The document summarizes an international congress on archaeology, history, prehistory and protohistory hosted by the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil from September 4-10, 2011. The congress, organized every 4 years by the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, aims to discuss modern archaeological practices and promote interaction between researchers and society. It will focus on topics such as public archaeology in Latin America, new methods and theories in archaeology, the settlement of the Americas, and archaeology across oceans.