Abstract

GARCIA ROLDAN, Daniel. Conceptions of Geography and Cartography in the "Human Sciences" and Archaeological Museums in Bogotá (Colombia), 1938-1945. Historelo.rev.hist.reg.local [online]. 2018, vol.10, n.19, pp.83-119. ISSN 2145-132X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/historelo.v10n19.61601.

This article studies the maps and geographical discourses that conferred a certain order and meaning to the collections in archaeological museums in Bogotá, in order to shed light on mid-twentieth century ideas of how to value and interpret our indigenous past. The methodology used is based on a historical analysis of a series of cartographic images and the texts relating to them. This analysis has allowed us to deduce the existence of three types of maps: the map as a logotype, whose aim is to establish a close link between the limits of the national territory and the location of the indigenous societies that inhabited this territory before the arrival of the Spanish; the map as a fragment, which avoids generalizations and prefers to establish more precise links with the concrete spaces where archaeological remains were found; and finally the map as an emblem, which is supported by a scientific discourse endowed with authority but which, when exposed, is taken out of context and used without revealing its full meaning. The idea of contrasting these types of maps is to demonstrate that the relationship between the disciplines of geography, cartography and archaeology is laced with political content and strongly marked by the institutions where such a relationship is formed.

Keywords : history; archaeological museums; cartography; geography.

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