ABSTRACT
In Latin America, particularly in Chile, indigenous communities, archaeology, and private companies have confronted each other regarding the control and management of critical resources such as land, water, or archaeological heritage. In northern Chile these conflicts have been especially visible and complex between indigenous communities and private companies due to the economical importance of the copper deposits in the desert and the legislations that have favored the interests of the investors to the detriment of indigenous groups. Since the 1990's, external situations have forced archaeology to consider the social background in which it develops and, even more, to relate with new actors such as indigenous communities and private companies. These changes are part of social and cultural phenomena entailed to the postmodern condition of the contemporary post-industrial society that has gained strength in Chile since the recovery of democracy. The extraordinary importance of archaeology as a 'technoscience' is a reflection of its successful adaptation to the social and legal scenarios characteristic of the crisis of modernity, normally called post modernity.
