Samuel Holley-Kline, "In the Shadow of El Tajín: The Political Economy of Archaeology in Modern Mexico" (U Nebraska Press, 2025)

About this episode

Samuel Holley-Kline discusses the political economy of archaeology in relation to El Tajín and the Indigenous Totonac peoples of Mexico.

Located in the Papantla municipality of the Mexican state of Veracruz, El Tajín is a UNESCO World Heritage site but a lesser-known tourist destination and national symbol. The Indigenous Totonac residents of the region know well that the site’s relative absence from discussions of global archaeology and heritage belies a century of wide-ranging labor, extractive industries, and commodity exchange.In the Shadow of El Tajín: The Political Economy of Archaeology in Modern Mexico (U Nebraska Press, 2025) tells the story of how a landscape of ancient mounds and ruins became an archaeological site, brings to light the network of actors who made it happen, and reveals the Indigenous histories silenced in the process. By drawing on the insights of Indigenous Totonac peoples who have lived and worked in El Tajín for more than a century, Sam Holley-Kline explores historical processes that made both the archaeological site and regional historical memory. In the Shadow of El Tajín decenters discussions of the state and tourism industry by focusing on the industries and workers who are integral to the functioning of the site but who have historically been overlooked by studies of the ancient…

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Samuel Holley-Kline

Topics covered

• archaeology
• Indigenous history
• political economy
• tourism
• cultural heritage
• El Tajín

Keywords

• El Tajín
• archaeological site
• Totonac
• political economy
• cultural heritage
• Mexico
• UNESCO
• Indigenous history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UNESCO, U Nebraska Press

Books & works: In the Shadow of El Tajín: The Political Economy of Archaeology in Modern Mexico

Places: Papantla, Mexico, Veracruz

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