Mesoamerican Narratives at the British Museum: Ancient Writing, Contemporary Voices

This bilingual book critically reviews a research project undertaken between SDCELAR, British Museum and a group of predominantly Indigenous archaeologists and heritage specialists from various regions in Mexico and Guatemala. This group re-interpret the written narratives embedded in historical items from the Mesoamerican collection using their contemporary Indigenous languages. Indigenous ways of understanding and making time put critical stress on the cumulative historical totalization that underpins global northern knowledge and museum chronotopes. The book discusses Indigenous epistemologies while focusing on the relevance of mobilising this work strategically outside of the museum, among descendant communities. The contributions reflect on the project's first major output: a multilingual online event series designed to incorporate various voices and engage in contemporary political contexts. This event created a kaleidoscopic narrative synchronicity, eschewing a seemingly neutral, didactic narrative. The book argues for multi-narratival and multi-temporal museum work that shows how the space between narrative and audience can generate reflexivity. In this way, researchers and visitors might interrogate their political and emotional positions towards colonial material.