A cultura material dos expostos batizados na paróquia da Sé de Braga (1744-1763)

Dissertação de mestrado em HistóriaA presente dissertação tem como objetivo estudar a cultura material no abandono de crianças durante o século XVIII em Portugal. Durante esse século ocorreu um aumento demográfico por toda a Europa, e um fenómeno de exposição de crianças nunca antes visto, que obrigou os estados a tomar medidas e encontrar formas de assistir as crianças abandonadas. Em Portugal, uma das instituições que ganhou peso foi a Roda dos expostos, que pretendia centralizar o abandono de crianças, e que esteve na raiz da escalada do fenómeno, ao potenciar o anonimato dos abandonos. Esta dissertação centra-se no abandono de crianças na cidade de Braga entre os anos de 1744 e 1763. Pela Roda de Braga passaram milhares de crianças, que eram dirigidas à Sé da cidade para receber o sacramento do batismo. Aí eram registadas no livro de “Registo de batismos de expostos 1744- 1771”, fonte central deste trabalho, o qual pertence ao Fundo Paroquial da Sé de Braga, à guarda do Arquivo Distrital de Braga. Estes registos, que constituíram a fonte principal deste trabalho, permitem aceder à descrição dos enxovais com os quais os expostos eram abandonados. Estes podiam conter roupas, tecidos, objetos, e eventualmente bilhetes, que constituem fontes de informação primordial para a compreensão do abandono. Este trabalho está estruturado em três capítulos. No primeiro, procura-se compreender aspetos como o abandono de crianças a nível nacional e europeu, as atitudes perante a infância, as possíveis motivações para o abandono, a instituição das Rodas e a importância do batismo. No segundo capítulo é feita uma breve análise dos expostos de Braga no que respeita a sua quantidade, às características das crianças (idade, sexo, etc.) aos locais de abandono. Por fim, o terceiro capítulo centra-se nos enxovais. Analisa-se com minúcia o vestuário (tecidos, cores e tipos de peças utilizadas), os sinais (tais como têxteis com valor simbólico (fitas, por exemplo) e objetos apotropaicos) e os bilhetes, que continham informações dos abandonadores em relação aos expostos (nome, batismo, data de nascimento e nome dos padrinhos).This dissertation aims to study the material culture in child abandonment during the 18th century in Portugal. During that century there has been a population increase across Europe, and a never-before seen phenomenon of child exposure, which forced states to act and find ways to assist abandoned children. In Portugal, one of the institutions that gained weight was the Wheel, which aimed to centralize the abandonment of children, and was at the root of the escalation of the phenomenon, by enhancing the anonymity of abandonment. This dissertation focuses on the abandoned children in the city of Braga between 1744 and 1763. Thousands of children passed through the Braga Wheel, who were sent to the city's Cathedral to receive the sacrament of baptism. There, they were registered in the book “Livro de batismos de expostos 1744-1771”, which belongs to the Parochial Fund of the Sé de Braga, in the custody of the District Archive of Braga. These records, which constituted the main source of this work, allow access to the description of the trousseaus with which the children were abandoned. These could contain clothes, fabrics, objects, and eventually messages, which are essential sources of information for understanding abandonment. This work is divided in three chapters. The first seeks to understand aspects such as the abandonment of children at national and European level, attitudes towards childhood, possible reasons for abandonment, the institution of the Wheel and the importance of baptism. The second chapter presents a brief analysis of the abandoned children in Braga, quantity, characteristics (age, gender, etc.) and places of abandonment. Finally, the third chapter focuses on trousseaus. Clothing (fabrics, colors, and types of pieces), tokens (such as textiles with symbolic value (ribbon, for example) and apotropaic objects) and notes, which contained information in relation to those exposed (name, baptism, date of birth and godparents' names)

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora