Conferência: «What is Portuguese Archaeology»

Conferência: «What is Portuguese Archaeology?» proferida por Katina Lillios (University of Iowa).

Any synthesis of the prehistoric past of the Iberian Peninsula faces the challenge of incorporating the archaeology produced within the territories of two nations: Portugal and Spain (and if one counts Gibraltar, three nations). This may seem like a straightforward task, but it is not. In reality, it opens up a Pandora’s box of questions. How should one write about the prehistoric past of the Peninsula as a geographic whole that is characterized by environmental diversity that crosscuts national borders? How much should one incorporate interactions with peoples who lived across the Strait of Gibraltar and along the Mediterranean and Atlantic? How does one engage with national (and nationalist) practices in writing about the past of the Peninsula? Indeed, what is Portuguese archaeology? How is it distinctive from Spanish archaeology?  
 These questions have emerged for me in the process of writing a book on the archaeology of the Iberian Peninsula (from the Paleolithic-Early Bronze Age). My presentation will begin by exploring some of the specific case studies that have provoked these questions. Following this, I hope we may have a productive discussion about what it means to engage in Portuguese archaeology – and indeed what is means to be a Portuguese archaeologist today - in a globalized world threaded with nationalist and nativist movements, where jobs are scarce and mobility among academics is high, and where rising social inequalities, authoritarianism, and climate change, threaten all.

A Conferência será precedida pela Reunião da Secção de Pré-História. Entrada livre, condicionada aos lugares existentes.