This article examines some of the issues surrounding archiving in anthropology. It provides an account of archiving in the Portuguese context and seeks to problematize anthropology archives, contributing to the as yet timid debate over this question in the field. There are various ways of recording ethnographies and saving the ensuing records. Anthropologists often reflect on their archives, but rarely make these reflections public. Nor do we know much about what anthropologists in general plan to do with their fieldnotes, diaries, images, maps, drawings, audio and video recordings and objects, once a specific research project is complete. How do anthropologists store their data? What should be done with these materials? What stories can they tell? Will the ethnographic materials produced in the present be considered historical archives in the future?

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• Anthropology - Social Sciences

This publication is an output of the following project(s):

• Com os Pés em Três Cidades: Maputo, Lisboa, Londres. Itinerários Residenciais e Mobilidade Inter-Urbana na Diáspora Hindu-Gujarati
• Centre for Research in Anthropology
• Gender Diversity, Citizenship and Health: Trans gender identities and expressions of gender in relation to the new medical and legal frameworks
• Urban Ethnographers. Professional portraits, ethnographic archives and fieldwork revisitation