“Aquela exposição conta a história da origem dos maíra, dos brancos”: uma etnografia das narrativas arqueológicas na exposição Goiás: 11 mil anos do IPHAN-GO

Abstract

This dissertation presents an ethnographic study of the archaeological narratives featured in the exhibition Goiás: 11 mil anos, organized by IPHAN Goiás, with the aim of understanding how the exhibition discourse constructs meanings about the “archaeological past” of the territory of Goiás. Through an ethnographic approach and a critical perspective on science, the research analyzes how materialities and discourses are organized within the exhibition space, problematizing which narratives are legitimized and which voices—especially those of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples—are silenced. The study is based on the hypothesis that archaeological exhibitions such as this one reinforce hegemonic perspectives and marginalize historically excluded groups (Moraes Wichers, 2023, in press). To challenge this model, the research draws on intercultural (Kopenawa, 2019; Baniwa, 2022) and decolonial (Ballestrin, 2013; Gonzalez, 2018; Kilomba, 2020) frameworks, as well as on studies focused on debates surrounding archaeological practice and narrative construction (Barreto, 1999– 2000; Bezerra, 2012; Cabral, 2014), in order to reflect on the musealization of archaeology. Central to this analysis is the use of the concept of the “authorized heritage discourse” (Smith, 2021), which supports a critical examination of curatorial choices. The methodology combines analysis of the exhibition discourse with a sensitive and situated ethnography, highlighting the co-authored writing with Samuel Tapirapé, an Indigenous friend and fellow master's student, during a family visit to the exhibition. As an interpretive methodological resource, “interpretive images” and visual mosaics were developed, contributing to a deeper reading of the symbolic and ideological layers of the archaeological and heritage discourse. The results reveal the erasure of plural narratives that diverge from the dominant “scientific” model, while also exposing fractures within the colonial discourse through the presence and actions of Indigenous subjects who challenge the linearity of a “single story.” The study concludes that the musealization of archaeology in Goiás and in Brazil requires more symmetrical, ethical, and intercultural approaches—ones that value traditional knowledge, multiple memories and cosmologies, and are committed to building truly democratic and decolonial exhibitions.