Archaeological Impacts on Collective Memory: Re-creating a Mayan Identity?

Author(s): Kasey Diserens Morgan

Year: 2018

Summary

If collective memory "requires the support of a group delimited in space and time," (Halbwachs 1992) how does archaeological work engaging local communities impact the memory of historical events? As scholars interested in the indigenous rebellion known as the Caste War (1847-1901) in Tihosuco, Mexico, we are often told by members of the local community who repopulated the area eighty years ago that we know more about the history of the uprising than they do.

This paper seeks to explore three intertwined questions regarding the impact of the Tihosuco Heritage Preservation and Development Project on the collective remembering of the community. One, how are the differing levels of Mayan identity tied into the archaeology and heritage preservation projects in the town; two, how does our research influence the memory of past events; and three, how is collective memory being produced to use the past for the needs of the present?

Cite this Record

Archaeological Impacts on Collective Memory: Re-creating a Mayan Identity?. Kasey Diserens Morgan. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441386)

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Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 647