Historian Robson Eleutério is launching the book “Paths and descaminhos in Central Brazil:history in the Federal District region”. The work presents the successive population occupations of the Brazilian Central Plateau from prehistory to the inauguration of the current capital of the country. It is a continuation of his previous studies and also of the works of the immortal historian Paulo Bertran, his research companion on the past of this region.
The author observes that it is a paradidactic work, efficient from the pedagogical point of view. “This book creates a specific approach to the DF region, mainly in the areas of History, Geography and Arts. It allows the teacher to teach the normal content, included in the curriculum, and at the same time to make a parallel with the history and prehistory here in the DF (Formosa, Unaí, Planaltina de Goiás), regions close to the student's world, therefore that awaken your interest. The Fundamental Stone, built in the same year as the Modera Art Week, also integrates the spirit of Modernism that was emerging in Brazil.”
The research and publication project for the book, which features many photos, maps and other rare documents, was funded by the Fund for Supporting Culture (FAC) of the Federal District.
The work begins by showing how the Iberian kings shared the territory of South America, highlighting the importance of roads, villages, fortifications and international law treaties in possession of the immense area that formed Brazil. It also narrates the paths of this process, caused both by technological limits and by strong popular discontent, and also by the inadequate geographical location of the government of that continental territory until the change to the current site that houses the Federal District.
The second chapter deals with the path to the realization of the idea of transferring the Brazilian capital from the coast to the center of the country, addressing the constitutional apparatus that sustained it and explaining the misdirections that delayed this geographic centralization of power. And, at the end, a subchapter talks about the great artistic monuments of world fame, among which those of Brasília are inserted.
A study on the geohistory and toponymy of the region in focus serves as background for the third chapter. In it, from its sources, the reader is invited to navigate through the numerous watercourses of the Central Plateau, visualizing the importance of these water resources for the arrival and permanence of its residents since prehistory, and for their choice as a seat. of the city where the government of the country is located.
In the fourth chapter, the former residents of the region of the current Federal District are presented, from prehistoric hunters and gatherers in their archaeological sites to the indigenous people described by historians. The fifth chapter, on the other hand, narrates the detours of the bandeirante expeditions.
In the sixth chapter, the reader is guided by the main paths of the troops, herds, horsemen and pedestrians that crossed the Central Plateau. And, throughout this adventure, he is called upon to observe the smuggling of smuggling and the government's ways of opposing it.
The seventh chapter addresses some important pioneering population agglomerations of Central Brazil, mainly in their historical aspects. The eighth analyzes in depth the various technical and scientific studies that, from the 19th century onwards, paved the way for the implementation of the Federal District in the Brazilian Central Plateau.
To close the book, the author presents aspects of the so-called Cerrate culture, in a range of diversity that ranges from musical groups to the activity of midwives in the region.
Click here and download the work for free or contact the author via email [email protected] to obtain the printed version.