Porfirian Positivism and the Construction of the Ancient Indian

 Mexico has gone to great lengths to turn the remains of pre-Hispanic past into national archaeological patrimony, a project that began in earnest during the Porfiriato, the regime of Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911).  The Porfirian government placed guards at ruins, strengthened federal legislation over artifacts, and in 1885 established the first agency exclusively to protect them, the General Inspectorate of Archaeological Monuments of the Republic.  It filled the National Museum (Museo Nacional Mexicano) with relics and reconstructed the nation’s first archaeological site at Teotihuacán.  The making of patrimony accompanied a larger elite effort aimed at constructing an official history and image that was based on a glorified vision of Indian antiquity.  This project, however, was not without its contradictions.  The Porfirian regime was not only fiercely anti-Indian, but the bulk of the labor involved in the construction of patrimony was carried out by indigenous communities who lived on or near the ruins.  Native peoples worked as guards at the sites, hauled monoliths to the museum, and did the digging and heavy lifting involved in the excavations and reconstructions.  What motivated the Indians to do this work?  This paper explores the intersection between the state and the workers, focusing specifically on the guards or conserjes at the sites.  It argues that while the government project stemmed from an elite effort at nation building, the guards were driven by an attachment to the ruins that reflected more localized senses of history and identity.