Title Monumental ambivalence : the politics of heritage / Lisa Breglia

Edition First edition Published Austin : University of Texas Press, 2006

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 242 pages) : illustrations, maps Series Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture. Contents pt. 1. The ambivalence of heritage -- chapter 1. A new approach to heritage -- Chapter 2. Cartographies of patrimony -- pt. 2. Maya archaeology as the Mayas see it -- chapter 3. Chichén itzá: a century of privatization -- chapter 4. By blood or by sweat: shaping rights to world heritage -- chapter 5. Chunchucmil: ambivalence in a heritage landscape -- chapter 6. Archaeology, ejidos, and space-claiming techniques -- Docile descendants and illegitimate heirs: the ambivalence of inheritance Summary Annotation From ancient Maya cities in Mexico and Central America to the Taj Mahal in India, cultural heritage sites around the world are being drawn into the wave of privatization that has already swept through such economic sectors as telecommunications, transportation, and utilities. As nation-states decide they can no longer afford to maintain cultural properties-or find it economically advantageous not to do so in the globalizing economy-private actors are stepping in to excavate, conserve, interpret, and represent archaeological and historical sites. But what are the ramifications when a multinational corporation, or even an indigenous village, owns a piece of national patrimony which holds cultural and perhaps sacred meaning for all the country's people, as well as for visitors from the rest of the world? In this ambitious book, Lisa Breglia investigates "heritage" as an arena in which a variety of private and public actors compete for the right to benefit, economically and otherwise, from controlling cultural patrimony. She presents ethnographic case studies of two archaeological sites in the Yucataacute;n Peninsula-Chicheacute;n Itzaacute; and Chunchucmil and their surrounding modern communities-to demonstrate how indigenous landholders, foreign archaeologists, and the Mexican state use heritage properties to position themselves as legitimate "heirs" and beneficiaries of Mexican national patrimony. Breglia's research masterfully describes the "monumental ambivalence" that results when local residents, excavation laborers, site managers, and state agencies all enact their claims to cultural patrimony. Her findings make it clear that informal and partial privatizations-which go on quietly and continually-are as real a threat to a nation's heritage as the prospect of fast-food restaurants and shopping centers in the ruins of a sacred site Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-235) and index Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL English Print version record digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL Subject Mayas -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State) -- Ethnic identity Mayas -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State) -- Government relations Cultural property -- Protection -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State) Cultural property -- Government policy -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State) Privatization -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State) Contracting out -- Mexico -- Yucatán (State) SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Discrimination & Race Relations. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Minority Studies. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Archaeology. Antiquities -- Collection and preservation Contracting out Cultural property -- Protection Ethnic relations Mayas -- Ethnic identity Mayas -- Government relations Privatization Denkmalschutz Ethnische Identität Kulturerbe SUBJECT Yucatán (Mexico : State) -- Ethnic relations Yucatán (Mexico : State) -- Government relations Yucatán (Mexico : State) -- Antiquities -- Collection and preservation Subject Mexico -- Yucatán (State) Halbinsel Yucatán Maya. Form Electronic book LC no. 2006015000 ISBN 9780292795587 0292795580 0292714270 9780292714274

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