The paper address the preliminary results of the Public Archaeology project that is being conducted by the author at Joanes, a small fishermen village in Marajo Island, state of Pará, Brazil, considering the ruins of an historic site assigned to a religious mission from the late XVIIth Century. The reflections about the local communities' perceptions of the site highlight the underlying logic of collecting artifacts – a local common practice – and the subsequent organization of small 'domestic collections'. I argue that collecting in these contexts should not be regarded as looting or destruction, but as a singular form of heritage and past appropriation. I believe this discussion will contribute to the understanding of the relationship between small scale communities and the archaeological heritage in Brazilian Amazon.