A fragment in each institution: the dispersion of Dita Acatauassu Marajoara Archaelogical Collection (Amazonia, Brazil)

Abstract

Private collecting of archaeological ceramics was a common practice in Amazonia during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the collected material has been deposited in a number of Brazilian and international museums. Those collections have become the object of study in various areas, despite the difficulty in retrieving original information. This paper analyses the Dita Acatauassu collection from Marajó Island, for an eventual permanent custody by the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Results of morphological and decoration analysis of 613 individually inventoried fragments allowed for the reorganisation of 40% of the holdings. In addition, a diagnosis of residues of previous interventions and recent fractures, compared to the documentation, determined the existence of fragments belonging to the same objects in two other institutions sometimes adding up to almost complete items. Complex and unique issues related to the conservation and management of archaeological collections, donations and decontextualisation of holdings, loan policies and collection sharing of objects formed by fragments in the care of different institutions are discussed.

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