Resumen

ALBARRACIN-JORDAN, Juan. The Legacy of Wendell C. Bennett's Studies in Bolivia (1932-1934). Textos Antropológicos [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.1, pp. 87-108. ISSN 1025-3181.

The liberal governments ofthe first half ofthe twentieth century perpetuated the model ofeconomic development based, primarily, on mining growth. The exploitation oftin, or the ^“metal ofthe future", as it was referred to, magnified the embitterment and unrest ofthe working class, including the indigenous communities, which were the main source of labor for the mines, while, at the same time, had their territories unprotected by the state. The economic model remained basically unchanged, when the Republican party came to power in 1921. Nonetheless, oil revenues, while still in an incipient stage at the time, widened Bolivia 's economic dependence on the extractive industries. The cyclic land conflict with theAndean ayllus escalated to violent clashes with military troops. The coercive response, both from liberals and republicans, was consistent with the predominant ideology ofthe urban elites. The posnanskian epic on Tiwanaku -based on racial prejudice andpseudo-scientific arguments -invigora-ted the elite's narrative on indigenouspeoples'past andpresent. The impact of systematic archaeological studies,such as those that Wendell Bennett carried out in Bolivia in the early 1930s, was confined to academk áreles in other countries. The main factors ofthis outcome can be attributed to (i) Bennett’s lack ofinterest in translating to Spanish and disseminating his work in Bolivia; (ii) the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay (1932-1935); and (iii) the main paradigm concerning the indigenous past, which legitimated the elite’s interests. Similar outcomes, today, can also be attributed to a new epic and the notion of^“indigenous culture" as a static avatar, which have been instrumental in validating the interests ofthe new elites.

Palabras llave : Bolivia; Bolivian archeology; Tiwanaku; Chiripa; historical particularism; cultural heritage; indigenous peoples.