ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the significance of place,context, and contact in the coproduction of scientific knowledge, specifically in the development of evidentiary norms in Americanist anthropology in the context of late-nineteenth-century Latin America as a site of largely untouched raw material. Before 1900, Americanists were divided between those who examined scientific evidence in the laboratory or museum, and collectors in the field. Though they had many intellectual and methodological disagreements, one thing the scientists agreed upon was that land, and the relics found in it, were a vital source of evidence. Taking land as a starting point, the chapter focuses on Americanists’ engagement with land, arguing that in doing so, they simultaneously constructed key methodologies typically associated with twentieth century anthropology, such as fieldwork, contextualization of evidence, and acquisition of local knowledge. Locating the story of early anthropological evidence practices on Latin American terrain highlights the mediations and knowledge exchange between foreign and local scientists. These negotiations not only reflected and contributed to shifting power relations between European, United States, and local scientists, but also linked to the consolidation of centralized state power in many Latin American countries, which in turn prompted intensified projects of territorial control and new forms of engagement with Indigenous peoples.
