Body modification and paleopathological evidence in the iconography from the ‘Philosophical Travel’ to Brazilian Amazonia by Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (1783 – 1792)

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Maria do Rosário
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Santos, Ana Luísa, Miranda, Maria Arminda, Matos, Vítor
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/15856; https://doi.org/10.14195/2182-7982_27_13
• topic: Modificações corporais artificiais; Nanismo; Doenças dermatológicas; Diagnóstico diferencial; Abordagem biocultural; Paleopatologia

Iconographic representation of humans is an important source of evidence for paleopathologists. This is particularly so in acknowledging sociocultural practices in past and/or extinct populations. The aim of this work is to report images of body modifications and cases of paleopathological interest represented in the iconography recovered during the ‘Philosophical Travel’ to the Brazilian Amazonia, led by the naturalist Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (ARF) between 1783 and 1792. Watercolors executed by the official expedition illustrators have been selected from the surviving archive. These portray individuals with their artefacts, clearly exhibiting cranial, facial and thoracic modifications, performed by groups such as the Tanarana, Cambeba, Jurupixuna, Mauá, Miranha, Caripúna and Uariquena. ARF also recorded the procedures and underlying cultural significance of these practices. The unequivocal pathological cases represented include a “male dwarf” [sic], and a Catauixi woman with dermatological lesions on her body. The author described with some details this skin condition and considered various possible diagnoses (e.g. vitiligo, scabies or leprosy). He also questioned whether these were hereditary or environmental in origin. This study considers the documentary evidence in the context of modern paleopathological inquiry, contributing to our understanding of cultural practices and diseases affecting the Amazonian inhabitants during the 18th century.