Thinking about the concept of archive: Reflections on the historiography of Altamira

Abstract

The word ‘archive’ has been traditionally used to define both the physical place in which historical texts are kept and studied, and the set of documents that relate to the activity of a person, organization, association, community or nation. In both cases, archives have been considered privileged spaces that provide primary data for writing history. In this paper I discuss this traditional conception and suggest that archives are not only privileged sites providing the sources from which histories are constructed, but they are also historiographical constructions that determine historical interpretations. Taking into account the case of Juan de Vilanova y Piera, one of the first scientists to accept the authenticity of the Altamira paintings, I explore in this paper some of the ways in which the definition of ‘archive’ determines the historical interpretations of past scientists’ work.