From Archaeological to Sacred Sites: Maya Spirituality Visibility Enhancement and Heritage Re-signification Processes in the Municipality of Tecpán, Guatemala
Abstract
This article examines the process of heritage re-signification that occurred in Guatemala after the Civil War (1960-1996) and the violence perpetrated against Indigenous populations and their religious and spiritual expressions. Different cases of heritage activation around archaeological remains in the region of Tecpán and their use as ceremonial altars during and after the armed conflict will be analyzed. I will argue that the archeological site of Iximche' was of crucial importance within the process of Maya spirituality visibility enhancement in the region before ritual practices gained other spaces and became an element of identity for part of the local Kaqchikel population. This proposal allows us to study the process of archaeological heritage appropriation by the local population through the creation of counter-hegemonic narratives and the conversion of certain sites into modern altars.
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