JOÃO BARBOSA RODRIGUES: PIONEER OF ETHNOCLASSIFICATION IN AMAZONIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Abstract

The classification is a key task for Science, serving the most diverse aims. For archeology is one of the central tools to understand the content, form, meanings, spatial distribution, and the chronology of material culture. In the American continent, the paradigm of classification predominated until the 1940s. In Brazil, we can say that it prevailed until the late 1980's. The history of Brazilian archeology shows that different strategies for classification were adopted, almost all of them related to mid 19th century European and American schools. In Brazil, the reasons behind the chosen ways of classifying are still poorly known. This article presents João Barbosa Rodrigues’ method of archaeological classification. From 1875 until 1899, he took a unique and original position within Brazilian archeology, heavily influenced by the systematic and by the linguistic theories of Karl P. von Martius. Keywords: João Barbosa Rodrigues, History of Brazilian Archaeology, Ethnoclassification.