La construcción del conocimiento en ruta. Expediciones antropologícas y arqueológicas en México a fines del siglo XIX.

Abstract

This article examines two anthropological and archaeological expeditions to illustrate the relationships between nationals and foreigners in the constitution of mexican anthropology: the carl lumholtz travels in northern mexico in 1897 and the loubat expedition, led by marshall saville (1897-1901). these 216 expeditions, organized by foreign institutions in mexico, were framed in a colonial context. on the one hand they were understood as penetrations into a “virgin land” inhabited by primitives, but also full of archaeological richness that located mexico as a cradle of civilizations. in this sense, the expeditions were moments in which the dimensions of national space and national time, the present and the past of the mexican nation were being shaped by the mexican state. on the other hand, expeditions were moments in which anthropological knowledge was produced en route, during the constant, daily human interactions that have be analyzed and understood as fundamental aspects of the discipline.

Keywords

• Archaeological expeditions
• scientifc practices
• history of anthropology
• nationalism
• Mexico.