutura, situada nas proximidades, a um sepulcro megalítico.

Sobre a presença do cobre na Mina da Cumiada : nota prévia

A denominada mina de Santo Estêvão integra vários locais, onde se identificaram, na segunda metade do século XIX, vestígios de mineração pré-históricos (Veiga, 1889,49; 1891, 79). Um desses locais, junto à povoação de Cumiada, foi objecto de trabalhos sumários de exploração, nos meados do século passado, os quais se limitaram a desentulhar as antigas explorações, não tendo tido seguimento (Azevedo, 1854,7). Segundo o geólogo J. B. SchiappadeAzevedo, "A NE da Cumiada, as boccas das escavações estão sobre uma possante massa de ferro magnetico, contendo também o cobre vermelho, cuja existência se denuncia logo à superfície pelas manchas azues e verdes do carbonato, resultante da dessulfatação da pyrite (. .. ): o cobre nativo apparece em quase todos os trabalhos, umas vezes nos calcareos, outras no seio de uma massa d'argila vermelha (. .. )".

A cultura de índio, seu menino, vem de longe aqui : formação histórica e territorialização dos Tremembé/CE

This dissertation is based on the ethnography of a strategic selection of three Tremembé ethnic situations, which are situated in the backlands of Acaraú and Itarema, municipalities located in Ceará State (Northeast Brazil). My main aims are the following. Firstly, I reconstitute the historical and social formation of three localities, called Lagoa dos Negros, Telhas, and Queimadas, related to a particular origin myth which refers to Almofala, an extinct colonial Aldeamento in the seashore, where the Tremembé indians and other native populations were converted and gathered under missionary administration. According to the origin myth, these three localities were set up after a strong drought which happened in 1888 (the so called three eights) when a group of Tremembé families moved to the countryside and established close to the Lagoa dos Negros and, later on, they were segmented into smaller groups which started to live in other areas and places not far from the former location. Notably, I develop an anthropological approach to understand the historical formation of these three localities. Secondly, I analyze some processes of territorialization, which were emerged from the 1980s and had important consequences to these indigenous families throughout the next two decades. This historical dimension is re-appropriated and ressignified in ethnic terms. A third point of my work is the analysis of the construction of territorialities and also the cultural and symbolic dimensions which are formulated by the Tremembé Indians who live in these localities. Therefore, I investigate some cultural traditions and rituals, such as the Torém dance, but I also examine their multiple semantics, which constitute a transversal direction throughout the history understood by the Tremembé of the different social situations I researched. To sum up, there is a process of cultural actualization, which is still going on and presents itself through the ludic sphere as well as their political and religions dimensions, which are usually associated to the ritual presentation of the Torém

Povoações, freguesias e vilas na Paraíba Colonial: Pombal e Sousa, 1697-1800

The towns presently named Pombal and Sousa, located in the hinterland of the State of Paraíba, Brazil, still keep vestiges of the colonization process they went through along the 18th and 19th centuries, when they both emerged as settlement nuclei in the extreme West of the then captaincy of Paraíba and attained the status of freguesia and vila in a later period. This research aims to comprehend the process of urban formation and development of the colonial urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa as they became povoados (hamlets), freguesias (parishes) and vilas (small urban communities with a local government), according to territorial expansion policies implemented by the Portuguese government from 1697 to 1800. The choice of the two urban settlements for this survey lies in the fact that they were part of the great conquest and colonization program undertaken by the Portuguese Crown. Another aspect that was considered was the fact that those towns are the oldest urban nuclei of Paraíba s hinterland. They came into being as early as in the times of the colony, thus producing a favorable environment to the study of the changes that occurred in the captaincy s hinterland scenery resulting from the process of formation and development of the colonial urban space. Three fundamental categories of analysis were defined since they have a direct bearing upon the urban configuration of the two colonization nuclei: povoado, freguesia and vila. The three of them are related to civil and ecclesiastic jurisdictions. Field, documentation and bibliography surveys were undertaken in order to develop the study. They allowed for the finding of vestiges of the old, colonial urban structures and for the development of theoretical analysis based on present-day studies of issues relating to the colonial urban history. The study purposes were, therefore, to try to understand how the old urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa fit in the territorial expansion policies undertaken by the Portuguese government; to relate the process of urban formation and development of such nuclei with the categories of analysis povoação-freguesia-vila by discussing the relations and influences they exert over one another and their territory, as well as to unveil, as much as possible, the configuration the urban spaces that were shaped along the 18th century

Da ocupação do território à degradação ambiental: o caso da exploração mineira em S. Domingos

Um empreendimento de escala grandiosa como o que foi levado a cabo em São Domingos, entre meados do século XIX e meados do século XX, para a exploração das pirites, tinha de ter impacto no ambiente. Nesta história da exploração moderna de um recurso geológico descrevemos o caso concreto da mina desta pequena localidade do território de Mértola, destacando os problemas de natureza ambiental identificados. O empreendimento que motiva este estudo teve igualmente reflexo na imprensa regional e nacional, as fontes que privilegiámos como reflexo de um hipotético debate no espaço público, juntamente com documentos dos serviços oficiais que regularam a atividade da empresa exploradora, a nível económico mas também ambiental. À ocupação de um território praticamente deserto, no interior alentejano, onde o capital inglês fez surgir uma povoação próspera, seguiu-se a degradação ambiental, evidenciada pelo impacto na paisagem, pela poluição do ar e pela poluição da água, sem esquecer a desertificação humana associada ao encerramento da mina, apesar dos esforços para a reconversão económica da região por parte das entidades envolvidas.