Abstract
This paper reports on heritage initiatives associated with a 12-year-long archaeology project in Yucatan, Mexico. Our work has involved both surprises and setbacks and in the spirit of adding to the repository of useful knowledge, we present these in a frank and transparent manner. Our findings are significant for a number of reasons. First, we show that the possibilities available to a heritage project facilitated by archaeologists depend not just on the form and focus of other stakeholders, but on the gender, sexuality, and class position of the archaeologists. Second, we provide a ground-level view of what approaches work well and which do not in terms of identifying aspects of cultural heritage that are relevant to a broad swath of stakeholders. Finally, we discuss ways in which heritage projects can overcome constraints to expanding community collaboration.
Highlights
In framing the contributions to this Special Issue of Heritage, Fisher and Chase endorse PatriciaMcAnany’s suggestion that Maya archaeologists make their work more inclusive in scope and participation
Many different communities have a stake in the results of an archaeology project, including federal and regional officials from Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), domestic and international archaeology enthusiasts, and local communities
We find nothing illegitimate in such occasions when archaeology plays a role in leading people to claim the ancient Maya as ancestors
Summary
In framing the contributions to this Special Issue of Heritage, Fisher and Chase endorse Patricia. We agree with McAnany, Fisher, Chase, and the other contributors to this Special Issue (not to mention several authors cited below) that heritage work can benefit contemporary stakeholders without harming others [9] and without having to solve the world’s most pressing problems (cf [10]). Making heritage beneficial to these groups involves accepting forms of disturbance to the archaeological record that might bother the most zealous preservationists and engaging in debates with stakeholders over what a more pragmatic form of preservation should look like. It may involve recognizing unexpected stakeholders and utilizing new and already established social networks.
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