Heritage tourism, identity and development in Peru

Abstract

This paper discusses the linkages between archaeology, identity, and tourism in Peru in the twin contexts of economic and social development. The role of archaeologists in the heritage process (patrimonialización) is highlighted, and shown to transcend the production of narratives about the past. The complex role of the indigenous in national mythology, as historical legacy, is shown to hamper engagements between archaeologists and campesino peasants. Policies focused on the management for tourism of material remains of the precolonial past, it is argued, tend to feed objectified pasts. Incipient attempts to develop the tourism industry drawing on the archaeological remains surrounding the anthropic lake at Keushu (Yungay) and on those at the headwaters of the Llullán Valley (Awkismarka or Pueblo Viejo de Huandoy) are discussed to show the promise and pitfalls of ethical practices that may lead to locally grounded heritage strategies.