Estudo morfológico e estilístico da coleção Cunani.

Abstract

Our work plan forms part of the project "The Microregion of Oiapoque: Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Cultures of Cunani". The collection was discovered on Mount Curu, Cunani region, located in the northern part of Amapá State, between 2 00 and 320' north latitude and 5000' and 5140' west longitude, belonging to the Microregion of Oiapoque. The study aims to analyze the morphology and the aesthetics of the decorative motifs of 17 ceramic pieces (currently belonging to the Aristé-Cunani collection of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi) found in the igarapé do Holanda, a left tributary of the Cunani River, by Emílio Goeldi and Aureliano de Lima Guedes. At the methodological level, a form was prepared for the description of the ceramics, containing items relating the characteristics of the paste, the morphological aspects of each piece and the decorative techniques and motifs. Then, a classification of the forms was made and two major categories were identified: 1) open vessel forms, including 1 tray, 1 bowl and 3 bowls, and 2) closed vessel forms, including 4 pitchers, 6 anthropomorphic vases and 2 carboys or jugs (following the classification of Balfet, Fauvet and Monzón). As a result of the stylistic analysis, a table was obtained with the nomenclature of the decorative motifs of the pieces, where five different styles were classified: virgular; volutes and Greek; bilinear, trilinear, and multilinear; checkerboard and zig-zags and variations where zoomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs are included. The present study contributes to the knowledge of Cunani ceramics, observing not only the functional particularities, but also the funerary rituals of this group, which buried their dead in artificial wells (boot-shaped), a unique occurrence in Brazilian archaeology.