• What's New?
• About SAA
• Careers, Opportunities,
  & Jobs in Archaeology
• Education
  • Archaeology for the Public
• Government Affairs
  • Repatriation
• Meetings
• Membership
  • Members' Section
• Publications
  • The SAA Press
• Public Relations
• SAA Marketplace

Rights and Guarantees Related to the Land

Monte Alban: The official boundary of the Archaeological Zone of Monte Alban encloses 2,078 hectares (approximately 5,278 acres) affecting five communities and five ejidos (SEDESOL 1996), of which 51 percent belongs to Santa Maria Atzompa, 25 percent to Santa Cruz Xoxocotlan, 10 percent each to San Martin Mexicapam and San Juan Chapultepec (both part of the city of Oaxaca), and 5 percent to San Pedro Ixtlahuaca. Within the zone for planning and management purposes the land is divided among four units: Plaza Principal, Atzompa, El Gallo, and a buffer area. Thus, for Monte Alban as an archaeological zone the principal concern has been to assure a presidential declaration establishing INAH's legal right to regulate land use within the official boundary. This right in turn affects the interests of social actors enumerated below, some of which are represented in Figure 50.

Figure 50.—Monte Alban. Spaces contested by organized social groups.

Authorities of Santa Maria Atzompa: This social actor represents the community of SantaMaria Atzompa, and consists of both the municipal officials and the Ejido Commission, as they form a common front when dealing with INAH on matters of the archaeological zone boundary or land use regulation. Key individudals include the mayor, vice-mayor, secretary, police chief, and four members of the Ejido Commision. This group takes a highly traditional stance in terms of protecting the collective interest of the community in its land base, whether this is communal, ejido, or private property. With respect to conservation practices within the Monte Alban Archaeological Zone, as established by the 1992 boundary, and by the presidential decree conferring official status on the protected area, this group argues "…they talk about protection, but they have not protected the sites as they should, and INAH stands out for its lack of attention to the area; in reality the sites are unprotected". The latter comment is a clear reference to the total disregard of the Atzompa unit in terms of official plans for exploration and conservation.

"The highest officials talk about the welfare of the family, but that is not true…" referring to the political slogan popularized by the PRI during the 1994 presidential campaign of Ernesto Zedillo. This reflects the lack of credibility attached to statements by senior officials, "…the decrees are made to favor the strong, not the weak…". The authorities remember discussions of a tourist circuit which would have been of benefit to Atzompa but was never carried out, noting "…at the very least they could have opened a dirt road for the benefit of the communities…" and that "…INAH has had money and nothing has come to the community; perhaps if INAH had arranged something for the community people would be more inclined to cooperate…"

This group expressed its concern for the protection of the archaeological monuments or "the ruins", as they refer to the site. This reinforces their conception of the site as restricted to the monumental architecture located on the upper parts of the ridge, and therefore provides no logical explanation for a boundary which "locks up" even the lower parts of the same. One can talk about the concept of context, residential areas, pre-Columbian cultivation areas, and other elements of a cultural landscape, but it is clear these are categories far from local value scales regarding conservation. The problem they have with the boundary-setting process is that "…they put markers where there are no ruins, and they are invading lands which belong to the community". In addition, "Blanca Paredes never called together the authorities to discuss how to define the boundary." And in their view the presidential decree "…violated the autonomy of the community." They recognize that in fact in some of the lower sections there are archaeological remains, as in the case of "Los Mogotillos" the local name for the site known to archaeologists as Tierras Largas. There archaeologists were carrying out research and local authorities permitted the site to be invaded. Nevertheless, in the eyes of village authorities "…even so there is no reason to include so much within the boundary."

The authorities of Santa Maria Atzompa consistently expressed an interest in cooperating with INAH to the extent the latter will consider the possibility of shifting "upslope" the official boundary markers, as the authorities have a clear sense as to what they are willing to accept. They are particularly attentive to critical areas where there is more interest in urban development, such as the east slope of the main hill at Atzompa and in the Cañada, the natural drainage of the hills of Atzompa and El Gallo, and now a growing settlement. The interinstitutional team and Atzompa authorities made a total of four ground surveys ranging from 30 and 40 meters above the current boundary line to as much as 200 meters above. These surveys left outside the boundary the lower slopes where there already exist growing settlements such as the Guelaguetza, Ampliacion Guelagueta, Samaritana, Ampliacion Sanmaritana, Ejido Santa Maria, la Cañada, y Ampliacion la Cañada, all inside the official boundary and all in the process of consolidation (Figures 51, 52, 53, and 54).

Figure 51.—Monte Alban. Extension of urban sprawl toward Monte Alban in 1995. View toward main plaza and Atzompa. Archive of Nelly Robles.

Figure 52.—Monte Alban. Construction inside Monte Alban boundary Atzompa, 1995. Archive of Nelly Robles.

Figure 53.—Monte Alban. Growth of irregular settlements in the area of the Cañada, Atzompa, 1995. Archive of Nelly Robles.

Figure 54.—Monte Alban. Extension of urban sprawl toward Atzompa. Oaxaca Housing Institute subdivision, 1995. Archive of Nelly Robles.

It is clear the first interest of this group is to assure a greater supply of land for sale to people arriving from outside the community, although obviously they do not discuss this in meetings or surveys. But officials of the Office of the Agrarian Solictor advised that the Atzompa vice-mayor for the period 1993-95 has been charged with illegal sale of ejido lands. When they assume a public role it is to assure that their interest is "to protect the heritage of the citizens of Atzompa."

Given INAH's 1995 proposal to consider some municipal boundary markers to complement the official boundaries as part of an attempt to reach agreement on boundary-setting, the authorities proposed a wide band around the hill, including lands most threatened by invasion. They even asked for another band somewhat further up the slope so "…people have someplace to pasture their animals." Nevertheless we all knew that none of the families in the new households lives a rural lifestyle, but rather are quite identified with the urban system. This group also thought it very important to continue the efforts to reforest the hillsides and suggested a good tree belt would keep people from invading these areas. But at the same time they sought to increase opportunities for grazing, even though grazing is a primary contributor to deforestation.