heritage Article Archaeologists, Treasure Hunters and Collectors: Heritage in the Spotlight Virginia M. Salerno 1,† , Natalia Mazzia 2,*,† , María Isabel González 3,† and Cecilia Pérez de Micou 4,† 1 CONICET, Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires. 25 de Mayo 221 3◦ piso, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1002ABE, Argentina;
[email protected] 2 CONICET Área Arqueología y Antropología, Área de Museos, Municipalidad de Necochea, Av. 10 y calle 93, Necochea, Buenos Aires 7630, Argentina 3 Instituto de Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires. 25 de Mayo 221 3◦ piso Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1002ABE, Argentina; igonzale@filo.uba.ar 4 CONICET, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires. 3 de Febrero 1378, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1426BJN, Argentina;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +54-11-6664-9682 † These authors contributed equally to this work. Received: 6 November 2018; Accepted: 3 January 2019; Published: 9 January 2019 Abstract: This paper inquiries into different aspects involved in gathering archaeological materials practices in the contemporary world. Archaeological objects comprise an intricate network of interests such as social, academic, scientific, touristic, historical, territorial, and economic, among others. It is based on those interests that the objects are appropriated and re-signified depending on specific contexts. We introduce two Argentinean cases in order to look into the relations between people and collected objects, and how those relations intertwine with social and political issues. Founded on these cases, we assess the need to create a broad-encompassing framework to study the collecting practices and the great diversity of actors involved.