AfrOrigens has the mission of documenting, preserving, and promoting the historical and cultural heritage of the African diaspora in Brazil, recognizing the central role of Afro-descendant populations in the construction of Brazilian society. With an interdisciplinary approach, the project carries out archaeological, educational, cultural, and environmental initiatives that value collective memory as part of the national heritage.
Our work is organized around objectives that address the urgent need for historical preservation and the strengthening of Black identities. We are committed to producing high-quality knowledge on the African diaspora and making it accessible to diverse audiences such as academic, educational, community-based, and institutional.
Among our purposes are: training and empowering students, researchers, and members of traditional communities; developing research programs in territories marked by African ancestry; protecting, recording, and valuing archaeological sites of historical relevance; promoting social memory as a tool for recognition and belonging; and building bridges between past, present, and future through initiatives that integrate science, culture, and citizenship.
Enhance, on both national and international scales, discussions on the theories and methods of Aquatic Environments Archaeology related to the African diaspora.
Address the production of knowledge resulting from the study of this type of archaeological site in Brazil and abroad.
Adapt and disseminate, through case studies, the Annex of UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage to the Brazilian context.
Train and qualify archaeology students, archaeologists, researchers, members of traditional communities, and other interested parties for fieldwork through scuba diving courses and extension courses on Introduction to Underwater Archaeology.
Develop research programs in collaboration with communities directly connected to the shipwrecks of slave vessels.
Make research findings on these archaeological sites accessible to the public through dissemination in different media.
Develop Heritage Education programs through the production of educational materials (booklets, books, documentaries, among others) that highlight the theme.
Carry out courses, lectures, and conferences in Brazil and abroad, as well as organize seminars on the subject.
Develop mechanisms for the management and protection of the studied archaeological sites for future generations, to serve as models for safeguarding Brazil’s underwater cultural heritage, which is constantly threatened by unscrupulous human activity.
Locate and document artifacts removed from these archaeological sites by amateur divers.
Strengthen international collaboration in line with the SWP Mission and the recommendations of UNESCO’s 2001 Convention.
