Archaeology, Heritage, and Development in Two South American Colonial Sites: The Guarani-Jesuit Missions (1610–1767)

Abstract

Santa Ana and San Ignacio Miní were two of the 30 Guarani missions found and administered by Jesuit missionaries in the old Province of Paraguay. This province was part of the Spanish settlement in colonial South America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These two missions were located in the current province of Misiones, Argentina. Different processes turned them into ruins and they have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984. This chapter will present, first, a historical journey from the establishment of the missions, referred to by the Jesuits as “reductions,” to the beginning of the process of recovering, restoring, conserving, and preparing the sites for public visitation. Next, it will analyze achievements and difficulties related to local development, tourism, and community participation in the work performed during the “Restoration of Value” of Santa Ana and San Ignacio Miní that was carried out between the years 2009 and 2010.