An Advantage for Désiré Charnay: the Mexican Elite Groups

Abstract

In December 1880, The Chamber of Deputies forbade the export of hundreds of archaeological objects to the French explorer Désiré Charnay. In this text the interpretations that have been given with regard to this process are questioned and an explanation is presented retrieving the ideas of Mexican elites concerning Mexican antiquities, the ways in which these goods were obtained, their ownership, which reveals why those objects were finally allowed to leave the country. Also, Charnay’s actions to obtain archaeological objects are analyzed, as an example of how the elites had different standards to measure the importance of the explorations, depending on who performed them and who participated. These issues are examined with the aim to reinforce a different way of using and preserving cultural heritage.