With this substantial publication on indigenous Brazilian art, anthropologists Berta G[leizer] Ribeiro and Darcy Ribeiro (husband and wife) made an essential contribution to the field on the basis of pioneering research. The list of items covered in the chapters fails to capture the richness of the contents. The first chapter on ceramics, for instance, illustrates the author’s parti pris: “Generic groups. Ceramics used for cooking. Useful ceramics and/or ceramics used in ceremony, to store and to serve food. Thematic figurative ceramic statuary. Ceramics specifically geared to sales.” The glossary was fundamental to the overriding project. Owing to a combination of modesty and scientific integrity, the authors understood that a dictionary is not a complete or definitive object; no matter how far-reaching, but a dictionary must be a reflection and attempt to remedy imperfections by removing impurities and imprecision; it must be updated continually since material culture—as part of culture—is never static.
For further reading on indigenous art, aesthetics, and culture in Brazil, see the following texts by Darcy Ribeiro: “Arte índia” (doc. no. 1110737), “Arte plumária dos índios Kaapor” (doc. no. 1110739), “Arte: a vontade da beleza” (doc. no. 1110735), and “A transfiguração cultural” (doc. no. 785492).