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14 Structural Complexity and Social Conflict in Managing the Past at Copán, Honduras Lena Mortensen In the field of cultural patrimony protection, academics and practitioners face increasing challenges in developing long-term strategies for the care of archaeological sites. Now more than ever, a growing number of audiences find relevance in the past: descendant groups, local and national governments, academics, local communities, tourists, collectors, museum and heritage professionals, and many others.1 The diversity of these groups is matched by the divergence of their interests in the past and by the range of approaches they follow to stake their claim on its material and ideological legacy. Archaeological sites operating as heritage tourism centers are especially complex kinds of resources given that they often combine the interests of the scientific and preservationist communities, national and local identity movements , and local and regional economies. Accepted wisdom dictates that caring for such places requires acknowledging competing interested parties as legitimate stakeholders and involving as many as possible in developing management structures. While this ideal is certainly commendable, it is also, in most cases, extremely difficult to achieve. This is especially the case for prominent sites such as the ancient Maya city of Copán in Honduras, the subject of this chapter, where daily operations involve negotiating a shifting mix of local politics, national bureaucracy, foreign experts, and international norms. In this chapter, from my standpoint as an ethnographer studying this process, I discuss some of the social complexity inherent in managing Copán. In order to illustrate some of the stakeholder positions involved, and their implications for the long-term care of this site, I focus on the recent process of crafting a new management plan for Copán, which took place during 2000 and 2001. Located less than a dozen miles from the border of Guatemala, Copán is situated on the margins of the territorial state, but it is at the center of the cultural patrimony and recent tourism initiatives in Honduras. It is an internationally known archaeological park crafted from the ruins of an ancient Maya city that flourished during that culture’s Classic period (approximately A.D. 250–900). Replete with reconstructed temples, intricately sculpted stelae, and an impressive hieroglyphic stairway, Copán is often featured in National Geographic, Ar- Managing the Past at Copán, Honduras /  chaeology magazine, documentary features, and other media. For the past nearly thirty years, Copán has been the subject of ongoing investigations that have generated a wealth of data about the site, building on a history of interest that dates back nearly 150 years. Copán is many things at once. In 1980 it was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites, making it the first and thus far only cultural site of World Heritage in Honduras (Veliz et al. 1984). The Honduran state recognizes CopánasaNationalMonumentandhasdeclareditsinterestsinthesitethrough evolving legislation beginning in 1845. For many, Copán is a familiar archaeological park, a travel destination for over 120,000 national and international visitors per year. In addition to these formal designations, Copán has numerous other identities. The site’s international stature and scientific importance also make Copán a great source of pride for Honduran citizens. As the most salient physical manifestation of the ancient Maya past in Honduras, Copán plays an integral role in nationalist campaigns that underwrite the modern mestizo identity with the perceived splendor of the indigenous Maya past (Euraque 1998; Joyce 2003; Mortensen 2001). Mayanist archaeologists consider Copán one of the most significant sites in the region, making it a key location for fostering successful academic careers. Numerous prominent and upcoming scholars have invested significant time and energy working at Copán, even becoming fixtures in the local scene. Copán straddles the geographical overlap between the boundaries of the modern Honduran nation-state and the ancient Maya cultural region (as traditionally defined by Mayanist scholars), sitting ironically at the margins of each. For many archaeologists, Copán marks the southeastern extension of the major cities of the Classic Maya period. The territorial boundaries of modern Honduras circumscribe a region with a complex and multicultural prehistoric past, in which the ancient Maya were but one of many cultural influences. However, the Copán site has played a central role in the development of Maya archaeology and Honduran archaeology in general (e.g., Agurcia Fasquelle 1989; Veliz 1983), leading to a disproportionate emphasis on the Maya in the modern presentation of Honduran prehistory and...

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