Tracing paths of interdisciplinarity and interculturality: reflections from an experience of 'knowledge dialogue' in the Comunidad India Los Morteritos-Cuevas, Catamarca, Argentina

Abstract

This article presents reflections derived from an experience of democratising research and dialogue between Indigenous and academic knowledge. From 2019 onwards, the authors of this article, some of whom are doctoral candidates in anthropology and archaeology, along with Indigenous community leaders, have worked collaboratively in the Los Morteritos-Las Cuevas Indian Community (Catamarca, Argentina). Our joint efforts involve, in the first instance, a process of community strengthening and promotion of responsible Indigenous tourism, through what we have called the Ancestral Sites Survey addressing community interests without neglecting academic agendas. This article analyses three cases from this survey, exploring pathways of interdisciplinarity and interculturality in interpreting archaeological or ancestral materiality. During these years, we have pursued an academic practice that integrates various decolonial and intercultural methodological approaches. The free, prior, and informed consultation, framed within Argentine legislation (ILO Convention No. 169, ratified by National Law No. 24.071), has guided the entire process.