Paisagem garimpeira no planalto de Diamantina, Minas Gerais

Abstract

The awareness of landscape stimulates a cognitive attitude towards the signs of the world. Such behavior guided the study of the remaining area of the old Diamond District, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Three centuries of mining have left deep vestiges of this activity in the beautiful and diverse environment of the Espinhaço mountain range. This article proposes a critical debate about the heritage dimension of the landscape carved by diggers or garimpeiros. The methodology is based on the notions of visible landscape and lived landscape, and aims to raise tensions of the territory and to build a narrative about the garimpeiros landscape. The work required text and cartographic sources, as well as fieldwork. The results confirm the lack of knowledge about this traditional population. They also impose a reflection about inclusive social development policies, and the need for a concept of tourism that is capable of being integrated in this purpose. This demands the structuring of a knowledge basis and identification of this landscape.