The Relation Between Overlander and Archaeology the 31 kilometers (19,263 miles) of a precarious rural road that led to the community, becoming an essential tool in my professional activities.
and materials of European origin such as Portuguese faience, enamelled ceramics and some metallic objects. I realized that this was possibly a place of contact between natives and Europeans in the 16th century, something really rare, not only in Brazil but also in all the Americas.
In 2002, when I was 23 years old, I boughtmyfirstx44 vehicle,aLadaNiva 9,and )10 .6( withitIstartedmyfirst In 2006, after a three-month off-road adventures. archaeological campaign in the Chapel of Saint Michael Paulista (dated 1590), I Early on, I realized that the visited the village of Bananal and heard traditional off-road trails were not what rumors that in a nearby village called I got authorization from community I really wanted. Quick weekend trails Piaçaguéra, which means “the way of leaders to take some pieces to be bring a lot of maintenance and just a few theancients,”appearedsomepieces presented of to the authorities of the places were visited. Because of that, I potteryonafootballfieldinthemiddle historical preservation of heritage, started taking longer journeys with the of the community. showing that the remains were about car, accessing remote places, often four kilometers from another important alone. Because of this, I earned myself We were in the rainy season and historical site, the Ruins of Abarebebê thenickname“crazy,”consideringthe the challenge was the sandy soil in the (“flyingpriest”intheTupinikimlanguage, risks involved in my trips. I avoided region which became impermeable one of the peoples on the Brazilian buying a second car, forcing myself to in many places, forming large ponds coast), a church dating from 1505. use it on a daily basis as well. with dark-colored water, almost Unfortunately, my requests for studies ferruginous, due to the tannin of plant in the area were not accepted and the From 2000 to 2009, I carried out decomposition. After overcoming all area remains unknown till today! several ethnological and incomedifficulties,Icameacrossanincredible generating works in the indigenous amount of archaeological materials As I had an off-road driving training community of the Tupi Guarani people collected by the residents of the reserve. in Depaschoal Goodyear University in the city of Peruibe on the coast of Some of them showed me big garbage (2004), I started offering my car for the state of São Paulo. Niva’s off-road bags full of ceramic materials, a mixture archaeological campaigns in addition to capabilities were constantly tested in of low-temperature indigenous ceramics my archaeologist service. In 2010, I was
22
