Excavating Temporalities

Does archeology only handles the past? Is studying recent contexts through archeology a valid proposal? The past ten years have seen an increase in the interest of studying the ‘contemporary past’, term infused with a singularity that has been discussed by several archeologists: it is, simultaneously, past and present, rupturing with the concept of linearity of time. This is more perceived in research with historical contexts as the object, because artifacts, documents and oral reports inflate with multiple temporalities the archaeological narratives. In this article, I aim to provoke thought on how our conceptions of time influence the archeology métier. Using as example my PhD research in development, which analyzes an old psychiatric institution from Minas Gerais – Hospital Colônia – I aim to highlight the potentials of a work concerned with recent contexts, in which the temporal perspective is multiple and not linear. Escavando temporalidades Arqueologia é apenas sobre passado? É válido e possível estudar arqueologicamente contextos recentes? Neste artigo pretendo fazer uma pequena provocação no sentido de pensar como nossas concepções de tempo influenciam nosso métier e, utilizando minha pesquisa doutoral como exemplo, chamarei a atenção para os potenciais de um trabalho preocupado com contextos recentes, cuja perspectiva temporal é múltipla e não linear.