Parques arqueológicos en el sur de América Central: el aporte de Carlos Aguilar Piedra

Abstract

In the 1970s, Carlos Aguilar postulated a series of guidelines for the opening of new parks in the then-named Intermediate Area. This was derived from his participation in the creation of the Guayabo archaeological monument in Costa Rica and his experience in the El Cano archaeological park in Panama. However, it took almost four decades for a second archaeological park to open to the public in Costa Rica. Heir to the rich Mexican tradition of conserving the archaeological heritage and using it as a means of research, a tool of education and nationalist exaltation, Carlos Aguilar made his proposal at the time when the teaching of archeology and his professional practice was consolidated by Costa Rican archaeologists, which augured a solid trajectory in the promotion and opening of more parks. However, his example has been difficult to follow in the countries of southern Central America. Based on Aguilar's proposal, some of the efforts, with their different degrees of success, that have been made in the conservation, protection and management of archaeological sites in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua are discussed.