THE PATH TO RECOGNIZING OF ONE’S OWN INDIGENOUS IDENTITY: Implications and Challenges for an Archaeologist from the Peruvian Andes

Perales Munguía M.F. · Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives (2024) · DOI: 10.4324/9781003183853-36

Resumen

This autobiographical chapter describes the vicissitudes that marked the author’s path toward the recognition of his own Indigenous identity, as well as the impact that this has had—and currently has—in the exercise of his academic and professional practice as an Andean archaeologist. Starting from his early experiences with his maternal and paternal families, Perales relates his formative experiences during his academic training, particularly those corresponding to dialogues between Archaeology and Ethnography. He reflects on the problems and challenges faced by many Indigenous archaeologists in the Peruvian Andes, in a context dominated by what is considered the “spectacularization of archaeology.” Perales discusses how this may sever the links between Indigenous peoples and their pre-colonial past while promoting epic narratives with deep colonialist biases that contrast with essentialist discourses that accentuate discriminatory practices, even within the original communities themselves.

Instituciones: Universidad Continental