The Emergence of Colombia’s Cultural Heritage field: Revisiting the Development of the San Agustín Archaeological Park (1931-1939)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22380/26652773.3259

Keywords:

archaeological park, heritage field, Law 103 of 1931, materiality, nation-state, San Agustín

Abstract

This article analyzes the initial establishment of the San Agustín Archaeological Park between 1931 and 1939 as a key turning point in the development of the Colombian field of archaeological heritage. It examines how Law 103 of 1931 facilitated the transition from vague legislation to a legal framework focused on protection by formalizing the “public utility” status of archaeological remains and integrating them into the project of national identity. The text problematizes the historical and social context of Law 103, emphasizing the tensions between the administrative centralism based in Bogotá and the local realities of Huila, thus revealing a bureaucracy that frequently depended on personal connections and the social capital of political and intellectual elites. It also discusses the impact of scientific extractivism and intellectual colonialism practiced by foreign researchers through the exclusion of empirical knowledge and local communities from heritage management. 

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Author Biographies

Alejandro Amaya García, Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia - ICANH

Alejandro Amaya García is an anthropologist and holds a master's degree in Anthropology with an emphasis on Archaeology from the University of the Andes (Colombia). He has completed doctoral studies at The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Japan) and has more than fifteen years of experience in managing archaeological projects and prior consultation processes. He currently works as a Specialist at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), where he has led the institutional management of national archaeological parks. His work focuses on the administrative coordination and management of archaeological heritage in these areas. His research interests include architecture, the construction of social space, ritual, and the materialization of the sacred.

Oscar Leonardo Romero Alfonso , Intituto Colombiano de Antropologia e Historia

Oscar Leonardo Romero Alfonso is an anthropologist and holds a master's degree in History and Theory of Art, Architecture, and the City from the National University of Colombia. He has been a contract researcher at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH) since 2017, working on projects related to the history and memory of anthropology, and is the coordinator of the audiovisual project Palabra, Imagen y Memoria (Word, Image, and Memory). His publications include the book Memoria recuperada: El Instituto Etnológico de la Universidad del Cauca 1946-1960 (Recovered Memory: The Ethnological Institute of the University of Cauca 1946-1960), co-authored with Héctor Llanos, and Esbozo de los vínculos entre los campos histórico-antropológicos en el periodo de la institucionalización de la antropología en Colombia 1930-1952 (Outline of the links between the historical-anthropological fields in the period of the institutionalization of anthropology in Colombia 1930-1952), published in the book Profesionalización de la historia en Colombia. Antecedents, Careers, and Institutions.

Andrés Camilo Fernández Jaimes , Intituto Colombiano de Antropologia e Historia

Andrés Camilo Fernández Jaimes is a sociologist from Santo Tomás University, where he graduated with honors and distinction cum laude. He has a solid background in social research, information management, and cultural narrative analysis. He has worked as a researcher in the Señal Memoria (RTVC) archive, as well as on projects for the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH) focused on the dissemination and management of archaeological parks. He is the director of the cultural management network Ventana Crítica and the publishing house Sub-Versiones. His areas of academic interest include the study of power relations, historical memory, and the intersection between science and art in the construction of social identities.

References

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Published

2026-06-18

How to Cite

Amaya García, Alejandro, Oscar Leonardo Romero Alfonso, and Andrés Camilo Fernández Jaimes. 2026. “The Emergence of Colombia’s Cultural Heritage Field: Revisiting the Development of the San Agustín Archaeological Park (1931-1939)”. Arqueología Y Patrimonio 6 (1). https://doi.org/10.22380/26652773.3259.

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026): 30 años de la declaratoria de los parques arqueológicos de San Agustín y Tierradentro, como Patrimonio Mundial

Section

Sección especial