On Urban Development and Cultural Heritage: A Perspective from Cholula, Puebla

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The city of Cholula has been occupied for thousands of years. However, the Spanish conquest signified one of the most significant moments of social, political, and cultural change—in part due to the development of the colonial city of Puebla, which was created for Spaniards. Cholula, however, specifically San Andrés, was perceived as an indigenous place. The shadow that remains of this worldview in the present is not always straightforward, but it has important effects. “Progress” has since been related to urbanization, while everything that stands in the way is an obstacle to modernization. The “Parque de las 7 culturas, rescate y dignificación de la zona arqueológica” was a touristic project that intended, as its title says, to “dignify” the archaeological site of Cholula, which meant that they would build a “modern” park and businesses, displacing local merchants and people whose houses were in the proposed land. In this paper, I analyze what this means for the archaeological community in terms of our role in the public sphere. Additionally, I present a proposal I created in 2016 that would mediate between governmental and public goals. Lastly, I comment on what has changed and what is yet to be achieved.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Advances in Puebla/Tlaxcala Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37045.0