The Twilight Zone of Collections. What Do We Preserve when We Conserve?

Abstract

In Chile, indigenous communities have identified anthropological and archaeological museums as places that preserve the memory of Western colonization. These accusations exacerbate the crisis of representation and have driven processes of ideological decolonization in these spaces. Within the framework of the basic functions of a museum, some institutions have explored new museological models and have questioned their procurement policies; the way in which research, communication and exhibitions were approached within their establishments. However, conservation has been the least debated function, because preserving collections to ensure their transmission to future generations seems an immovable agreement. Through the exposition of three cases of indigenous interest, this article questions conservation and highlights how the discipline is governed by Eurocentric conceptions that emphasize the material dimension of collections without allowing for indigenous epistemologies where, in general, matter and spirit are not separated.