Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)

This paper presents an overview of a “racial allocthonism” narrative, developed by Belisario Díaz Romero in Bolivia between 1904 and 1925. It summarizes the author’s biography and it dissects the narrative, highlighting its main ideas and relating them to the state of debate at that time. It also po...

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Autor principal: Villanueva Criales, Juan
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Museo de Antropología 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/antropologia/article/view/39216
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institution Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
institution_str I-10
repository_str R-372
container_title_str Revista del Museo de Antropología
language Español
format Artículo revista
topic History of archaeology
Racism
Tiwanaku
20th century
Bolivia
Historia de la arqueología
Racismo
Tiwanaku
Siglo XX
Bolivia
História da arqueologia
Racismo
Tiwanaku
Século XX
Bolívia
spellingShingle History of archaeology
Racism
Tiwanaku
20th century
Bolivia
Historia de la arqueología
Racismo
Tiwanaku
Siglo XX
Bolivia
História da arqueologia
Racismo
Tiwanaku
Século XX
Bolívia
Villanueva Criales, Juan
Villanueva Criales, Juan
Villanueva Criales, Juan
Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)
topic_facet History of archaeology
Racism
Tiwanaku
20th century
Bolivia
Historia de la arqueología
Racismo
Tiwanaku
Siglo XX
Bolivia
História da arqueologia
Racismo
Tiwanaku
Século XX
Bolívia
author Villanueva Criales, Juan
Villanueva Criales, Juan
Villanueva Criales, Juan
author_facet Villanueva Criales, Juan
Villanueva Criales, Juan
Villanueva Criales, Juan
author_sort Villanueva Criales, Juan
title Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)
title_short Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)
title_full Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)
title_fullStr Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)
title_full_unstemmed Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925)
title_sort of nation, erudition, and racism: belisario díaz romero’s archaeological narrative in bolivia (1904-1925)
description This paper presents an overview of a “racial allocthonism” narrative, developed by Belisario Díaz Romero in Bolivia between 1904 and 1925. It summarizes the author’s biography and it dissects the narrative, highlighting its main ideas and relating them to the state of debate at that time. It also posits that Díaz Romero, a polymath and fanatic of “positive science”, selectively incorporated arguments –sometimes then already obsolete- from diverse social and natural sciences. The author’s strategies within the intellectual-political context of his time are analyzed, linking his narrative to the heyday of the liberal “oligarchic state”; the paper suggests that by glorifying a “white” pre-Hispanic Tiwanaku and place the contemporary indigenous ancestors as destructive agents, racial allocthonism was functional to the objectives of Bolivian nation-state. Finally, the impact of Díaz Romero’s raciological notions on Arthur Posnansky and, through the latter, on 1930s and 1940s Bolivian archaeology is pondered.
publisher Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Museo de Antropología
publishDate 2023
url https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/antropologia/article/view/39216
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first_indexed 2024-09-03T20:03:30Z
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spelling I10-R372-article-392162024-11-04T19:00:20Z Of nation, erudition, and racism: Belisario Díaz Romero’s archaeological narrative in Bolivia (1904-1925) De nación, erudición y racismo: La narrativa arqueológica de Belisario Díaz Romero en Bolivia (1904-1925) Sobre nação, bolsa de estudos e racismo: A narrativa arqueológica de Belisario Díaz Romero na Bolívia (1904-1925) Villanueva Criales, Juan Villanueva Criales, Juan Villanueva Criales, Juan History of archaeology Racism Tiwanaku 20th century Bolivia Historia de la arqueología Racismo Tiwanaku Siglo XX Bolivia História da arqueologia Racismo Tiwanaku Século XX Bolívia This paper presents an overview of a “racial allocthonism” narrative, developed by Belisario Díaz Romero in Bolivia between 1904 and 1925. It summarizes the author’s biography and it dissects the narrative, highlighting its main ideas and relating them to the state of debate at that time. It also posits that Díaz Romero, a polymath and fanatic of “positive science”, selectively incorporated arguments –sometimes then already obsolete- from diverse social and natural sciences. The author’s strategies within the intellectual-political context of his time are analyzed, linking his narrative to the heyday of the liberal “oligarchic state”; the paper suggests that by glorifying a “white” pre-Hispanic Tiwanaku and place the contemporary indigenous ancestors as destructive agents, racial allocthonism was functional to the objectives of Bolivian nation-state. Finally, the impact of Díaz Romero’s raciological notions on Arthur Posnansky and, through the latter, on 1930s and 1940s Bolivian archaeology is pondered. Este artículo recorre la narrativa arqueológica de “aloctonismo racial” desarrollada por Belisario Díaz Romero en Bolivia entre 1904 y 1925. Se resume la biografía del autor y se disecciona la narrativa, resaltando sus ideas centrales y relacionándolas con el estado de las discusiones de su época. Se plantea que Díaz Romero, erudito y fanático de la “ciencia positiva”, incorporó selectivamente a su narrativa argumentos –algunos para entonces ya obsoletos- procedentes de varias disciplinas científicas sociales y naturales. Se analizan las estrategias del autor en el contexto político-intelectual de su época, relacionando su narrativa con el auge del “estado oligárquico” liberal; se propone que el alocotonismo racial, al glorificar a un Tiwanaku prehispánico “blanco” y emplazar a los ancestros de los indígenas contemporáneos como agentes destructivos, era funcional a los objetivos del estado-nación boliviano. Finalmente, se pondera el impacto de las nociones raciológicas de Díaz Romero sobre Arthur Posnansky y, mediante este último, sobre la arqueología boliviana de los años 30 y 40. Este artigo traça a narrativa arqueológica do "aloctonismo racial" desenvolvida por Belisario Díaz Romero na Bolívia entre 1904 e 1925. A biografia do autor é resumida e a narrativa é dissecada, destacando suas ideias centrais e relacionando-as ao estado da discussão na época. Argumenta-se que Díaz Romero, um estudioso e adepto da "ciência positiva", incorporou seletivamente em sua narrativa argumentos - alguns já obsoletos na época - de várias disciplinas científicas sociais e naturais. As estratégias do autor são analisadas no contexto político-intelectual de sua época, relacionando sua narrativa ao surgimento do "estado oligárquico" liberal; propõe-se que o alocotonismo racial, ao glorificar um Tiwanaku pré-hispânico "branco" e apresentar os ancestrais dos povos indígenas contemporâneos como agentes destrutivos, foi funcional para os objetivos do estado-nação boliviano. Por fim, considera-se o impacto das noções racistas de Díaz Romero sobre Arthur Posnansky e, por meio de Posnansky, sobre a arqueologia boliviana nas décadas de 1930 e 1940. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Museo de Antropología 2023-08-31 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer reviewed article Artículo revisado por pares Artigo revisado por pares application/pdf https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/antropologia/article/view/39216 10.31048/1852.4826.v16.n2.39216 Revista del Museo de Antropología; Vol. 16 No. 2 (2023); 201-216 Revista del Museo de Antropología; Vol. 16 Núm. 2 (2023); 201-216 Revista del Museo de Antropología; v. 16 n. 2 (2023); 201-216 1852-4826 1852-060X 10.31048/1852.4826.v16.n2 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/antropologia/article/view/39216/42504 Derechos de autor 2023 Juan Villanueva Criales https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0