Hacia la institucionalización de la conservación del patrimonio arquitectónico en el área Maya. La Contrata de Copán

Abstract

In 1891, the Harvard University Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Honduras Government signed an agreement that would mean an unprecedented milestone for the conservation of the Maya architectural heritage. By means of this convention, this US institution gets authorized to develop the first long term archaeological project in the Maya area. It stablished a pioneer legal frame for foreign interventions in archaeological sites. The legal terms agreed will transform definitively the scene for archaeological research of this civilization. This present study deepens in the context for the establishment of this contract and analyzes the reasons for its incidence in the Maya heritage conservation history throughout an exhaustive documental task that even incorporates unpublished data found during the research in this institution.