“Everything has life, everything reveals itself to say it existed and still exists...": the crossroads of cosmovisions and epistemologies involving indigenous ancestors of archaeological interest (Cerro Azul and Agua de Oro, Córdoba, Argentina)

Abstract

This article aims to ethnographically historicize the cultural, social, judicial, academic and university impact of the chance discovery/appearance of indigenous ancestors in the towns of Agua de Oro and Cerro Azul, Colón Department in the province of Córdoba, in the years 1997-1998, 2007, 2019, and 2023. This cases demostrate changes in the demands of the intervening social groups and the impact on our research, outreach, and teaching practices. We are interested in reflecting on these anthropological interventions to account for the complexity of these processes, with similarities and differences over time, based on the same social fact: the discovery/appearance of ancestors. In order to track the changes and permanence, we investigate and interpret field notebooks, journals, and presentations at academic conferences with indigenous people. We include apur our experiences because we have participated in the activities in different ways. We conclude that interventions based on apparitions and exhumations impact both : 1) the political dimension that ancestors acquire, as part of identity claims with aspirations for territorial claims, the recognition of human rights and their pre-existence to national states, 2) ways of doing and teaching science that lead to interdisciplinary, intercultural, and interinstitutional work.