Perceptions of the Matacanela Archaeological Site by the People of Zapoapan de Cabañas

Summary

The town of Zapoapan de Cabañas, located south of Lake Catemaco, Veracruz is adjacent to the archaeological site of Matacanela. Even though little historical continuity exists between the archaeological site and the contemporary settlement, perceptions that Zapoapan’s inhabitants have about the site are informative because they suggest how the site is internalized and integrated into daily life. The historical memory of the inhabitants of Zapoapan de Cabañas, through oral tradition and the reuse of space, is a cultural phenomenon that links the daily landscape with the past. Archaeologists play an important role in how the community’s perceptions of the past are shaped. We present some findings from preliminary ethnographic research into their ideas of the past and how they relate to it on a daily basis.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• The Matacanela Archaeological Project 2014

Keywords

Spatial Coverage