The 'public' in archaeology Argentina ; Lo "público" en la arqueología Argentina

Open Access

Abstract

The potential of the 'public' category for studying archaeology and society is discussed. To this end, we look at the uses of this concept that have been registered in the field of archaeology in Argentina over the last 15 years. The changes during this period created a significant scenario for thinking about materiality, narratives and archaeological practices around the public. This led to processes that allowed not only greater capacity to act for social minorities involved with archaeological materials, but also reformulations about the place of archaeological in the narratives of Argentinian national history. At the same time, the late 20th century 'culture policies' led to the activation of heritage materials and archaeological landscapes for tourism and identity purposes. In this context, we would like to ask us: what are the meanings attributed to "public" in Argentine archaeology at the beginning of the 21st century? To what extent are these uses articulated with theoretical positions and debates on "public" in social sciences? What are the political implications of these conceptualisations? ; The potential of the public category is discuss in this paper for the study of the relations between archaeology and society. Pursuing this aim, the uses of this concept in Argentine Archaeology is analyzed during the last fifteen years. Within this period, social transformations generated a significant scenario for thinking materials, speeches and archaeological practices around the public category. This context has allowed a greater action capacity for social minorities involved with archaeological materials, but also reformulations over the narratives of the national history. Besides, the "politics of culture" of late 20th century led to the activation of cultural heritage materials and archaeological landscapes for tourism purposes and identity actions. Following this approach, it is worth to make some questions: what meanings are attributed to the public in Argentine Archaeology at the beginning of the 21st ...