Participatory and Collaborative Science: Experiences of Knowledge Construction Among Archaeologists and Ranquel Communities of La Pampa

Abstract

This article adresse the archaeological research activities that has been carried out in a co-participatory way with Ranquel communities in northern La Pampa, and the relevance of interculturality in the construction of bioanthropological sites knowledge. With the discovery of human bone at the Laguna Chadilauquen and San Enrique, the Province’s Cultural Heritage agencies called on archaeologists and the Provincial Council of Aborigines to work together in the corresponding research, as stipulated in Law N^o 3104 of Archaeological and Paleontological Protection of La Pampa Heritage. For both sites, the study objectives were agreed upon jointly with members of Ranquel communities. It was proposed to make consensual decisions on the type of archaeological intervention to be carried out at each site, according to the characteristics of the archaeological record.

At the Laguna Chadilauquen site, surveys and collection archaeological material were realized with the indigenous collaboration. At the San Enrique site, the discovery of a multiple secondary burial in a ravine with imminent risk of collapse, required another research strategy: it was agreed to remove the exposed remains and researchers were authorized to carry out their study, with the commitment to return them for ceremonial burial.

Participatory activities have allowed the integration of academic research perspectives with traditional indigenous knowledge. The intercultural research experience has made it posible to tack between different approaches and reconcile community and academic objectives on equal footing, even though they conceptually perceive the world differently.