FROM STONE TO DOCUMENT

A BIOGRAPHY OF EX SITU GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE AT THE MUSEUM OF GEODIVERSITY (IGEO/UFRJ)

Abstract

Musealization transforms material objects into supports for information, memory, and heritage, producing new interpretative frameworks and value regimes. Some of these objects defy simple and superficial classifications by simultaneously moving between different domains of meaning, articulating natural, historical, scientific, and cultural dimensions. This is the case of the lioz limestone capitals currently exhibited at the Museum of Geodiversity, whose trajectory involves their geological formation, use in colonial architecture, displacements resulting from the urban transformations of Rio de Janeiro, and subsequent incorporation into the museum space. The objective of this work is to analyze the lioz capitals as document-objects, discussing how their processes of circulation, preservation, documentation, and musealization contributed to the construction of their heritage value. The research is based on bibliographic review, document analysis, and case study, articulating contributions from Museology, Information Science, heritage studies, and cultural memory. The perspective adopted is that of the cultural biography of objects, complemented by an understanding of musealization as a process of information production and by reflection on the regimes of remembering and forgetting present in cultural memory. Preliminary results indicate that the capitals have accumulated successive layers of meaning throughout their history. It is concluded that their heritage relevance does not stem exclusively from their geological materiality or architectural value, but also from their historical trajectory, marked by processes of preservation, forgetting, documentation, and re-signification.