Reflections on archaeology, poverty and tourism in the Bolivian Amazon

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to argue that one of the ways of enabling tourism to become sustainable is for archaeologists to relate archaeology to poverty, while being aware of the process of heritage production. It proposes that one way to engage with issues of poverty is to talk to people who are trying to get out of poverty. Many archaeologists are already at work using a similar perspective not just to integrate international scholarship with local interests, but to hand over authority relating to aspects of research to the local community.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews literature about and archaeological study in the Bolivian Amazon region. Here, all-weather roads are scarce and unreliable. Scholars are beginning to document and analyze the archaeological record of this region, and as lowland Bolivians develop tourism, the article considers how archaeology could help connect the Bolivian Amazon to an international audience.

Findings

An anthropological perspective suggests that projects in which local people are connected to decision-making will have long-term effects. Without such integration, cycles of boom and bust are likely to repeat. The article cites two examples: the inscription of the Ichapekene Piesta Moxos on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the Museo Yacuma, in Santa Ana del Yacuma. Community archaeology, in which the community makes decisions about how research will proceed, is a developing trend, which stands to benefit local people, archaeologists and tourists.

Originality/value

The paper outlines how community archaeology in the Beni region of Bolivia can be built on a strong foundation: first, by a community of Benianos that are ready, willing and able to be a part of both the development of tourism and of archaeology and second, via its long and varied archaeological record, providing plenty of material for the development of heritage. The question is whether a community archaeology can generate and sustain archaeological heritage as part of a tourism industry?

Citation

H. Walker, J. (2014), "Reflections on archaeology, poverty and tourism in the Bolivian Amazon", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 215-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-03-2014-0015