202557(en)/31 - African Diaspora and Archaeology in Argentina: Obstacles, Challenges, and an Interdisciplinary Proposal Based on the Experience of Entre Ríos Province
AFRICAN DIASPORA AND ARCHAEOLOGY IN ARGENTINA: OBSTACLES, CHALLENGES, AND AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PROPOSAL BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF ENTRE RÍOS PROVINCE
DIÁSPORA AFRICANA Y ARQUEOLOGÍA EN ARGENTINA: OBSTÁCULOS, DESAFÍOS Y UNA PROPUESTA INTERDISCIPLINAR A PARTIR DE LA EXPERIENCIA DE LA PROVINCIA DE ENTRE RÍOS
Alejandro Richard
The Archaeology of the African Diaspora emerged in the 1960s. Its interdisciplinary character has fostered dialogue with historiography, anthropology, and other social sciences across several case studies in the American continent. In this paper, I present and discuss the advances and obstacles encountered in the development of archaeological studies of the African Diaspora in Argentina, which occurred later than in other countries of the region.
Drawing on a case study from the Entre Ríos province, the article presents several lines of interdisciplinary inquiry. This approach, which opens the way to design studies that share scales, concepts, and methods across different disciplines, made it possible to overcome several of the obstacles identified. It demonstrates how this approach enriched the research carried out in the context of a heritage-making process, challenging the State’s ideological construct that sustained the “disappearance” of Afro-Argentines. Finally, the article underscores the practice of African Diaspora Archaeology as an important mediating agent in heritage processes
such as the one described, processes that link different State institutions with activism and the local Afro-descendant community.