Trajectories, advances, and problems in Argentine colonial archaeology

Abstract

The study of Colonial-period archaeological sites in Argentina currently constitutes a heterogeneous field of research, composed of an array of projects with diverse objectives, theoretical approaches, scales of analysis, and degrees of development. This article presents a review and critical synthesis of the development of Argentine colonial archaeology, organized around the central research themes addressed from a historical perspective. Among other theoretical debates, it examines the shift fromessentialist and Eurocentric approaches characteristic of colonial discourse toward perspectives that prioritize the agency of subaltern populations. It also emphasizes the weight of local contexts within global trajectories and the complex entanglements that configured colonialism in South America.