Between objectified lives and victims of slavery: the bones of the Pretos Novos Cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

In recent years, slavery has been redefined in new frames that emphasizes the enslaved’s perspective. This change brings a new morality that denounces the process of victimization of the enslaved. But these narratives are permeated by conflicts and ambiguities. Through an ethnografic research of the bones found in the Pretos Novos Cemetery archeological site, this article analyzes the multiplicity of actors and representantios which transcend and ressignify the victimization process and highlights the complexity of the contemporary category of victim, in particular victims of slavery, in Brasil.

Key words: victim; slavery; human remains; heritage making; Pretos Novos