Paulistaware: five centuries of the persistence of tupiniquim practices in São Paulo and Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

The Archeology of Colonialism in Brazil of the last decade is thought to decolonize the field. It has begun to reveal and build stories of persistence, valuing multiple perspectives, and ontologies. This study compares three types of ceramics and interprets the relationship between Tupiniquim and Portuguese as allies and partners in the colonial process of Sao Paulo. The women appropriated and transformed the “Portuguese other” and their technology into one of the Tupiniquim colonial materialities - the paulistaware, which signifies not a cultural loss, but cultural persistence of practices for five centuries.

Key words:
Postcolonial studies; Tupi peoples; Long duration History; Ceramic practices; Indigenous peoples; Gender