Las representaciones del indígena desde la antropología en Guatemala

Abstract

This article reflects on the ways in which anthropology  has  represented  indigenous  people  in  Guatemala,  identifying  three  key periods in this representation ranging from  the  early  twentieth  century  to  the  present.  Until  the  1970s,  we  can  observe  how anthropological images of indigenous people   ranging   from   infantilizing   to   degrading    prevented    the    very    social    integration that anthropologists claimed to defend. Images of indigenous people began to  change  after  1970  under  the  effects  of  war  and  economic  development  policies  but also as a result of the emergence of an indigenous movement that questioned the representations of pre-1970s anthropology. Finally, the success and general acceptance of the term “Maya” in the postwar period points to a “cultural” renaissance but also to various objects of study that suggest the difficulty  of  continuing  to  use  the  same  anthropological categories used in the past.