`Campo del Cielo´ meteorites: astronomical heritage and cultural colonialism

ALEJANDRO MARTÍN LÓPEZ; ALTMAN, AGUSTINA

Beijin

Congreso; sesión científica "Conservation and protection of different categories of astronomical heritage -common issues", XXVIIIth IAU General Assembly; 2012

International Astronomical Union (IAU)

In the province of Chaco, Argentina, there is a very unique dispersion of metallic meteorites called "Campo del Cielo". One of the meteoric fragments of this dispersion, the meteorite called "El Chaco", consisting of 37 tons, is the second heaviest in the world. These meteorites are of great importance to the worldview of the Moqoit, aboriginal people that inhabit this region. For the local Creole population the meteorites are also relevant, that's why they have being cited in numerous documents and reports since the colonial period.During the first months of 2012, two Argentine artists and the Artistic Director of the German contemporary art exhibition called dOCUMENTA (13) tried to move "El Chaco" meteorite to Germany in order to exhibit it as an artistic object. Due to the fact that moving the meteorite could have a negative impact according to the moqoit cosmology and that the were not able to participate in the decision they begun a manifestation against the movement of El Chaco. The opposition made by aboriginal communities and experts in cultural astronomy was able to stop the transfer. The whole process and its impact on the local community have promoted a deep discussion about art, science and cultural colonialism.In this paper we aim to address this debate and its consequences. This will allow us to think about contemporary forms of colonialism that are hidden in many scientific and artistic projects. Furthermore, we aim to debate about the most effective ways of protecting astronomical heritage in the Third World.