Materiality and Images: Ameghino’s Collection of La Antigüedad del Hombre en el Plata in the La Plata Museum

Abstract

Florentino Ameghino’s works were fundamental for archeology in Argentina. His first collections were shown in the book La antigüedad del hombre en el Plata {Antiquity of Man in the La Plata Basin} (1880–1881), a synthesis of the previous prehistoric studies whose purpose was arguing in favor of an ancient antiquity of the human occupation in the Argentine Pampas, which granted his archeological investigations international recognition. In this article, we present the first results of a comprehensive study on the aforementioned collection, which is currently in the Archeology Division of the La Plata Museum. We identified the pieces based on the published images, we analyzed the lithic and ceramic artifacts and bone remains, and we contextualized the information on the archeological sites from which they came. We recognized the importance of the collection for this investigation and for its conservation, acknowledging work practices related to the identification, classification and communication processes of the materials in the early days of this discipline. The revision of this museum collection shows the constructive nature of the cultural heritage, reflecting on the subjects, wisdoms, and actions that take part in their furtherance throughout time.