Patrimônio paleontológico na exposição “Arqueologia do Resgate” do Museu Nacional (RJ): nova (res)significação

Abstract

Fossils reflect a symbolic memory of the Earth's historical past, being products left by geopaleontological processes over time. They became Paleontology’s object of study, and, as consequence, an intrinsic and affective bond was formed between paleontologists and their object of study, which begins with the collection process, the research selection, and the choice of the fossil to be studied, generating an appreciation for the object, from the moment of discovery to its effective safeguarding in a collection, endorsing its relevant character to science. It is the scientific collections that legitimize them as a paleontological heritage, certifying their identity, their exceptional character, their valorization as a source of knowledge and knowledge and scientific production (PINTO, 2009). They are also evidence of historical, political, or scientific movements that the country, the institution and/or science went through. It should also be noted that fossils are, par excellence, objects of various survivals. The first of these is the fossilization itself, followed by collection and insertion into a museum or scientific institution. In the case of Museu Nacional, one more is added: the survival after the fire. This new meaning must be registered and actively worked on by the Museum. Stránsky (1995 apud DESVALLÉS; MAIRESSE, 2013) states that a museum object (musealia) is not just an object within a museum, that is, it is not the mere transfer of an object to the physical limits of a museum that makes it museum object. For an object to become musealia, it must be submitted to specific parameters (or processes) of protection, documentation, study and interpretation (SCHEINER, 2015). The set of these processes is called musealization. A museum object can be observed through various prisms of meaning (historical, scientific, social, among others) that influence its interpretation (PEARCE, 1994). Each prism of meaning merges with the previous one; in a process of enrichment and not of replacement of meanings. Thus, any museum object can, throughout its trajectory, gain new meanings, whether they are the result of new perspectives, new studies and discoveries, or the result of external events, such as accidents. The study of their “biographies” allows for a series of discoveries and relationships that surround them (ALBERTINI, 2005). In the specific case of accidents, the (re)signification work occurs precisely because of the damage suffered by the collections, which can be of different degrees and natures. In the case of natural history and anthropology collections, these alterations can be extreme and even mean a complete alteration of the material. This study deals with the process of (re)signification of the post-disaster museological object and proposes the separation of these objects into three categories, considering the possible damages suffered by the objects. The case study focuses on the objects from the paleontological collection of the Museu Nacional that were rescued from the ruins of the palace, after the fire that occurred in September 2018. These fossils were exhibited between February and April 2019, along with other recovered objects, at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB) in Rio de Janeiro, in an exhibition entitled Arqueologia do Resgate. The three proposed categories are: (1) objects with no or little apparent damage, (2) objects with damage (incorporation of other elements and chemical changes), and (3) objects that arose due to the fire (transformed). The categorization into types of damage contributes to a more effective management, facilitating the processes of documentation, conservation, and exhibition of these objects. By way of conclusion, we recall that such fossils, being museum objects, have both scientific-academic meanings and others related to the institution to which they belong. Fire survival is on more meaning to be added to such values. These objects, in addition to testimonies of the earth's history and geological time, in addition to representations of past biodiversity, in addition to representatives of historical collections, are now representations of a tragic institutional fact, but of importance nevertheless.