Archaeological Ethnography of Indigenous Heritage Rights: Emergent Realities around the Petroglyph of the ‘Chiqui’ in Amaicha del Valle (NW Argentina)

This article aims to contribute to an ethical and post-disciplinary reflection in indigenous and postcolonial archaeologies. Adopting the relational perspective of political ontology unravels the complexities behind the seemingly superficial conflicts over the interpretation of a piece of rock art and the failed implementation of the solar energy project in the Indigenous Community Amaicha del Valle. The juxtaposition of state-authorised and place-based narratives and political actions brings to the fore conflicting perspectives of heritage, rights and indigeneity. Through ethnohistorical and early archaeological accounts from the Calchaquí Valleys, the research reveals the epistemic disavowal of Indigenous histories and lifeworlds as the Argentine state established its national sovereignty and development models between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The case study also draws on archaeological ethnography to highlight generative spaces of knowledge and articulation across divergence and materiality, and that conflicting heritage ontologies can generate new cultural-political forms that diverge from the established consensus.