Ever wonder who rebuilt the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan? This engaging treatment of the beginnings of Mexican archaeology explains how that event occurred. It also looks at how the government of Porfirio Díaz used Mexico's spectacular ruins as yet another way to “market” Mexico as a developing nation that could hold its own among the more scientifically advanced countries, mostly those of Europe. Díaz sought to time his efforts for the 100th anniversary of independence in 1910, celebrated in conjunction with the International Congress of Americanists that was held in Mexico City and Buenos Aires that year.
Bueno's central thesis fits in very well with works by Benedict Anderson, Raymond Craib, and Mauricio Tenorio, among others, and adds archaeology to the list of disciplines and constructions that fostered independence. Unlike some of the other authors, Bueno shows us how the ruins affected the indigenous residents of the area. Her book is particularly solid in looking at how the transport of large artifacts from the areas where they were excavated to the National Museum in Mexico City affected those who lived among them and loved them. Nevertheless, it insists on putting names to the ruins with modern-day accent marks, a practice long out of favor among archaeologists.
Although much is made of the relationship between indigenous communities and their archaeological sites, it is a shame that there is no significant discussion of the difference between the value they placed on their nation's ruins, the lack of concern exhibited by President Manuel González, Díaz' predecessor from Tamaulipas, and Díaz's own efforts. González was unused to seeing and thinking about ruins. By contrast, Díaz, who launched efforts to spur Mexican archaeology, was born and raised in Oaxaca, a treasure trove of sites.
As befits her focus on the archaeological establishment in Mexico, Bueno follows the career of Leopoldo Batres, named by Porfirio Díaz as the first inspector of monuments. Batres was singularly devoted to his task and equally territorial, micromanaging all in his purview and browbeating any potential rivals. Batres would remain in his post from 1885 to 1910. Even now, despite Bueno's painstaking research, we do not know why Díaz selected Batres in the first place. Had the two met in the military? It was and still is thought that he had Díaz's blessing, but based on what?
Bueno also delves into the behaviors of the guards at various sites, but we do not know how much they were paid and there is virtually no discussion of the effect of their mission on the nation. For example, a quick look at the Memoria of the Secretaría de Fomento would have shown how the budget for excavating ruins compared with those for other state-sponsored building efforts, for example the creation and placement of the statues that lined the Paseo de la Reforma. Nor do we know what impression the ruins made on foreign observers, although we can assume that evidence is lurking somewhere.
It is worth noting that Díaz appointed Batres well before Jose Yves Limantour, the treasury minister, entered the cabinet in 1893. Limantour is often seen as the person most responsible for creating the façade of modern Mexico, but do we need to look elsewhere for the Svengali of the earlier period? Perhaps Manuel Romero Rubío, Díaz's father-in-law and his Secretarío de Gobernación (1884–1895), figured in those decisions.
Bueno has taken an important first step in tracing the role of the Mexican state in the development of archaeology throughout the country, and she has suggested how that development looked in the postrevolutionary period. Now, we need a similar study focused on the next hundred years, from Gamio to Ruz and Bernal to López Lujan.
