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Sociocultural discrepancy in archaeological sites of Mexico: an overview of the situation in the state of Morelos

Emmanuel David Gonzalez Armenta (School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China)

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development

ISSN: 2044-1266

Article publication date: 14 February 2023

44

Abstract

Purpose

The aim is to expose the lack of recognition of archaeological sites as a symbolic identity and cultural integrator, showcasing how a deconstructed ideal of public policies and social practices resulted from mismanagement in the processes of safeguarding the historical culture of the sites. It is intended to highlight this discrepancy as to raise awareness on the equivocal direction these complications are heading to and to stress the advocacy for knowledge dissemination government sectors should aim on promoting.

Design/methodology/approach

The article draws substantively on the analysis of case studies at state and national level. The archaeological cultural value interpretation is supported by the analysis of historical records such as exploration logs, government organizations’ workbooks, norms and regulations of archaeological conservation and literature review. The current deconstructed cultural value of archaeological sites is interpreted given trends of promotion of archaeological heritage, which ultimately resulted in a misconception of origins.

Findings

The subsequent analysis shows that present-day political and social activities on archaeological sites are predisposed by a mismanagement of cultural promotion. The preference for activities that differ from indigenous traditions, commercialization of culture and urban growth have diverged the ideal of culture integration and knowledge dissemination these sites were rescued for, leading to the ignorance of the population towards their cultural value. This phenomenon demonstrates that archaeology in Morelos is currently submerged in a misconception of origins.

Originality/value

The article aims to expose an array of references to issues of the usefulness of archaeological heritage for political and economic purposes as a referent for future studies.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express appreciation to Dr. Xiong Xiangnan, for her encouragement and observations on the first draft of the manuscript. Special thanks to the author's friend Wang Ning, for her kind comments and suggestions on the first draft. Also, the author thanks the anonymous reviewers of the manuscript for their comments and suggestions.

Citation

Gonzalez Armenta, E.D. (2023), "Sociocultural discrepancy in archaeological sites of Mexico: an overview of the situation in the state of Morelos", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-05-2022-0073

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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