Learning heritage while teaching archaeology at Tahcabo, Yucatán: archaeologists’ perspectives on the opportunities and risks of local community engagement

Summary

While a great deal of archaeological research in the Maya area has been conducted with the interests of the academic community and tourism industry in mind, there are fewer examples of archaeology conducted with the needs of local "publics" foregrounded. We propose greater dialogue between archaeologists and the people who live near (and within) places where archaeologists conduct research, and consider the dissemination of archaeological information to communities involved in archaeological projects to be an important principle of best practices within the discipline. Drawing from ongoing community-engaged archaeology at Tahcabo, Yucatán, we explore the opportunities and risks inherent in intensified dialogue and dissemination. In particular, we consider the challenges of balancing epistemologies within a co-learning project in which community members share their perceptions of archaeology and knowledge of cultural heritage and we propose archaeological techniques as beneficial ways to learn about local pasts and present-day issues. Reaching a rapprochement requires commitment to collaboration on both sides. Co-learning projects to be considered in this light include a field trip for middle school students and their parents to a nearby archaeological site, a youth photography project that addressed strengths and problems within the community, and a heritage day at the primary school.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Public Perceptions of Archaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage