The establishment of the IAHE and the simultaneous publication of Ethnos are therefore closely tied to the internal evolution of the discipline of archaeology and its political position within the Salazarist framework, a position inextricably linked to the role of the second director of the Museu Etnológico . Focusing on this second aspect, it is worth noting that, while Leite de Vasconcelos remained famously detached from the political controversies of his time and navigated regime changes smoothly throughout the first quarter of the 20th century, Manuel Heleno took a markedly different stance. In the Varia section of the 1935 issue, Heleno explicitly denounced "attempts at the spoliation of national glories carried out by certain foreign scholars," accusing them of seeking to distort the "evidence [of] Portugal's role in the discovery of the Earth, the creation of new nations, and, ultimately, [of] Portugal's contribution to the History of Civilisation." In this vein, the Institute’s insignia and seal were created during a session on 18 October 1940 and featured prominently on the front and back covers of subsequent issues. The emblem, as described in the journal's second issue, consists of "[a] silver disc with twelve blue corners, each bearing five silver bezants, arranged in the pattern of the round sign of King Afonso Henriques. (...) Surrounding this emblem are two laurel branches in their natural colour, crossed at the tip and tied with gold." This symbolic connection to Afonso Henriques imbued the journal with a genetic, patriotic, nationalist, and providentialist connotation, aligning its ideology with that of the Estado Novo [New State]. Despite the political sympathies of its chief organiser, the integrity of the texts and the scientific validation of the articles appear to have been consistently maintained, as evidenced by the technical data sheets included in all eight issues.

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