Adriana Linares-Palma

Ixil Political Geography during the Postclassic Period: Approaches from Archaeological Knowledge and Ixil Ontologies

Linares-Palma’s innovative community-based archaeological research project, carried out in collaboration with the ancestral authorities of Cotzal, Guatemala, provides a survey and collaborative mapping of sacred and Postclassic archaeological sites of Cotzal. It examines the ways in which both Ixil and archaeological knowledge can engage in conversation to deepen our understanding of Postclassic life and shows how to best mitigate the reproduction of colonial methodologies in a discipline that is based on the extraction of sacred material artifacts. Linares-Palma’s ethical and methodological approach demonstrates respectful ways of conducting archaeology, especially in consultation with ancestral authorities and in obtaining local Ixil perspectives.