Makak: Between History and Heritage

Summary

This paper examines a "mythic" settlement named Makak, located at the edge of Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a World Heritage Site, in Mauritius. A recent ethnohistoric study, conducted in collaboration with Mauritian colleagues used an array of oral, written, and material evidence to show that Makak is an informal place name for an area first settled by French colonists in the 1700s, then by several prominent "Free Colored" families in the 1800s, and finally depopulated as residents were forcibly removed in the 1940s. The investigation suggests that Makak is a serial settlement, which apparently long thrived as a multicultural community, tapped into global trade networks. As a key historical site adjacent to Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a World Heritage Site, Makak also plays a vital role in the Mauritian sense of identity and belonging. This presentation will thus also explore how Makak lives on not just as history, but as a place of heritage in Mauritian collective memory.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Archaeologies of Colonialism and Everyday Life in the Indian Ocean World

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