Julieta Flores Munoz (2016)

Abstract:

Space and its composition has been widely used but not fully explored within Mesoamerican Archaeological research. This has led to interpretations of the past that produce static historical discourses, and reinforce the idea of otherness, i.e. nationalisms. This research challenges the static historical discourse through the exploration of the way Nahuas in the Zongolica Mountain Range in Veracruz, Mexico, signify and re-signify their space. The Nahuas is a group highly implicated in the construction of Mexican national identity which evokes their movement in the prehispanic past. However, in Veracruz, the Nahuas have been dismissed from the historical discourse, and today they are subsumed under the persistent colonial practices. This presentation puts forth the result of four months of fieldwork in Mixtla de Altamirano, with a Nahua community located in the Zongolica Mountain Range.