Paper short abstract:

Zapara dreamers of Amazonian Ecuador envisage archaeological objects as “artefact teachers” which should be cherished because they increase one's knowledge; in addition, the ancestors use them to provide advice and help in personal and collective affairs.

Paper long abstract:

The Amerindian Zapara are on the verge of disappearing from the linguistic map of Amazonian Ecuador. In their struggle to exist socially and politically on the regional stage, they produce their own ethnography and gather ancient objects which they find in their territory, like ceramic shards, magic stones and ceramic stamps. This paper draws upon notions of embodiment, aesthetics and patrimonialization to examine the modes of collection, conservation and use of these objects. Magic stones embodied in humans, and ancient objects kept in their home and not intended to be seen are relevant examples of what "artefacts teachers" are for the Zapara. Thus, I will investigate how they perceive Zapara items that have been conserved in European museums for more than one century. In this paper, I argue that Zapara dreamers envisage archaeological objects as "artefact teachers" which should be cherished because they increase one's knowledge; in addition, the ancestors use them to provide advice and help in personal and collective affairs.