Reflexiones sobre metodologías colaborativas: proyecto de investigación para el retorno de los ancestros a territorio atacameño lickanantay (2021-2024)

Extractivist archaeological practices have been carried out in the Atacama Lickanantay territory, Antofagasta region, northern Chile, ever since the 19th century, excluding or denying the voice and/or participation of members of the local indigenous community. However, the beginning of the 21st century saw a change in this sense bringing new experiences of collaboration between Atacameños and archaeologists. Our goal is to reflect on the definitions and applications of collaborative methodologies in archaeological projects, through discussion focusing on the global, through the national and finally the local, from where we approach a particular collaborative project. The research, conducted between early 2021 and mid 2024, studies the history of the collection and patrimonialization of indigenous bodies in the Atacameño Lickanantay territory, and socializes this information among the local communities. Based on this work, we conclude that all research in the territory must involve and be authorized by the Atacameño communities. Also, we consider that the Atacameños should stop being the object of research and instead become researchers who lead or collaborate in the studies within their communities and in their territory. The originality of this paper lies precisely in the fact that it brings a global discussion of contemporary archaeology to a concrete case.