Paulo Duarte (November 17, 1899 – March 23, 1984), full name Paulo Alfeu Junqueira Duarte, was a Brazilian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and humanist. He was the first person to practice archaeology and advocate for the protection of archaeological sites on a large scale in Brazil. Duarte excavated hundreds of shell

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

s throughout Brazil which had been mined for

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

since the beginning of the colonial period. He established the Pre-Historical State Commission of São Paulo (Comissão de Pré-História de São Paulo) in 1952, housed at the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

, to preserve the objects he discovered. He also conducted excavations along the coast of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

state, which discovered a much-publicized pre-historic human skull known as " Miss Sambaqui". In addition to his archaeological work, Duarte was a leading proponent of

Brazilian culture The culture of Brazil is primarily Western, being derived from Portuguese culture, as well as the cultural and ethnic mixing that occurred between the Indigenous peoples, Portuguese colonizers and Africans. In the late 19th and early 20th centu ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

. He argued vociferously for the preservation of the unique cultures of the

indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...

. With

Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...

and Sérgio Milliet, he cofounded the São Paulo Department of Culture (''Departamento de Cultura e Recreação da Prefeitura Municipal de São Paulo'') in 1935. In 1937, in retaliation for various public remarks, he was

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d from Brazil by the government of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

. Duarte returned to Brazil after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and brought with him a number of European archaeologists he had met while in exile. With their assistance, the excavation of pre-historic Brazilian settlements began in earnest in 1954. Due to several sensational discoveries including "Miss Sambaqui", Duarte became something of a celebrity. He was asked to draft a law for the protection of archaeological heritage in 1957 by President

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

. The legislation passed in 1961, as Law no. 3924, and remains the framework for the archaeological preservation in Brazil today. Taking advantage of his fame to remark publicly on political issues, Duarte came once again into the displeasure of the government and was banned from teaching by the military government in 1969. He was banned from visiting USP from this point, and institution that he had helped found, and never returned. Archaeological preservation laws were poorly enforced by the dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970, and Duarte fought in this period against the destruction of shell middens. He died in 1984.

References

External links

Article by Mauricio Candido da Silva about "Miss Sambaqui.""Public Archaeology in Brazil" by Pedro Paulo a Funari (PDF).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duarte, Paulo 1899 births 1984 deaths Brazilian scientists Brazilian male writers Brazilian archaeologists Academic staff of the University of São Paulo 20th-century archaeologists