Description
Book SynopsisIn Ornamental Nationalism: Archaeology and Antiquities in Mexico, 1876-1911, Seonaid Valiant examines the Porfirian government’s reworking of indigenous, particularly Aztec, images to create national symbols. She focuses in particular on the career of Mexico's first national archaeologist, Inspector General Leopoldo Batres. He was a controversial figure who was accused of selling artifacts and damaging sites through professional incompetence by his enemies, but who also played a crucial role in establishing Mexican control over the nation's archaeological heritage. Exploring debates between Batres and his rivals such as the anthropologists Zelia Nuttall and Marshall Saville, Valiant reveals how Porfirian politicians reinscribed the political meaning of artifacts while social scientists, both domestic and international, struggled to establish standards for Mexican archaeology that would undermine such endeavors.
Trade Review“The author deftly weaves together what appear to be disparate threads of inquiry into a very valuable intellectual history of Mesoamerican studies and Mexican politics. This book, written in an accessible style, is both informative and surprisingly entertaining. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; professionals.” Jeff Seibert, in: Choice, Vol. 55, No. 9 (May 2018).
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Figures Introduction Rise of Professionalism Archaeology and Nationalism Artifacts and Authority Overview of the Book Part 1 1 Nation Building Mexico before the Porfiriato Porfirio Díaz European Influences on the Porfiriato Monumentalism in Mexico Heir to Juárez Heir to the Aztecs Creating the Image of the Nation Symbols of Centralization 2 Designing the Porfiriato Mexico in Paris Porfiriopoxtli Policies Assimilation Aztec Patriotism: Sierra and Chavero 3 Rag of Barbarism: Aztecs and Mayas in International Thought (1804–1911) Shifting Ideas Baron Alexander von Humboldt Humboldt’s Influence on other Archaeologists Translating the Mayas: John Lloyd Stephens Iroquois of the South: Prescott and Morgan Sacrifice Popular Culture Part 2 4 The Inspector General and Conservator of Archaeological Monuments Antiquities Leopoldo Batres (1852–1926) Nepotism Batres and the Scholarly Community Batres’s Background Race Hrdlička Manuel Gamio 5 Batres in the Field Policing Archaeological Zones Saville Seeks Access Escalerillas: The Street of Staircases The 1902 International Congress of Americanists in New York City Thompson in the Yucatán Batres at Teotihuacán 6 Batres Fought with All the World La Isla de Sacrificios: Batres and Nuttall Zelia Nuttall Isla de Sacrificios The National Museum 7 The Grand Tour: International Congress of Americanists, Mexico City, 1910 Two Automobiles from Teotihuacán: Corruption Map from Teotihuacán Eugène Boban Batres’s Exit Conclusion Bibliography Index
