The Allure of Antiquity: Archaeology and the Making of Modern Mexico, 1877-1910

FAIN: HB-50124-11

Christina Maria Bueno
Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago, IL 60625-4625)

With the support of an NEH Fellowship, I will complete the last three chapters of a book manuscript titled "The Allure of Antiquity: Archaeology and the Making of Modern Mexico (1877-1910)." This study examines the ways in which the Mexican government took control of the nation’s pre-Hispanic remains and used them for the purposes of state and nation building during the Porfiriato, the regime of Porfirio Díaz. It argues that the Porfirian regime was the first in Mexico to develop a concerted project to gather, preserve, and display pre-Hispanic antiquities. It underscores how this project stemmed from an elite counterimperial consciousness that sought to shape and defend Mexico’s national image. At the same time, however, it also reveals how the process of making the national archaeological patrimony reinforced patterns of domination.

Media Coverage

Prizes (Media Coverage)
Date: 12/13/2021
Abstract: Hello, my book won the following prizes. I wasn't sure where to put this information-- thank you: Michael C. Meyer Prize, Best Book on Mexican History in a Five-Year Period, 2018, Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies (for The Pursuit of Ruins: Archaeology, History, and the Making of Modern Mexico). Alfred B. Thomas Award, Honorable Mention 2016, Best Book in Latin American Studies, Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (for The Pursuit of Ruins: Archaeology, History, and the Making of Modern Mexico). Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, 2017 Book Prize, Honorable Mention (for The Pursuit of Ruins: Archaeology, History, and the Making of Modern Mexico).

Associated Products

The Pursuit of Ruins: Archaeology, History, and the Making of Modern Mexico (Book)
Title: The Pursuit of Ruins: Archaeology, History, and the Making of Modern Mexico
Author: Christina Bueno
Abstract: In the late nineteenth century, the government of Porfirio Díaz set out on a mission to take control of Mexico’s ancient ruins, the remains of Maya, Aztec, and other early civilizations. For centuries, these sites had been the province of foreign scientists, antiquities brokers, and local people. Under Díaz, they became national property. The artifacts were used to construct a prestigious, ancient past for the nation. The Díaz regime claimed symbolic links with the great civilizations of pre-Hispanic times as it hauled statues to the National Museum and rebuilt the pyramids of Teotihuacán. Ironically, this was also a profoundly anti-Indian regime; it waged war against the Indians and stripped them of their lands. The Pursuit of Ruins 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 the contemporary Indians.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://unmpress.com/books.php?ID=20000000006495
Publisher: University of New Mexico press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780826357328
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

Prizes

Michael C. Meyer Prize for Best Book on Mexican History in a Five-Year Period, 2017
Date: 4/20/2018
Organization: Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies

Alfred B. Thomas Award, Honorable Mention 2016, Best Book in Latin American Studies,
Date: 3/1/2017
Organization: Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies

Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, 2017 Book Prize, Honorable Mention
Date: 11/1/2017
Organization: Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, American Anthropological Association

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