Conversations about the production of archaeological knowledge and community museums at Chunchucmil and Kochol, Yucatán, México

Abstract

The Pakbeh Regional Economy Program centered at the ancient Maya trading center of Chunchucmil in Yucatán, México, shifted research priorities from a processual program aimed at recovering indicators of ancient ethnic identification to a more community-based program that combines processual methodologies with a local desire for community-based tourism. Initial research goals concerned the elucidation of how a trading economy affected other aspects of the social life of ancient Chunchucmil. As members of the two Yucatec Maya communities on either side of the ruins became more interested in the archaeological research, and as archaeologists grappled with the rise of tourism in Yucatán, a dialogue about who controls and benefits from the production of archaeological knowledge ensued. Currently the project is involved in collaborative development of a 'living museum' where members of local communities and archaeologists will mutually recreate an ancient Maya household on the archaeological site. Some programmatic suggestions for further collaboration between academic archaeologists and local descendant communities in the Maya area are offered.