Pieces of a Puzzle: Jean-Christian Spahni, Archaeology and Collecting During his Time in Chile (1960-1963)

Abstract

This article presents new background information on the life and work of Swiss researcher Jean-Christian Spahni during his three years in Chile in the 1960s. This was the heyday of the institutionalization of archaeology and the strengthening of museums in Chile and other countries. The research on this archaeologist and scientific collector is based on the one hand, on the study of the collections of pre-Columbian objects and bodies gathered by him during his stay in the north of the country, from excavation to their current destination. On the other hand, it involves tracing information in public and private archives and repositories at the national and international level. Through his life and work, we review the personal and institutional relationships he established during his stay, and how these fit into a global context and network of movements of pieces to form museums. From the history of a unique character, we hope to offer a new look at national collecting for scientific purposes and to make visible agents who for various reasons have been disregarded in the history of the national discipline. A case that will help to reflect, discuss and expand the stereotyped vision of collecting that prevails today, as a pernicious and commercial activity, as well as to provide new inputs to rewrite part of these stories.