14 Archaeological Legacies of Knowledge

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Document Type

Article

Volume

25

Issue

1

Abstract

The scholars in this volume successfully illustrate that state and local governments, archaeologists, museums, and the tourist industries actively manipulate “truth” about the past in ways that reflect both an “authentic” heritage and contemporary ethnic, political and economic hegemonic structures. Overall, the volume contributes to current issues of identity construction; to questions of authenticity and commodification of culture; and, to issues surrounding tourism in Mesoamerica. Three significant themes are woven throughout the articles: the reliance on the historical and archaeological past to empower subaltern groups to resist hegemonic structures especially through forms of expressive culture, museums, and tourist venues; the active and powerful struggle for identity by individuals relying on their connections to archaeological sites and rich historical traditions; and finally, the promise of scholarship that incorporates a more holistic archaeological perspective in a four‐field anthropology.

Keywords

holistic anthropology, advocacy archaeology, patrimony

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