Every archaeological site holds histories that go beyond the disciplinary classification imposed on it. In the case of Quilmes (Province of Tucuman, Argentina), the memory carried by the material remains dates back to the last bit of indigenous resistance in front of the Spaniards colonization of the Andean region, but it is also intertwined with the recent history, the cultural policies deployed during the civic-military dictatorship, the struggle for the land of the Comunidad India Quilmes (CIQ), and the development of the neoliberal and multicultural state since the Argentinian back to the democracy. In this context, ‘heritage’ emerges as a key notion in order to understand the coloniality of the relationship established with the territory and the people who inhabit it. The dispute above the ownership and management of the site uncovers a deeper struggle between the provincial state and the CIQ, which might be understood in the terms of an ontological disagreement around time and landscape constituting ‘heritage’. The paper will focus on such a disagreement, highlighting the way by which the encounters between archaeologists and community have been responsible for imposing an authoritative view, but also for fostering the capacity of the community to produce an alternative account. Francesco Orlandi Barbano (University of Exeter)
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