SOCIAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN LATIN-AMERICA - COMMENTS

The published paper by Patterson (1994) gives the impression that Lati n American archaeology has a significant orientation toward social arc haeology We present evidence, however; that indicates the restricted n ature of social archaeology in time (1970s and early 1980s) and space (Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela). Social archaeology developed only in a political context where the model pursued by the state was sympa thetic to marxist ideology during a specific historical period. Furthe r; at the academic level, social archaeology gradually lost appeal to students in those countries where it developed because of the politici zation of the archaeological discourse at universities and the lack of a relationship between practice and theory (epistemological theory). The practical aspects of social archaeology have never passed beyond t hose of cultural history produced under the schema of a national state archaeology. Consideration of the realities render which archaeology developed in each Latin American country leads to a broader understand ing of the context in which social archaeology exists in Latin America today.