Entre o passado e o contemporâneo: o Mercedários UFPA e o fazer arqueológico e antropológico em uma capital amazônica

Abstract

The research discusses the Mercedários building from the perspective of archaeology and urban anthropology in historic centers. Through interviews with the general public, residents near the building and visitors to the Mercedários UFPA, aspects of people's daily lives in this space in contemporary times are addressed, such as its interesting elements and its different uses, which influence the way it is read, and the fact that it is a super artifact, although it is often forgotten. Geophysical methodology was used for the archaeological investigation, followed by monitoring the works that took place in the space and analysis of the collected material, revealing traces of material culture hidden in the basement of the building, in order to generate new possibilities for studying the history of the city and its inhabitants. Currently, the building is one of the UFPA campuses, where the Undergraduate Course in Conservation and Restoration and the Postgraduate Program in Heritage Sciences operate. In the 17th century, it was founded as a convent of the Mercedarian Order, and from the end of the 18th century it began to function as the Belém Customs House, housing other institutions at the same time and later. Its almost 400 years tell us about the biography of this object and stories of people's interactions with the space today, in addition to the accident in a capital of the Amazon.