On archaeological praxis, gender bias and indigenous peoples in South America

Abstract

This article discusses several aspects of the practice of archaeology in South America, specifically in the Southern Cone. Examining two key issues: the socio-political context of knowledge production and the positioning of South American archaeology in relation to its European and North American counterparts. Three cases that bridge these issues are examined. First, Gero’s argument for gender bias in the recording of field data, based in her ethnographic work during the excavation of the Paleondian site of Arroyo Seco 2. Second, the reburial of the human remains of Inakayal (an Indian chief who died at the end of the nineteenth century). Third, the excavation of the Inca mummies of the Llullaillaco peak in the southern Andes. The first is a critique on methodological grounds, the second demonstrates that Argentinean archaeology cannot free itself from its colonial past and the third illustrates the ethical dimension of archaeological praxis, specifically the complex interaction between local and foreign archaeologists.