Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage

ISSN: 2161-9441 (Print) 2161-9468 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yjaf20

Archaeology of the African Slaves in the Amazon

Diogo M. Costa

To cite this article: Diogo M. Costa (2016) Archaeology of the African Slaves in the
Amazon, Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage, 5:2, 198-221, DOI:
10.1080/21619441.2016.1204790

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21619441.2016.1204790

Published online: 02 Aug 2016.

Submit your article to this journal

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=yjaf20

Download by: [177.65.168.72] Date: 03 August 2016, At: 17:09

 journal of african diaspora archaeology & heritage,
Vol. 5 No. 2, July, 2016, 198–221

Archaeology of the African Slaves in the

Amazon
Diogo M. Costa
Federal University of Pará, Brazil

Many studies have been conducted on the history of Africans and their descen-
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

dants in Brazil, but the potential of historical archaeology sites in the Amazon
region has been little explored. I present a brief overview of this research,
beginning with contemporary studies on African slavery and diaspora in
Brazil, investigations combining history and archaeology in Brazil, and
studies focused on the history and anthropology of the Amazon region. This
article concludes with a case study of a systematic excavation of a slave
quarter in the Brazilian Amazon, the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill, in the vicinity
of Belém city in Pará state in Brazil, and potential interpretations of the
material culture remains uncovered at that site.

keywords Africans in the Amazon, diaspora archeology, slavery archaeology,

sugar cane mill, Brazil

African slavery and diaspora in Brazil

In Brazil, the study of slavery has focused on historiography, and this development
has been marked by three distinct phases. The first, lasting until the 1960s, can be
characterized as generic studies of slavery. The second, starting in 1950, can be
classified as a theoretical debate about slavery, and the third, from the 1980s
onward, has been characterized by a more focused approach to the lives of slaves.
Until the 1960s, the study of slavery in Brazil followed a classic line established
by the Freyrian paradigm about miscegenation and “soft” slavery. Gilberto Freyre
(1900–1987) was a Brazilian scholar who published the influential book entitled
Master and Slaves in 1933 about the formation of Brazilian society. Within a
posited setting of racial harmony, slavery filled the role of facilitator of socio-cultural
relations of hybridism and syncretism. The institutions also took on a paternalistic
role, perpetuating a view of master docility and slave submission that would be dis-
mantled starting in the 1950s. Researchers in this period, several of whom were
stimulated by a UNESCO initiative, included Charles Wagley, Donald Pierson,
Arthur Ramos, Alfred Metraux, and Oracy Nogueira.

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group DOI 10.1080/21619441.2016.1204790
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 199

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Paulista School produced a review of historiography
examining the slave objectification processes and African resistance elements. The
Paulista School was a group of scholars formed by Florestan Fernandes, Fernando
Henrique Cardoso, Octavio Ianni, and Emilia Viotti da Costa. Revealing the
horrors of slavery, these historians naturalized the action of alienation of the slave
system, which can be broken only through violence. Based on this new paradigm,
these thinkers proposed replacing the assumptions of docility and submission with
those of violence and rebellion in the study of the slave regime. After the 1980s
and 1990s, a more anthropological view of slavery was established, with enslaved
laborers viewed as agents and historical subjects. Interpreting the actions of enslaved
individuals as a conscious manifestation of cultural resistance, experiences such as
marriage and the formation of families represent the humanization of these
people. This includes the empowerment of enslaved persons inside and outside the
slave quarters. Such past increments of empowerment are considered today to
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

have contributed significantly to the end of slavery in Brazil (Freyre 2003; Gorender
1990; Pinsky 2000; Proença 2007).
However, studies of archaeological sites of African occupation in Brazil only
began in the 1970s and 1980s with the surveys of Carlos Guimarães in the Jequitin-
honha Valley, and Canastra Rage Mountais and Ambrosio Quilombo in Minas
Gerais state. In the 1990s, the Palmares Quilombo in Alagoas state was also the
object of study by Pedro Paulo Funari and Charles Orser, followed by Scott Allen.
Maroon settlements were again studied in the 2000s and 2010s in Rio Grande do
Sul, Sergipe, Mato Grosso, and São Paulo states. The slave quarters of the sugar
cane mills began to be investigated in the 1990s by Tania Andrade Lima in Rio de
Janeiro state. In the 2000s, research on slave quarters was extended to regions of
the South, Midwest, and Northeast of Brazil, and only in the 2010s did it begin
to occur more systematically in Northern Brazil. Today, the demand for material
culture linked to African groups and African descendants has diversified into
other contexts, such as urban areas, collective dumps, households, mining camps,
coffee plantations, cattle and beef jerky farms, cemeteries, landscapes, and ports
(Symanski 2014; Symanski and Gomes 2013).
The archaeological study of the African diaspora, on the other hand, works
with the forced displacement of more than 12 million people out of Africa,
nearly half of which went to Brazil. Based on an Atlantic perspective of this
phenomenon, the correlation between starting points in Africa and arrival in
Brazil became the flagship of this research. The study of the maintenance or
change of cultural practices of transported groups, using both the material and
documentary sources, has been dominated by an interpretive dichotomy with
more Afrocentric or Ethnogenic approaches, whereas the various African cultures
were constantly perpetuated and reinforced or adapted and recreated. However,
currently, a hybrid or symbiotic approach between these two positions has been
more accepted in academia, as is another vehicle of study, which is the physical
manifestation of the power relations of domination and resistance. Other
studies are also intermediate positions represented by mulatto people or the post-
slavery period, and the contemporaries of African descendant communities in
Brazil (Singleton 2013; Souza 2013).
 200 DIOGO M. COSTA

In Northern Brazil, specifically in the Amazon region, the study of the African
presence has had little focus, except for pioneering research conducted by Napoleão
Figueiredo, Anaiza Vergulino, Vicente Salles, and more currently by Rosa Acevedo-
Marin, Edna Castro, Patricia Sampaio and Jose Neto, among others. Confined to
the fields of anthropology and history, these initiatives began and continued the
unveiling of a past Amazon that was ignored and unknown, particularly about its
materiality. Thus, archaeological research on African slavery and the diaspora in
the Amazon is not only promising but also a necessary subject to study before the
rich data sources are lost. Thus, the question today is why and how did this
African presence become established in the Amazon? When and where did it start,
and what transformations have occurred?

African slavery and diaspora in the Amazon

Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

According to some authors, several factors discouraged the use of African slave labor
in the Amazon: the abundance of indigenous labor; the dominance of extractive prod-
ucts; the low potential for settlement; unsuitable soil for monoculture crops; and the
lack of metals. These factors are said to have led to a “delay” in the concentration of
African labor in the Amazon until at least the second half of the eighteenth century. At
that time, the region was transformed by the Marquess of Pombal policies on indigen-
ous labor, and products from the region were introduced into globalized trade.
However, the introduction of enslaved African labor began in the Amazon in the
late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in the Amapá state coast and at the
mouth of the Amazon. This development, promoted by the Dutch and English,
was necessary because compulsory labor was used in the incipient and illegal
sugar industry. Another application for the African slaves in these earlier periods
was in religious missions. In the seventeenth century, three factors allowed for
more enslaved Africans to be brought into the Amazon, this time sponsored by
the Portuguese crown: a smallpox epidemic that eliminated much of the indigenous
workforce at the end of the sixteen hundreds; the use by the Portuguese crown of the
state of Brazil “model” as the developmental basis for the states of the Grão-Pará
and Maranhão; and, finally, the creation of the trading companies of the Cacheu,
Maranhão, and Grão-Pará (Chambouleyron 2006; Fonseca 2011; Sampaio 2011).
According to Salles (2005), three modes coexisted in the traffic of African souls to the
Amazon: the trade conducted by the Crown; the monopoly conducted by companies;
and the domestic trade and smuggling by private traders. The Crown trade began as
early as the mid-seventeenth century, under the patronage of the Royal Treasury, to
protect private traders that imported slaves from Africa. These traders brought
enslaved Africans mainly from the Western part of Africa, along the Guinea Coast.
However, it was only with the establishment of the Maranhão General Trade
Company in 1682 that the Portuguese crown really tried to regulate this practice.
Yet, high prices and a revolt in Maranhão state eventually ended the project in 1684.
A new venture, the Grão-Pará and Maranhão General Trade Company, was founded
in 1755 by the Marquess of Pombal and his brother, the president of Pará state,
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 201

Mendonça Furtado. The company introduced in 1778 a large number of captives,

coming from different countries of Africa, mainly from the central portion or Angola
region.
It is also worth remembering that before, during, and after the Amazonian com-
panies, the Trade Company of Cacheu and Cabo Verde also took the lead in traffick-
ing for the captaincy of Grão-Pará and Maranhão. Finally, there were domestic sales
and smuggling carried out by individuals who did not have enough capital for the
import of laborers. Such individuals often controlled the routes for slaves bought
with gold in Midwest Brazil or the resale of rejected slaves in the Northeast part
of the country, mainly via the port of Turiaçu in Maranhão and until at least the
early nineteenth century. The number of enslaved Africans in the Amazon is still
unknown, and their places of origin are also unknown. According to some
authors, the Trade Company of Grão-Pará and Maranhão brought 25,000 enslaved
Africans, and, of this amount, approximately 15,000 settled in the region; others
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

were taken to the captaincy of Mato Grosso via Tapajós or Guaporé Rivers.
However, researchers state that the number may be much higher if other modalities
of traffic are included. Before and after, the companies brought 50,000–150,000
enslaved Africans to the Amazon during the colonial and imperial periods
(Bezerra Neto 2012; Coimbra 2003; Salles 2005). According to recent data,
162,702 enslaved Africans were shipped to the Amazon in the period from 1680
to 1846, and, of these, 142,231 arrived in the Northern ports of Brazil (Eltis and
Halbert 2008).
According to Ferreira (2007) captives were brought to the Amazon from Sudanese
groups such as Mina, Mali (or Mai or Mandiga), Fula, Fulupe (or Fulupo), Bijojó (or
Bixapô), and from Bantu groups as Angola, Congo, Benguela, Cabinda, Moçambi-
que, Macua, and Caçanje (Figures 1 and 2). Throughout the seventeenth century, the
slave trade between Maranhão and the coast of Guinea was constant, and it was
conducted not only by the Portuguese but also by other Europeans. In the mid-
eighteenth century, enslaved Africans began to be regularly transported directly to
Belém city, coming from Bissau and Cacheu in West Africa, where, in 1771, a
slave courtyard with a whipping post was created in the Ver-o-Peso plaza. In the
nineteenth century, the traffic intensified both from Cabinda and Luanda in
Central Africa and Bahia state (Figure 1). The trans-Atlantic trade was interrupted
during the Cabanagem conflict, a social revolt that occurred during the Imperial
period of Brazil from 1835 to 1840 in the Grão-Pará province. The name Cabana-
gem came from the huge participation of province’s poor people that lived in hovels
and stilts along the rivers. After the later abolition of slavery, various African groups
migrated to the Amazon, such as from the English possessions in Barbados.
The African presence in the Amazon is relevant to the historiography of the
region, even though the presence was smaller than in other regions of Brazil. Afri-
cans enslaved in the Amazon accounted for nearly 50 percent of the population
during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In the late nineteenth
century, enslaved laborers in urban centers like Belém and Manaus greatly exceeded
the numbers in rural areas. The slaves’ roles in Amazonian society ranged from a
wide variety of domestic services as cooks, dry-nurses, maids, and public services
such as security, transportation, construction, and cleaning. Enslaved laborers
 202 DIOGO M. COSTA
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 1 Primary routes of the trans-Atlantic movement of captive Africans to the Amazon:
(1) Route Guiné, during the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries; (2) Route Mina, during the
eighteenth century; and (3) Route Bahia, during the nineteenth century. Image by the
author; underlying map data courtesy of Mapbox.com.

also worked as blacksmiths, shoemakers, carpenters, washerwomen, vendors, and

artists. Others were forced to engage in begging and prostitution. However, the
main activities in the region were the agricultural production tasks on sugar cane
plantations, caring for religious missions’ livestock, working on cocoa farms, and
possibly working in the mines. On the other hand, former slaves or freepersons
also established relations in other spheres of society, such as socializing with indigen-
ous peoples in public works such as palaces, churches, forts, and cemeteries. In these
spaces and late in the nineteenth century, there was another category of compulsory
labor in the form of free Africans, or freed slaves, who, even after the end of the
trade, were still owned by the Empire (Figueiredo 2008; Sampaio 2007; 2013).
In addition to confronting the demands of compulsory labor, captive Africans in
colonial and Imperial society also engaged in acts of resistance. Some escaped to
subvert the system or to travel to maintain family ties. Others purchased their
freedom through manumission and negotiated with plantation owners’ varied strat-
egies for property maintenance. Other forms of resistance were in the religious space
of the Rosary Brotherhood and the feasts of the Holy Spirit, or the mundane space of
“witchcraft houses” and “crossroads offerings,” which, along with indigenous
elements, frightened the population. However, the greatest form of slavery resistance
was the formation of quilombos or mocambos, often with indigenous people and
other exiles. These maroon settlements in Northern Brazil were already beginning
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 203
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 2 Primary areas of occupation of African groups in the Amazon: (1) region with large
proportion of captives from the Sudanese social groups; and (2) region with large proportion
of captives from the Bantu social groups. Image by the author; underlying map data courtesy
of Mapbox.com.

to emerge in the colonial period, but a definite increase occurred in the late eight-
eenth century, and expanded in the nineteenth century. With the almost imminent
end of slavery in the nineteenth century, the owners’ attempted control of slaves
in the Amazon also become more pronounced, due to the high cost after the end
of the slave trade in 1850, or due to domestic demand for laborers on the coffee
plantations in Southeastern Brazil (Cavalcante and Sampaio 2012; Figueiredo
2008).

A Cartography of the African presence in Northern Brazil

One can map with fair detail the introduction of enslaved Africans into Pará by the
Portuguese (Bezerra Neto 2012). It occurred in the sugar cane mills in Guajarina
Zone and Lower Tocantins, in the cattle farms of the Marajó archipelago, in rice
and cotton paddies at the North Cape area, on the cocoa plantations of the
Lower Amazon, and in legal and illegal trafficking on the border with Maranhão.
In this way, we will highlight each region as a means of planning our research,
which we intend to apply through a more robust research program to be developed
in future years. What we intend with this panorama is to identify and characterize
certain investigative units in each area, to compare the occurrences, and to establish
 204 DIOGO M. COSTA

correlations of similarity and differences between the probable existing patterns of

archaeological remains.
The main location of enslaved Africans in colonial and imperial Pará was Belém
and its surroundings in the Guajarina zone, especially in the numerous sugar cane
mills located along the Moju, Acará, Capim, and Guama rivers (Figure 3, area 1).
Many of these sugar cane mills were started by priests as early as the seventeenth
century, but after the expulsion of the orders in the mid-eighteenth century, they
were transferred to the crown and to the possession of certain individuals. The
second in importance were the Lower Tocantins sugar cane mills near Cametá
and such neighboring towns as Baião, Mocajuba, Iguarapé-Miri, Abaetetuba, and
Barcarena (Figure 3, area 2). Other employment of enslaved Africans in the
region occurred in the farming of cinnamon, cloves, and cocoa, together with indi-
genous people and mulattos until the late seventeenth century, or on the cocoa plan-
tations from the second half of the eighteenth century. Third, in the Marajó
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

archipelago region enslaved Africans were employed by the priests who enslaved
indigenous people on their farms for raising cattle and horses since at least the seven-
teenth century (Figure 3, area 3). In the fields of Marajó, the Africans became
cowboys mainly in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, but
they also worked in the region’s sugar cane mills and in the collection of hinterland
drugs in the late nineteenth century, where the plantations were replaced by rubber
plantations in the Marajó forests (Bezerra Neto 2012).

figure 3 Primary areas of occupation of enslaved Africans in the colonial and imperial Pará
region, within the Amazon of Brazil. Image by the author; underlying map data courtesy of
Mapbox.com.
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 205

In the territory of the North Cape and the area that is now Amapá state, African
enslaved labor was used mainly by the Portuguese for building forts along with indi-
genous people (Figure 3, area 4). In the eighteenth century, rice and cotton producers
also used African slave labor, although in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
most of this population focused on the urban centers of Mazagão and Macapá. In
the Lower Amazon region, enslaved Africans were used for the collection of
cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mainly native cacao along with the Indians in the
seventeenth century in the Tapajós River (Figure 3, area 5). Concentrations of
laborers in that area only occurred on the cocoa plantations from the second half
of the eighteenth century and in the cities of Santarém, Monte Alegre, Alenquer,
and Óbidos. Finally, the border region with Maranhão, which was one of the
main ports of entry of enslaved Africans in the Amazon, was focused on coffee,
cotton, cassava, sugar plantations, and especially livestock in the villages of São
Miguel do Guamá and Bragança (Figure 3, area 6). In the town of Ourém, which
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

served as a warehouse for smuggling enslaved Africans from Maranhão, there

were certain concentrations of the population (Bezerra Neto 2012).
However, the activities of enslaved Africans in Pará were not restricted to their
servile daily lives, but also in demonstrations against the system, such as riots and
breakouts. The participation of Africans in the Cabanagem revolt in the 1830s is
an example of this. In Acará, Bragantina, Marajó, the Lower Amazon and
Guamá, numerous uprisings involved hundreds of slaves facing government
troops. On the other hand, leaks were also responsible for the escape of several
slaves to the region of Guyana or the formation of many quilombos and mocambos
in the areas where they lived and where their solidarity networks were already estab-
lished. From the second half of the nineteenth century, these movements intensified,
and many slaves escaped or were freed and moved to Amazonian urban centers such
as Belém (Bezerra Neto 2001).
Among the regions with the highest concentrations of quilombos in the Amazon,
we can highlight the region of Turiaçu-Gurupi, surrounding Macapá, in the North-
east of the Pará, Guajarina and Tocantins regions, and near the Trombetas and
Curiá rivers. The region surrounding the Turiaçu and Gurupi rivers on the border
between Pará and Maranhão was part of Pará until 1852, when farmers in the
area underwent annexation into the Maranhão province. The quilombos in this
period were mainly located in the Maracaçumé river valley, a region rich in gold,
which, in addition to mining, also practiced agriculture and fishing, and extended
from Baixada Maranhense to Alcântara. Near Macapá, there were several quilom-
bos. It was a temporary stop for the journeys of slaves fleeing from Cayenne toward
Belém.
Used as expansionist justification toward Amapá, the events of Cunani Republic
in 1885 and 1902 were an example of the French intentions for the area. This was an
emancipated slave village on the border of Amapá and Guyana, which had its head-
quarters in Paris. The settlement initiative had created its own stamps, currency, and
flag. The related conflicts ended in an armed confrontation between French and
Brazilian troops.
In Northeastern Pará, we find mention of the quilombo Mocajuba, where inhabi-
tants not involved in agriculture committed several thefts targeting travelers crossing
 206 DIOGO M. COSTA

the area toward Belém. In the Guajarina region and the Tocantins river, several qui-
lombos emerged, such as the quilombo of Mola, led by a woman named Maria
Felipa Aranha, and the Caxiú commanded by Preto Felix actively participated in
the Cabanagem riot (Assunção 1996; Salles 2005). On the other hand, located
in the “wide waters” of the Trombetas and Curia rivers, other quilombos moved
away from populated and navigable areas to settle in the waterfall areas of Amazo-
nian rivers. This hindered access to the locations, except for the irregular trade exe-
cuted with dealers, or the ways by land only known to its members.
Finally, occupying navigable stretches of rivers and fertile land, the maroon set-
tlers built dwellings scattered around the area, but the settlements were relatively
close and arranged by family status or security. Another feature was the almost
autonomous subsistence related to urban centers, which, unlike quilombos in
other regions of Brazil, were not essentially performed as part of a parasitic
exchange or theft economy. Quilombos in the Alenquer and Óbidos region also
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

established contacts and conflicts with various indigenous peoples and other
slaves mainly from the Guayana region. Surviving the onslaughts of the government
that formed alliances with the military and indigenous people, members of these
African maroon communities, in a process of resistance to displacement or surren-
der, maintained their ways of life and many aspects of their heritage remain in
Northern Brazil today (Acevedo and Castro 1998; Funes 1996).
In the next section of this discussion, we present the results of an initial case study.
Here, we present preliminary data recently collected in the field, as well as initial
interpretations of an archaeological research project that is still progressing within
the likely slave quarters of a sugar plantation in the Amazon region. This case
study demonstrates how the materiality of African enslavement in the Amazon
can serve as a measure of understanding of the daily relationships among peers
and other groups. We will primarily draw attention to the rich history of the site
and previous research, as well as the archaeological collection. We will also reveal
the pioneering work developed on the subject and its potential for expanding our
understanding of this complex heritage.

The Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill

The archaeological site of the Murucutu Sugar Cane Mill includes a set of cultural fea-
tures and materials that enable a long-term study of the transformations that occurred
throughout the Amazon society during the colonial and post-colonial periods
(Figure 4). With over 300 years of occupation, the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill experi-
enced different social groups, ethnicities, genders, and generations, including priests,
gentlemen and lady owners, indigenous people and African slaves, historical figures,
military personnel, and rebel groups. The research project, initiated in 2014, aims to
establish an on-site academic program in historical archeology. Over the long term,
using research of the remaining material, it will be possible to study the spaces and
traces of different occupant groups that made up the sugar cane mill’s daily life.
For this project, historical archaeology surveys will be conducted in places of resi-
dence and work that were related to the different groups. The project will also study
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 207
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 4 Map of the location of the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site. Image by the author;
underlying map data courtesy of Mapbox.com.

the remains of material culture to determine how they relate directly or indirectly to
the particular site occupants. The project will also serve as a venue for the practice of
historical archeology by post-graduate students in Anthropology at the Federal Uni-
versity of Pará PPGA/UFPA-Brazil, and other students and institutions in the region.
The practical activities of historical archeology, both in the field and in the labora-
tory, are essential for the training and specialization of students in this growing field
in the Amazon. Scientific investigations of the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site and an
on-site installation of a field-school in historical archeology can provide a first step
toward a more comprehensive management plan for the entire area.
The first historical information about the area of the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill
comes from 1711, when Carmelite friars built a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of
Conception. In the 1750s, the sugar cane mill became the property of the Ombuds-
man José Borges Valerio, and after his death, in the next decade, it was acquired by
Domingos da Costa Bacelar. In 1766, it was sold again to the Italian architect
Antonio José Landi, who lived there until his death in 1791. During that period,
he carried out renovations in the sugar cane mill chapel. After Landi’s death, the
sugar cane mill became the property of his daughter Ana Teresa, who was
married to Captain João Antônio Rodrigues Martins, son of João Manuel Rodri-
gues, who was also the owner of the Mocajuba and Utinga sugar cane mills. With
the death of João Martins in 1820, the property passed to his daughter Angela
Joana Pereira Martins, who was married to Lt. Col. Francisco Marques d’Elvas Por-
tugal (Coimbra 2003; Marques 2003; 2004; Mello 1973; Mendonça 2003; Papa-
vero et al. 2002).
 208 DIOGO M. COSTA

However, in 1835 the Murutucu was also related to the War of Cabanagem, when
it was temporarily used as a camp for rebels led by Vinagre, Angelim, and Gavião,
commanders of the revolution. In 1841, after the death of Francisco Marques
d’Elvas Portugal, the sugar cane mill was sold to Henrique Antonio Strauss.
However, circa 1850, according to testimony of the traveler John Esaias Warren,
the site was in a state of abandonment. In 1872, the sugar cane mill was mentioned
in a deed and mortgage debt by then owner Leonardo Augusto Faria Vivas. At the
end of the nineteenth century, the Murutucu belonged to Frederico Pond and Emilio
Martins and Company and later the Canon José Lourenço da Costa Aguiar. After
1940, the site became patrimony of the Union, to be incorporated by the former
Agronomic Institute of the North. It is currently part of the holdings of the Brazilian
Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), and was listed by the National
Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) on October 8, 1981 (Cruz
1963; Hurley 1936; Marques 2003; 2004; Monteiro n.d.; Moreira 2010; Raiol
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

1970; Salles 1992).

The first archaeological excavations in the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill occurred in
1986. These excavations were conducted as part of a course in Historical Archaeol-
ogy taught by Professor Margarida Andreatta from the University of São Paulo and
sponsored by the on-site Emílio Goeldi Paranaense Museum (MPEG). Seven archae-
ological intervention units were excavated, both in the ruins of the chapel and the
big house. The excavations mainly focused on the internal space of the chapel

figure 5 The preserved structure of the chapel in the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site. Photo-
graph by the author.
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 209

(Figure 5). Four units were opened, including one in the northeast inner corner of the
big house and two trenches on the outside of the chapel and the big house. The units
excavated were used primarily to identify the building construction techniques. Both
the internal and external floors and foundations of the buildings were searched.
Also, several archaeological traces, such as ceramic, glass and metal fragments, as
well as building materials like tiles and bricks, were collected (Marques 2004).
In 1996 and 1997, archaeological rescue surveys were conducted inside the chapel
space and the area of the big house by Fernando Marques from MPEG, with support
from the IPHAN. The areas surveyed for this intervention were again inside the
chapel and the big house. In the chapel, soundings were made to delimit the floor
and the opening of squares; with an average depth of 25 cm. Domestic building
materials were collected. In the big house, items were collected from the rubble
from each room, and the excavation was 50-cm thick and up to approximately
10 cm from the floor. The floors were identified by the compounds in the ceramic
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

tiles and bricks, and rooms were differentiated. Other construction techniques
were used with brick and tile. The material collected was identified as agricultural
tools, weapons, and household items (Marques 1997).
In 2000, Fernando Marques and geologist João Barradas conducted archaeologi-
cal research at the sugar cane mill, using a magnetometer and georadar for geophy-
sical exploration of structures. The surveyed area was bounded on the north by the
chapel and big house and on the west and south by the factory and chute, with
several areas with a concentration of contours and therefore potential areas of
archaeological interest. Fernando Marques found that the drive system used in the
tide sugar cane mill included an adduction channel, dam, reservoir, and a water-
wheel, all of which were connected to the mill. Similarly, the area of the sugar
cane mill house, sugar factory, and brandy distillery was situated on the north
side of the chute, approximately 60 by 40 m in size. The base of the big house
was approximately 17 m by 30 m in size, and the chapel was 14 by 5 m. In addition
to archaeological research, other studies have been conducted regarding cultural
heritage and museology in relation to the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill (Azulai
2014; Moreira 2010; Sampaio 2007; Villar 2011).
The Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site is located on the outskirts of Belém, in the
neighborhood of Curio-Utinga (Figure 6). The location consists of a 400 by 300
m rectangular area, which covers approximately 120,000 m2. It starts at the existing
gate beside the porch of the Pará Supply Center (CEASA) and is bordered on the east
by the access road to the port Guamá river and on the west by the creek Murutucu
tributary of the Guamá river (SPHAN 1981). In a July 2014 campaign, it was
decided that only the area of the slave quarters would be explored, with a focus
on a recurring anomaly in the geophysical survey data collected in 2000. Other
locations at the sugar cane mill site, including the big house and the chapel, were
left to be examined in subsequent phases of the project. A possible area of the
slave quarters was identified in a picture by the Portuguese photographer Felipe
Augusto Fidanza, which was probably taken in the 1860s. In the photograph, a
building appears east of the chapel and the big house, and an inventory from the
time mentions the existence of a “blacks ranch” (Marques 2013). This construction
is also very similar to the buildings from the colonial and imperial periods used for
 210 DIOGO M. COSTA
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 6 The Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site in relation to the urban grid of Belém, an area
registered by IPHAN, and the location of the excavations. Image by the author; underlying
map data courtesy of Google Earth.

housing slaves, called “pavilion” slave quarters. Using the overlap of the old image
on the current terrain through a photographic method developed by Eugene Prince,
we were able to locate the space provided for this building (Costa 2012; Figure 7).
The slave quarters were probably in the space between the buildings recently built
on the site and the ruins of the chapel and big house. Historical site information
makes reference to the presence of indigenous people and African slaves on the plan-
tation. In addition to this information, previous research with a magnetometer and
georadar also pointed to this area as an area with anomalies in the subsurface, rep-
resented by concentrating isolines (Melo 2007). In this way, the area between the
ruin of the chapel and a recent construction was defined as the area corresponding
to the existence of the structure, as well as the location of the likely slave quarters
(see Figure 7). Three starting points were identified for exploration. Two points of
focus related to the structure, where the goal was to examine construction elements
to identify the existence of a built structure and the archaeological remains of the
associated material culture. A third point was in the higher concentration of dis-
played isolines in the geophysical data. Another archaeological intervention was per-
formed to investigate the cause of this data distribution and to try to relate it to the
site context.
Archaeological surveys were carried out with 1 m square units and 10 cm arbi-
trary levels in the three areas selected for excavation. These tests were conducted
based on the information already obtained for each area. These early
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 211
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 7 Identified structures in the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site, from left to right: ranch,
sugar mill, big house, chapel, and slave quarter. Top photographs by Felipe Augusto Fidanza,
1860; lower photograph and overlays by the author.

interventions were used to identify building remains in the subsurface, and the
areas with the highest concentration of archaeological remains on the perimeter
were also identified. The survey also served to identify and characterize the stra-
tigraphic composition of the terrain, thereby assisting in the definition and pro-
jection of the areas of excavation. Thus, three surveys were conducted in the
selected areas, and they were later extended to include excavation areas on the
site (Figure 8). These investigations identified points of highest concentration of
remains. The expansion of the excavation areas followed the indications of the
archaeological deposits and identified construction remains and potential
structures.
All archaeological work in selected areas was conducted through manual methods
using hand tools such as trowels. All the removed sediment was sieved with 10-mm
mesh and, in some cases 3-mm mesh was used to sieve and collect faunal remains.
The collected material was packed, identified, measured, and cataloged in the
field and then taken for cleaning, analyzing, and interpreting in the laboratory at
UFPA. The structures were observed and recorded, and the information was sub-
sequently consolidated. At the end of any soil excavation, the excavated surface
was delimited with a layer of permeable landscape sheeting. In addition to the activi-
ties already described, a topographical survey was carried out. The land was
mapped by a total station to make a three dimension, georeferenced map, and soil
 212 DIOGO M. COSTA
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 8 Archaeological interventions in the slave quarter area in 2014 and excavations in
relation to details in a historic-period photograph. Photograph by Felipe Augusto Fidanza,
1860; overlay images by the author.

samples were collected for physical and chemical analysis. These activities were
coordinated by guest researchers and served various roles in technical training for
participants in the field-school program. In addition to research activities, public
visitors and new media reporter were able to visit and view the site. Visitors were
introduced to the site with a scripted overview, which started with a presentation
of the history of the site and the research objectives. Visitors toured the ruins of
the site, observed excavations, and viewed objects and recovered structures. The
news reporters also received the same attention, resulting in wide circulation in
print, Internet, and broadcast media.
In the field, area 1 showed an absence of archaeological remains in its top 5–
10 cm, and the archaeological vestiges were restricted to between 10 and 30–
40 cm below the surface. A floor surface was located between 30 and 40 cm
below the surface, and beneath a stone sub-floor there was no further archaeological
material. Area 1 has three archaeological layers. The first has a small amount of
archaeological material. The second and third also have little archaeological
material. Area 2 excavation also showed no archaeological remains in the initial
10 cm, and the concentration of material begins at 20 cm and ends at 30 cm
below the surface. After 30 cm, there are only lithic and pottery traces and a com-
bustion structure with its base reaching a depth of 55 cm. In the area 3 excavation,
the archaeological material in some spaces only appeared from 15 cm deep, but its
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 213
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

figure 9 Archaeological vestiges uncovered in the slave quarter area. Photographs by

Iberê Martins and image overlays by the author.

normal occurrence was deeper than 5 cm and concentrated mainly between 20 and
30 cm below the surface. A thin archaeological layer on a rocky outcrop was also
identified in area 3 (Figure 9).
There are some similarities between the three areas. There are no archaeological
materials in the first 10 cm arbitrary levels. This may be associated with the site’s
abandonment in more recent periods. Historical data have occurred mainly after
the second half of the nineteenth century. Displacement of the material may have
occurred in later periods, due to use of the area by EMBRAPA as discussed
earlier. The archaeological findings in the field show continuity between the three
areas surveyed, focusing on 20–30-cm deep, and not presenting clear internal vari-
ation, such as a hiatus of occupation. Field structure remains were identified. In area
1, a construction unit was identified, with a floor and sub-floor corresponding to a
building. In area 2, a combustion structure was identified, but at a greater depth
than in other areas, and it may represent an earlier occupation. In area 3, the thin
archaeological layer and the presence of a shallow rocky matrix indicated a likely
discharge area.
The laboratory work occurred in two stages: one stage occurred before the exca-
vation in 2014 and another occurred later. First, we studied the ceramic, glass, and
pottery material from previous campaigns at the site now stored at the MPEG.
Studies were also conducted on the ceramic, glass, metal, and pottery materials
from the 2014 campaign. These materials are now stored at the archeology lab at
PPGA/UFPA. The analysis of traces of residues on artifacts occurred in the archae-
ology lab of the MPEG and PPGA/UFPA. However, the results presented here were
 214 DIOGO M. COSTA

only obtained as part of the second analysis. These studies were performed accord-
ing to their own methodology for each material category, but the general rules of
cleaning, numbering, and reconstructing objects were followed, and the categoriz-
ation and study of artifacts were performed. Each material category was analyzed
separately and the remains were placed in collections for safekeeping. The archaeo-
logical remains were examined to identify technological and morphological vari-
ables that indicate the past processes of making and using the pieces. This
analysis helps to clarify the sequential activities performed in the production, use,
and discard of the objects and provide data on the chronology and provenance of
the artifacts.
From the July 2014 campaign, 993 tableware fragments were analyzed, and all
ceramic fragments were categorized according to form, paste, enamel, decorative
technique, decorative style, decorative motif, and types of marks. Final assessments
were then conducted on each sample. As for Portuguese tin glazed earthenware in all
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

investigated areas, we found that the earliest occurrence was in area 3, with an
average manufacture date of 1608. The average date of manufacture was 1610 in
area 1 and 1618 in area 2. Thus, the overall average date for the Portuguese tin
glazed earthenware dishes exhumed in the 2014 campaign was 1612. On the
other hand, the British tin glazed earthenware in the site had an average date of
1842 for area 1, followed by 1843 for area 2 and 1850 for area 3, which gives an
overall average date for the British tin glazed earthenware exhumed in 2014 cam-
paign of 1845. Using this analysis of tin glazed earthenware fragments, we can ident-
ify two distinct periods: one related to the early seventeenth century and the other
corresponding to the mid-nineteenth century. However, this does not mean that
there were two distinct occupations. Rather, there may have been greater disposal
of ceramic artifacts in these areas during the period of 1612–1845, with the possible
apex of use around the first half of the eighteenth century, or 1728. As described
above we did not uncover evidence of a superposition of layers containing distinct
material content or the occurrence of a stratigraphic hiatus between layers.
Also from the July 2014 campaign, 1,031 glass fragments were analyzed, and all
the fragments were categorized according to the part of the piece, color, form, func-
tion, mold, pontil, lip closing, recording, and brands. The glass pieces unearthed
during the 2014 campaign had a large concentration of fragments of olive green
cylindrical bottles, which were probably used for drinking fermented beverages
like wine. These bottles were mostly made in molds and finished using a snap-case;
the lips were made with a lipping-tool. The wine bottles mostly had stoppers. There
were some inscriptions on the bodies and bottoms of the pieces, and there were wear
marks indicating use. The area 2 samples had an average manufacture date of 1769.
In area 3, the average date was 1777, and in area 1, the average date was 1790.
Thus, the overall sample mean manufacture date for glass exhumed during the
2014 campaign at the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site was 1778.
In the 2014 campaign, 155 metal fragments were analyzed, and all of these frag-
ments were categorized according to type and preparation, and then separated into
functional construction categories: work, home, clothing, and ornaments, transport,
coins, and armor. Fragments were ranked and also identified by their brands and
covering. The metal artifact sample from the 2014 campaign included objects of
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 215

iron, which were made by forging. These were identified mostly as nails, and they
had active corrosion. The samples in area 1 were dated to 1776. In area 2,
samples were dated to 1711. In area 3, samples were dated to 1752, resulting in
an average end date of 1746 for the metal obtained from Murutucu Sugar Cane
Mill site.
Construction ceramics found in the 2014 campaign were also separated into two
categories: bricks and tiles. The bricks were located entirely in area 1, between levels
2 and 3. The tiles had a higher amount of distribution in area 1 between levels 2 and
3 than in area 2 between levels 2, 3, and 4, and area 3 had tiles in level 3 only. These
assemblages indicate the degree of preservation of the site, because the greater the
number of artifacts, the smaller the number of disturbances. The building material
was analyzed by following the same principles used in utilitarian ceramics. The
lithic material from the 2014 campaign underwent an initial screening that identified
96 objects with potential brand chipping. These objects were analyzed in more
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

detail, but the data does not appear in this article.

The slaves’ material culture and their ethnic boundaries

In the foodways artifacts from the site, we observed an increased amount of spirits
bottles and individual articles for solid food consumption, which were discarded
with greatest intensity from 1612 to 1845, with a peak use at approximately
1728. The glass artifacts mostly include bottles of wine, which have a peak usage
in 1778. Metals from the site were mostly iron nails, with peak use at approximately
1746. By combining these three average dates for uncovered historical artifacts
throughout the site, we can set the date of 1750 as the period of greatest occupation
of the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill. The mere presence of these artifacts in the space
interpreted as the slave quarters of the site does not support a principle to higher cor-
relations with the daily practices of enslaved Africans or Indigenous groups.
However, archaeological remains uncovered reveal the kind of imported material
culture to which these groups had access, either through their own actions or
through others, such as owners or traders.
The date of 1750 for the period of greatest occupation of the site coincides with
the period of greatest input of Africans into the Amazon according to the historical
data discussed earlier. The large presence of brandy bottles in stoneware and individ-
ual articles in Portuguese and British tin glazed earthenware is consistent with this
information about compulsory labor. Furthermore, the presence of large glass
wine bottles can also be explained by the reuse of containers for storing cane
alcohol. Tafia, and later Cachaça, was the preferred drink in commercial trans-
actions with the enslaved groups. The large presence of iron nails, despite their
obvious use as fastening devices in buildings, can also be associated with chipping
glass by these groups, as indicated by some current trials in experimental
archaeology.
Thus, based on the context of these findings above, we can infer the use of artifacts
by enslaved groups. However, the reverse is still under construction, since it is not
clear how we can use industrial material culture to establish an ethnic identity. In
 216 DIOGO M. COSTA

the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill, there was some material evidence that may be
associated with the identity of enslaved populations. Removed deposition contexts
associated with the presence of indigenous people and African slaves, such as marks
on domestic pottery fragments, chipped glass, and smoking pipes, can retain the
memory of these people (Figure 10). Therefore, what we present here are merely
initial tests of the investigative potential of these archaeological remains.
The utilitarian and household ceramics collected on site were studied as the sub-
jects of Iberê Martins’ master’s thesis. By analyzing more than 3,000 fragments, the
researcher identified two trends in ceramic production, one maintaining a coiled
technology and the other presenting the technological path of wheel use in the man-
ufacturing process. Although both pottery groups contain the same raw materials,
impure clays, and decorative techniques, the inclusion of pottery made with a
wheel on site occurred in the same period of highest occupancy and also the
arrival of African laborers. Further studies have not been conducted to determine
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

whether the ceramics were produced locally, despite evidence from building
materials that indicate they were not made locally.
Another work currently under development is the master’s thesis of Everaldo
Junior, which is about chipping glass found on the site. Another material culture
directly associated with the presence of enslaved groups in different contexts also
has very particular characteristics, both in the selection of the parts of the bottles
to be chipped and the techniques used in the process. The study is still underway,
but future prospects for experimental or even micro-wear tests also point to an inter-
esting perspective. Finally, another analysis of the material culture associated with
slavery, still in early stages, is the study of smoking pipes found in the excavation.

figure 10 Archaeological remains recovered in the slave quarter area. Photographs by the
author.
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 217

In all six of these objects, some were complete and contained residues (see Figure 10).
The interior material of the pipes was sent to an analysis facility for chemical and
physical analysis. Phytolith analysis will be used to identify the types of plants that
were in the containers, and, if possible, the materials will be dated.
The interpretation of historical archaeological remains was conducted by compar-
ing the data collected in the field with the data determined in the laboratory. The
results were compared with documentary information and data from previous
studies to synthesize the research and to suggest new investigations. However,
passing this hermeneutical circle, the question that arises in archeology is whether
a particular material culture may or may not be the manifestation of an identity
of a certain group. Archeology can address traces of human actions and reactions
over time and distributed in space and such studies provide a broad view of
changes and continuities in different societies. Material culture can be shaped by
the influences of socially constructed ethnic group affiliations. Other sources of evi-
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

dence can provide indications of social identity activities in production.

For a long time in archeology it was believed that a certain material culture was rele-
gated to only one ethnic group. However, after the work of Frederick Barth in his col-
lection of articles on ethnic lines in 1969, a consensus has formed that different social
groups can at times employ very similar assemblages of material culture. If ethnic
boundaries are a relational aspect between groups and have to be constantly main-
tained, the best way to perpetuate an identity over time and space is to symbolically
characterize the material culture of daily practices, such as garments, utensils,
housing, and other items. In any case, the study of ethnic patterns in material culture
cannot be an end in itself. We should work to take into account the entire production
and functional processes of an object; its life cycle may have different meanings for each
step of its creation, use, processing, and disposal. However, primarily for the analysis
and interpretation of archaeological remains as social identity markers, an argument
still remains: are such ethnic records in material culture cause or consequence of the
choices made by members of the group? In summary, they are both, because, as an
active element of culture, materiality is also part of the recognition and expression of
ethnicity. In the archaeological record, the practice of ethnicity results in a continually
repeated set of transitions of ethnic differences in particular contexts.
Possibly in the historical archaeology site of Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill, the inter-
play and mingling of Africans and indigenous people could be related to material
practices such as making pottery or chipping glass. As presented by Price (2014)
in his studies about the Saamaka group in Suriname, the historical relationships
between indigenous people and freed Africans in the Amazon were sometimes
friendly and other times conflicted. However, the role of material culture in social
group identities is less related with the object’s creation than with its use, because
identities are constantly changing, and the only thing that separated and at the
same time congregated the indigenous and African groups in America were the colo-
nialists. In this way, Voss (2008) shows us that the interpretative challenge of
material culture as identity expression is uncovered in realizing it plays both fixed
and fluid roles.
Therefore, we must keep in mind that working with identity markers in the
Amazon involves working with a large number of ethnic boundaries in time and
 218 DIOGO M. COSTA

space. Thus, the reality presented in the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site is a multi-
ethnic socio-cultural reality in which different groups competed with each other
and exhibited phases of ethnocentrism. This ethnic friction can result in more
material identity markers, often in artifacts concerning culinary traditions and
housing practices. In the case of Murutucu Sugar Mill, there are various aspects
being explored as maintenance markers or breaking boundaries in synchronic and
diachronic perspectives.
A second field campaign was conducted at the Murutucu Sugar Cane Mill site in
the weeks from 13 July to 30 July in 2015. As proposed in the excavation plan
(Costa 2013), this second campaign in 2015 was conducted at the site of the fabri-
cation of the sugar mill and sugar spirits and also in the kitchen area of the big house.
The purpose of examining those areas was to increase knowledge about the site,
focusing mainly on the areas of production, foreign and domestic, as well as on
the sphere of work. In addition, the domestic footprint was studied, and the relation-
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

ship between masters and slaves was investigated. However, this work is just begin-
ning, and new insights are expected from the new results.

Concluding observations
In its initial stage of research the study presented here attempts to approach slavery in a
region where this theme is unknown archaeologically. The effort here was to systema-
tically characterize the African presence in the Brazilian Amazon, through an overview
of past regional studies, a cartography of probable areas for archaeological research,
and mainly through the material culture description of a case study. Although the
material culture uncovered at the site points to a strict relationship with the African
presence according to its context, it is also plausible to expect that in the Amazon the
interactions between indigenous and African slaves have occurred in many forms.
The Amazon region is on the periphery of archaeological studies about the African dia-
spora in the Americas, and more specifically on the periphery of historical archaeology
studies in Brazil. This study has worked to bring light to this wide South American
region usually ignored in the history of African diaspora and its Atlantic context,
even though there exists an incontestable presence of numerous archeological vestiges
in the area that is today a legacy of the Africans slaves in the Amazon.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank CNPq for their financial support of the research, PROPESP/
UFPA and FADESP for their financial support of this article’s publication, and the
editors and reviewers of the journal.

Funding
This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e
Tecnológico [grant number 471896/2013-6]; PROPESP/UFPA e FADESP [grant
number 23073.032152/2015-16].
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 219

ORCiD
Diogo M. Costa http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4220-8232

References
Acevedo, Rosa, and Edna Castro. 1998. Negros de Trombetas: Guardiões das Matas e dos Rios. Belém: Cejup/
UFPA-NAEA.
Assunção, Mathias R. 1996. Quilombos Maranhenses. In Liberdade por um Fio: História dos Quilombos no
Brasil, edited by J. J. Reis and F. D. S. Gomes, 433–466. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
Azulai, Luciana Cristina de Oliveira. 2014. Relação Interdisciplinar entre Museologia e Arqueologia: Uma
Perspectiva de Preservação e Socialização Patrimonial do Sítio Histórico do Engenho do Murutucu, TCC,
ICA, UFPA, Belém.
Bezerra Neto, José Maia. 2001. Ousados e Insubordinados: Protesto e Fugas de Escravos na Província do
Grão-Pará, 1840/1860. Topoi (Rio de Janeiro) 2: 73–112.
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

Bezerra Neto, José M. 2012. Escravidão Negra no Grão-Pará (séculos XVII-XIX). Belém: Paka-tatu.
Cavalcante, Ygor Olinto Rocha, and Patrícia Melo Sampaio. 2012. Histórias de Joaquinas: Mulheres,
Escravidão e Liberdade (Brasil, Amazonas: séc. XIX). Afro-Ásia 46: 97–120.
Chambouleyron, Rafael. 2006. Escravos do Atlântico Equatorial: Tráfico Negreiro para o Estado do Maranhão
e Pará (século XVII e início do século XVIII). Revista Brasileira de História 26(52): 79–114.
Coimbra, Oswaldo. 2003. Engenharia-militar Européia na Amazônia do século XVIII: As Três Décadas de
Landi do Gram-Pará. Belém: Prefeitura Municipal de Belém.
Costa, Diogo M. 2012. Mundos Virtuais: Uma Proposta de Teorização Sobre a Prática das Simulações
Computacionais na Arqueologia. Jornal de História da Arte e Arqueologia 18: 29–46.
Costa, Diogo M. 2013. Projeto Sítio-Escola Engenho do Murutucu: Uma Arqueologia dos Subalternos
Chamada Universal – MCTI/CNPq No. 14/2013, Processo no. 471896/2013-6.
Cruz, Ernesto. 1963. História do Pará. Belém: Universidade Federal do Pará.
Eltis, David, and Martin Halbert, editors. 2008. Análise do Tráfico de Escravos, 2010. In Voyages:
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. Accessed November 26, 2015. http://www.slavevoyages.org/assess
ment/estimates.
Ferreira, Anete Costa. 2007. A Influência Africana na Amazónia. Jornal Virtual, blog post Accessed November
18, 2015. https://blogaiep.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/instituto-internacional-da-lingua-portuguesa-0805/.
Figueiredo, Arthur Napoleão. 2008. Presença Africana na Amazônia. Revista Estudos Amazônicos 3(1): 119–
124.
Fonseca, Dante Ribeiro da. 2011. O Trabalho do Escravo de Origem Africana na Amazônia. Revista Veredas
Amazônicas 1(1): 1–14.
Freyre, Gilberto. 2003. Casa-grande e Senzala. Recife: Fundação Gilberto Freire.
Funes, Eurípedes A. 1996. ‘Nasci nas Matas, Nunda Tive Senhor:’ Histórias e Memória dos Mocambos do
Baixo Amazonas. In Liberdade por um Fio: História dos Quilombos no Brasil, edited by J. J. Reis and
F. D. S. Gomes, 467–97. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
Gorender, Jacob. 1990. A Escravidão Reabilitada. Ática: São Paulo.
Hurley, Jorge. 1936. A Cabanagem. Belém: Livraria Clássica.
Marques, Fernando L. T. 1997. Prospecção na Área da Casa do Engenho Murutucu. Belém, Pará: MPEG.
Marques, Fernando L. T. 2003. Organização Espacial e Cultura Material no Engenho Murutucu: Uma
Abordagem Arqueológica. In Simpósio Internacional Landi e o Século XVIII na Amazônia, 2–8. Belém:
UFPa/MPEG/Unama.
Marques, Fernando L. T. 2004. Modelo da Agroindústria Canavieira Colonial no Estuário Amazônico: Estudo
Arqueológico de Engenhos dos Séculos XVIII e XIX, Tese de Doutorado, PUCRS, Porto Alegre.
Marques, Fernando L. T. 2013. Murutucu: Engenho !?Fazenda Velha !?Ruínas !?…Núcleo de Pesquisa e
Extensão: Arqueologia e História de Engenhos (uma proposta de uso). Belém: Brazil.
Mello Jr., Donato. 1973. Antonio José Landi—Arquiteto de Belém. Belém: Governo do Estado do Pará.
 220 DIOGO M. COSTA

Melo, Marina da Silveira e. 2007. Geofísica Aplicada à Arqueologia: Investigação no Sítio Histórico Engenho
Murutucu, em Belém, Pará, Dissertação, UFPA, Belém.
Mendonça, Isabel Mayer Godinho. 2003. Antonio José Landi (1713–1791): Um Artista entre Dois Continentes.
Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Monteiro, B. n.d. História do Pará. Belém: Organizações Rômulo Maiorana.
Moreira, Norma Suely Lima. 2010. Cidadania e Gestão de Preservação do Patrimônio Histórico Público
Sociocultural: O Caso do Engenho do Murutucu em Belém do Pará, Dissertação de Mestrado, Unama, Belém.
Papavero, Nelson, Dante M. Teixeira, Paulo B. Cavalcante, and Horácio Higuchi. 2002. Landi: Fauna e Flora da
Amazônia Brasileira. Belém: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi.
Pinsky, Jaime. 2000. Escravidão no Brasil. São Paulo: Contexto.
Price, Richard. 2014. Vizinhos Difíceis: Maroons e Indios no Suriname. ILHA 16(1): 203–224.
Proença, Wander de Lara. 2007. Escravidão no Brasil: Debates Historiográficos Contemporâneos. Paper read at
Anais Eletrônicos da XXIV Semana de História: “Pensando o Brasil no Centenário de Caio Prado Júnior.”
Caderno de Resumos. Assis - SP: Gráfica UNESP, p. 56–66.
Raiol, Domingos Antônio. 1970. Motins Políticos ou História dos Principais Acontecimentos Políticos da
Província do Pará desde o ano de 1821 até 1835. Belém: UFPa.
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016

Salles, Vicente. 1992. Memorial da Cabanagem: Esboço do Pensamento Político-revolucionário no Grão-Pará.

Belém: CEJUP.
Salles, Vicente. 2005. O Negro no Pará: Sob o Regime da Escravidão. 3d ed, Belém: IAP.
Sampaio, Patrícia Melo. 2007. Escravidão e Liberdade na Amazônia Notas de Pesquisa sobre o Mundo do
Trabalho Indígena e Africano. In 3d Encontro Escravidão e Liberdade no Brasil Meridional,
Florianópolis- SC. Anais do III Encontro Escravidão e Liberdade no Brasil Meridional (CD-ROM). Sao
Leopoldo/RS: Oikos Editora, v. 1. p. 27–35.
Sampaio, Patrícia M. 2011. O Fim do Silêncio: Presença Negra na Amazônia. Belém: Açaí.
Sampaio, Patrícia Melo. 2013. Africanos e Índios na Amazônia: Experiências de Precarização da Liberdade. In
América: Poder, Conflicto y Política, edited by G. Dalla Corte Caballero, R. Piqueras Céspedes, and M. Tous
Mata, 825–840. Murcia: Universidad de Murcia.
Singleton, Theresa A. 2013. Reflexões sobre a Arqueologia da Diáspora Africana no Brasil. Vestígios 7(1): 209–
220.
Souza, Marcos A. T. 2013. Introdução: Arqueologia da Diáspora Africana no Brasil. Vestígios 7(1): 7–19.
SPHAN. 1981. Certidão de Tombamento das Ruínas do Engenho Murucutu e respectiva Capela de Nossa
Senhora da Conceição. In Livro Histórico V. 1. Nº inscr.: 488, F. 085, Nº Processo 0439-T-B-50.
Symanski, Luís Cláudio. 2014. A Arqueologia da Diáspora Africana nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil:
Problemáticas e Modelos. Afro-Ásia 49: 159–198.
Symanski, Luís Cláudio, and Flávio Gomes. 2013. Da Cultura Material da Escravidão e do Pós-emancipação:
Perspectivas Comparadas em Arqueologia e História. Revista de História Comparada 7(1): 293–338.
Villar, Lucila. 2011. Vida nos Engenhos: Relações de Trabalho, Parentesco e Edificações. Informativo do Museu
Paraense Emílio Goeldi 27(53): 1–8.
Voss, Barbara. 2008. The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis: Race and Sexuality in Colonial San Francisco. Berkeley:
University of California Press.

About the author

Diogo Menezes Costa is an associate professor and chair of the Graduate Program in
Anthropology at Federal University of Pará, leader of the Group of Amazonian His-
torical Archaeology — GAHiA, and researcher of CNPq. He has a bachelor’s degree
in history (FAPA 2001), master’s degree in cultural resource management (PUCGO
2003), PhD in anthropology (UF 2010), and post-doctorate in archaeology (UFMG
2012). He participated in more than 30 different archaeological projects in more
 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE AFRICAN SLAVES IN THE AMAZON 221

than 15 archaeological institutions, and his main focus is on historical archaeology,

digital archaeology, and environmental archaeology. He is also the creator and
administrator of the site http://arqueologiadigital.com.
Correspondence to: Diogo M. Costa, Federal University of Pará, Brazil – PPGA/
UFPA, Campus Guamá, Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01 – Guamá, CEP: 66075-110.
Belém/PA – Brazil. Email: dmcosta@ufpa.br
Downloaded by [177.65.168.72] at 17:09 03 August 2016