Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Martínez, Valentina

Thesis/Dissertation Co-Chair

Harris, Michael

Abstract

This study examines post-processual, critical theory, and decolonial perspectives applied to archaeology to establish an alternative practice that here is termed “arqueología comprometida” (committed archaeology). Considering the history of archeology in Latin America, its current context and the logic of archaeological practice, the objective of this contribution is not only to offer an assessment of the processes of making history, but to also provide a collaborative study relevant to both decolonial and public archaeology. The study is carried out in the Comuna Ancestral Valdivia (Ancestral Commune of Valdivia) (ACV), located in the province of Santa Elena, on the Ecuadorian coast. Historical analyses are structured to be critically evaluated from a decolonial perspective in order to characterize archaeology and to understand its wider and less obvious influence on societies. The alternative way of doing archeology proposed in this study incorporates the achievements and memories of local comuna members into the official history of the site and to establish a project focused on the material development of the local museum. In summary, this is an ethical and epistemological reflection of archaeological practice using anthropological methods to think through and propose a public archeology project that can be relevant and useful for people historically affected by colonial legacies in Latin America.

Extent

202 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2023.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00014284

Format

pdf

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