Los Emberá, el turismo y arqueología indígena: redescubriendo el pasado en el Panamá Oriental / The Emberá, tourism and indigenous archaeology: rediscovering the past in Eastern Panama

• Tomas Enrique Mendizabal ; Dimitrios Theodossopoulos ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Kent

     University of Kent

     City of Canterbury, Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Memorias: revista digital de historia y arqueología desde El Caribe, ISSN-e 1794-8886, Nº. 18, 2012
• Idioma: español
• Títulos paralelos:
  • The Emberá, tourism and indigenous archaeology: “rediscovering” the past in Eastern Panama
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    Resumen: En este reporte nos referimos al interés de los Emberá (un grupo indígena Amerindio) en adquirir conocimiento de los restos materiales del pasado – como fragmentos cerámicos coloniales y prehispánicos – que se encuentran fácilmente en el Panamá Oriental. Situamos el interés de los Emberá (y su deseo de aprender más del pasado) en el contexto del turismo indígena, que ha realzado la visibilidad de la historia e identidad Emberá. También presentamos información sobre la (extinta) alfarería Emberá en Panamá y del descubrimiento accidental por los Emberá de restos materiales de épocas pasadas, en particular (pero no exclusivamente) en el sitio de Venta de Chagres cerca de la ruta del histórico Camino Real.Abstract: In this report we refer to the interest of the Emberá (an Amerindian indigenous group) in collecting knowledge about material remains of the past—such as colonial and pre-colonial ceramic fragments—that are easily found in Eastern Panama. We situate this interest of the Emberá (and their desire to learn more about the past) within the context of indigenous tourism, which has enhanced the visibility of Emberá culture and simultaneously inspired the articulation of new narratives about the Emberá history and identity. We also present some information about the (now extinct) ceramic art of the Emberá in Panama and the accidental discovery by the Emberá of ceramic fragments from past periods, focusing in particular (but not exclusively) on the site of Venta de Chagres close to the route of the Camino Real.Tomás MendizábalApartado 0830-01550 Zona 9Panamá, Rep. de PanamáAcknowledgements. We would like to thank Kim Rowell and Keith Alpaugh for encouraging us to inspect the site in river Ucurganti and their overall help and support. We would also like to thank Antonito Zarco, leader of tourism in the community of Parara Puru (river Chagres) for encouraging us to visit Venta de Chagres and for accompanying us to this site on two separate trips. We are indebted to the Emberá of Parara Puru whose interest in the material remains of the past has inspired this report.

  • English

    In this article we discuss the interest of the Emberá (an Amerindian indigenous group) in collecting knowledge about material remains of the past—such as colonial and pre-colonial ceramic fragments – that are easily found in Eastern Panama. We situate this interest of the Emberá (and their desire to learn more about the past) within the context of indigenous tourism, which has inspired the articulation of new narratives about Emberá history and identity. In addition, the accidental discovery by the Emberá of ceramic fragments from past periods has instigated and facilitated archaeological investigation, a process that resulted in a reciprocal exchange of knowledge between the Emberá and the academic investigators. Such a reciprocal relationship, we argue, can contribute towards the decolonisation of archaeology, create synergies between anthropology and archaeology, and enhance indigenous representation in tourism.