Politicizing Heritage: How Government Protections Use Heritage Assets to Control the Maya Past

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Conceptual and Ethical Limits of Heritage in Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Political involvement in the protection of historic resources often places a façade on historic narratives that creates a distance between communities and their heritage. Often, this control reflects leftover colonial legacies, creating structures of power that do not allow communities to advance economically, socially, or politically. This paper explores the politicization of the narratives and artifacts from the Caste War (1847–1901), in Tihosuco, Quintana Roo, Mexico. I analyze the various actions and discourses used by local, state, and federal politicians to legitimize particular values and claims over objects, people, and narratives of the rebellion. These discourses seek to both standardize and differentiate heritage objects as tools for economic, political, and social gain in the "Zona Maya." In particular, I will address how the legal standards and preservation initiatives regarding the over 60 prewar-era buildings located in Tihosuco have become a point of contention, as differing levels of ownership under federal law have created tensions between politicians and the people that live within the historic structures. The physical structures themselves have been transformed by the processes of protection, and the narratives have been exploited as a means to fuel the global heritage tourism industry in Mexico.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Conceptual and Ethical Limits of Heritage in Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33391