Paper short abstract:

Remains and archaeological ruins may become the main support of symbolic, political and economic positioning of an entire community. What is the process that makes it possible?, Why works in some cases and not others?. Two Ecuadorian communities illustrate these questions.

Paper long abstract:

The personal and collective link to remnants and archaeological ruins provide a way to represent the past, a way to bond to it; but perhaps, most remarkably, a way to be in a territory, claiming and resisting in its borders. Then, the stones, the broken ceramics and walls become traces that justify the appropriation and identification with a space through time, in a way that transcend the individuals and gives consistency to the group. What is the process that makes this possible? Why does it work in some cases and not in others? It is not enough with ruins and archaeological remains: their place in space, their territorial significance, their perceptive influence, are necessary but not enough. It is the dialog between humans and those remains which builds their meaning, which shines as much as limits the social process.

Two "pueblo manteño" communities (Ecuador) are showing a clear uneven relationship with the archaeological remains found in their territories. While Agua Blanca provides us with a paradigm to illustrate the archaeological construction of a community, Salango is living almost isolated from its archaeological heritage. The key to understand this disparate account nests in the heritage appropriation process of the archaeological remains, basically, in the markedly distinctive dialogue rules that these communities have had with the walls, the vessels, and the burials that have been found in their territory.

Today, both communities are toiling in making their archaeological heritage attractive for tourism, but have a very different relationship with them, which seems a proper metaphor to understand their practices as communities.