Social Use of an Historical Archaeology of Capitalism and the Dilemmas of his Patrimonial Policies: Th e Case of Capote Mining

Th is article is a brief refl ection on the social use of an industrial archeology, and the contradictions and problems related to its patrimonialization. The historical mining site of Capote is taken as a case study. We believe that the broadening of the scope and limits of research on the recent past -an historical archeology of capitalism in Chile-, is closely linked to improved hertiage policies in this country, which have opened new ways of exploring the past (and the present). Notwithstanding, there are underexplored dimensions of this new situation: the role played by archaeological research as yet another historical event of the site; the possible monopolization archaeological narratives may have on future interpretations; and the transformations broght by the intervention not only of a specifi c space but also of its archaeological time.

Key words: Historical Archaeology, Industry, Time, Heritage.