Monumental Ambivalence: The Politics of Heritage (review)
There is much of value in Lisa Breglia's recent monograph, most importantly attention to the very real complexities of modern heritage claims within the globalized tourism market. Breglia sets out to compare the notions of heritage held by two Yucatec Maya communities—one a century into participation in management of a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site (Chichen Itza), the other subsistence /farmers living adjacent to a largely unexplored archaeological site in the poorest part of the peninsula. While deftly explaining the historical reasons for the deeply embedded notions of land ownership held in Yucatan, and their implications to contemporary understandings of heritage, Breglia succeeds less well when she attempts to explore the disparate ways in which Maya farmers understand archaeological remains as part of their cultural tradition.