Paper short abstract:

We will analyze the agenda(s) supporting the preference for ‘Lusitanian warriors’ (iron age stone statues) accordingly to the Portuguese leading political system, from the end of the 19th century onwards, highlighting their position within the vision and visuality of contemporary culture.

Paper long abstract:

Since the establishment of scientific archaeology in Portugal, stone statues of the so-called "Lusitanian warriors" were chosen to illustrate a specific agenda. The first Portuguese archaeologists published quite a few papers on this subject, as, together with iron age hill forts, those artifacts were envisioned as a representation of the Portuguese ethnogenesis, as well as a symbol of its nature, and freewill. What is more, they were frequently connected to a supposed historical union of the North of Portugal and the region of Galicia, a suggestion which could have political consequences for both Iberian countries. In addition, those statues were identified specifically as "Lusitanian", i.e., the claimed ancestors of contemporary Portuguese, legitimizing therefore its geographical and political frontiers. Unsurprisingly, these statues were collected, and exhibited in museums, where they played a central role. This was the case of the 'National Museum of Ethnology' (currently 'National Museum of Archaeology'), which logotype was, precisely, a 'Lusitanian warrior', alike the one employed by the 1st National Congress of Archaeology (Lisbon, 1958), as well as by many other organizations -public and private - up today.