The present article starts by describing how the Asurini of the Xingu, a Tupi population that lives in a village by the Xingu River, interprets the archaeological traces that exist inside the boundaries of their territory. A reflection is then made on the different interpretative possibilities for the past. The article stresses the need of an interdisciplinary commitment concerning the definition of possession and maintenance of indigenous territories, and for the preservation of the archaeological patrimony that exists in these territories.
archaeology; Asurini; myth; patrimony