The Pursuit of Ruins: Archaeology, History, and the Making of Modern Mexico

by Christina Bueno

Overview

Famous for its majestic ruins, Mexico has gone to great lengths to preserve and display the remains of its pre-Hispanic past. The Pursuit of Ruins argues that the government effort to take control of the ancient remains took off in the late nineteenth century during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Under Díaz Mexico acquired an official history more firmly rooted in Indian antiquity. This prestigious pedigree served to counter Mexico's image as a backward, peripheral nation. The government claimed symbolic links with the great civilizations of pre-Hispanic times as it hauled statues to the National Museum and reconstructed Teotihuacón. Christina Bueno explores the different facets of the Porfirian archaeological project and underscores the contradictory place of indigenous identity in modern Mexico. While the making of Mexico's official past was thought to bind the nation together, it was an exclusionary process, one that celebrated the civilizations of bygone times while disparaging contemporary Indians.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826357311
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	10/15/2016
Series:	Diálogos Series
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Christina Bueno is an associate professor of Latin American history and Latino-Latin American studies at Northeastern Illinois University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction The Allure of Antiquity 1

Part 1 Ruins and Meaning

Chapter 1 A Day at the Ruins 17

Chapter 2 Ruins and the State 40

Part 2 The Archaeologists

Chapter 3 The Museum Men 59

Chapter 4 El Inspector 72

Part 3 Making Patrimony

Chapter 5 Guarding 91

Chapter 6 Inspecting 113

Chapter 7 Centralizing 165

Chapter 8 Reconstructing 187

Epilogue 209

Notes 215

Bibliography 239

Index 259

Editorial Reviews

"The book is beautifully written, never lacking narrative thrust, and always engaging."—Bulletin of Latin American Research

"Bueno's book is an important contribution to the history of science and to cultural history by making a case for the centrality of non-professionals and amateurs, like Batres and his collaborators, to the very shaping of scientific ideas."—Journal of Latin American Studies

"Bueno has given voice to both Leopoldo Batres and the local people who opposed him, and she has admirably contextualized their daily struggles within the greater Porfirian nationalist project"—Hispanic American Historical Review

"Not only does it bring to light rich archival material, but it also describes, with an enjoyable and fluid narrative, the complex network of actors and practices that constituted Mexican archaeology during this period. . . . This superb and entertaining study adds a nuanced perspective to existing studies of archaeology and nationalism."—New Mexico Historical Review

"A fascinating look at the formative years of Mexican archaeology and the Porfirian regime's efforts to bring order and progress to the nation's indigenous patrimony."—Robert M. Buffington, coauthor of Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History

From the Publisher