Logo image
Back
Nationalism and Copper Age research in Portugal during the Salazar regime (1932–1974)
Book chapter

Nationalism and Copper Age research in Portugal during the Salazar regime (1932–1974)

Katina T Lillios
Nationalism, Politics and the Practice of Archaeology, pp.57-69
Cambridge University Press
01/26/1996
DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511558214.004

View Online

Abstract

Shame on the child that is not proud of his parents. Shame onwhomever is not proud of his fatherland. Yes, I am proud. I amproud of being a Portuguese, and the primary cause of my pride isthe history of my country … Admirable history of a heroic race thathas no match in the world. My chest expands, my heart beats withpride. Yes, blessed mother that raised me, blessed this passionate race,supreme and magnificent, of our beloved Portugal.(Sampaio 1926:13, 33)We were a great people, therefore we are a great people.(Aragão 1985:291)That archaeology can be informed by nationalist ideologies is assumed. Specifying precisely how nationalism articulates with interpretations of the past, however, presents a formidable challenge to the historiographer. Archaeologists rarely make explicit, either in published form or in correspondence, their political, social, or psychological agendas. The historiographer is forced, therefore, to make associations from often meager documentation. Furthermore, many archaeological historiographers are archaeologists who have been trained to deal with long-extinct societies. When considering the individual, who may still be alive, they must employ a new scale of analysis and exercise a higher degree of political awareness and sensitivity. But, to pursue the issue of nationalism in archaeology, to understand the link between the mind of a political leader and the archaeological record, the historiographer must assume these responsibilities.

Details

Metrics

102 Record Views
Logo image