The book “Art and Archeology of Indigenous America – The Cerqueira Leite pre-Columbian collection” was launched this Wednesday night (30) in a ceremony at the Auditorium of Campus I of PUC-Campinas. With 480 pages, in Portuguese and English, the work is the result of an unprecedented partnership between the publishers Splendet PUC-Campinas and Unicamp. The issue presents archaeological artifacts made by pre-Columbian indigenous societies that make up the collection of Rogério Cerqueira Leite, professor emeritus at Unicamp and president of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM).
The event was attended by Rogério Cerqueira Leite; the organizers of the book, professors Alexandre Guida Navarro and Denise Maria Cavalcante Gomes; Germano Rigacci Júnior and José Benedito de Almeida David, rector and vice-rector of PUC-Campinas; and the rector of Unicamp, Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles.
“The collections out there are always very specialized. I follow the opposite path. I believe that a collection that really shows the culture of a people, evolution, their religions, should have a more general view of the work of that people", comments Cerqueira Leite, who anticipates the publication of new collections soon. “By the end of the Next year, I should have eight complete collections on different cultures.”
The rector of PUC-Campinas considers that cooperation between universities was important to produce genuine and rich material. “For our university, this is of significant importance, because it is the contribution we can make to the dissemination of art from the collection of Dr. Rogério Cerqueira Leite, which deals with a pre-Columbian culture that is genuine, in the sense that it is representing a period prior to colonization", assesses Germano Rigacci Júnior.
The satisfaction was shared by Unicamp's rector. “During my administration, I have valued both the need for our community to cooperate internally and the openness to a more intense relationship with the outside world. Therefore, PUC-Campinas plays a very important role in this. The reception of Professor Germano and Father David was very great, and this has been a very good relationship. The book is a moment of that. It is a very important cooperation agenda for both universities”, says Antonio Meirelles.
The work
The book features 794 artifacts, 599 of which are whole pieces and 195 fragments of figurines, sculptures, vases and ceramics from the Americas. They are pieces that cover civilizations such as the Olmecs, Aztecs and Mayans, originating in Mexico and Central America; the Inca Empire in Peru; and the Chilean Mapuche. Of the native peoples of the Brazilian territory, the Marajoara artifacts and other cultures of the Lower Amazon stand out, such as the Pocó and the Mazagão, in addition to peoples from other regions, such as the Tupiguarani.
The work's organizers, Alexandre Guida Navarro and Denise Cavalcante Gomes, author introductory articles with reflections on the symbolism of the gestures contained in the collection's pieces and new archaeological perspectives, which abandon the idea of human supremacy over other beings. Pedro Paulo Funari, professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH), also participates in the edition with a text on cultural diversity in Latin America. The preface is authored by Marcelo Knobel, former rector of Unicamp.
Data sheet:
Art and archeology of indigenous America – The pre-Columbian Cerqueira Leite collection
Written by: Alexandre Guida Navarro and Denise Maria Cavalcante Gomes
Co-published: Splendet PUC-Campinas and Editora Unicamp
Technical data: 1st edition, 2022; 480 pages; format: 23 x 28 cm.
ISBN: 978-85-268-1560-5
Areas of interest: Archeology, History
Price: $ 280,00
