PAGE This thesis explores notions of 'heritage1 among residents of Nombre de Dios, Panama through the combined ethnographic methods of participant-observation, public archaeology and semi-structured interviews. This diversified strategy enabled an examination of history, memory, and the archaeological past at the individual, community, and national levels of society. Illustrating the discursive relationship between society and the individual in forming conceptions of'heritage,' this research

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... ues for an expanded treatment of the term. Rather than a static idea, 'heritage' is better considered an emergent process with people negotiating constantly-evolving narrations of their relationships with the past. This thesis further provides an example of how ethnographic research within archaeological endeavors can illuminate local priorities, rather than simply serving to further archaeologists' purposes. Conducted in this way, archaeologists have the opportun ity to make their work relevant by more closely aligning; their own priorities with those of descendent and community stakeholders. T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s Page D e d ic a t io n v A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s v i In t r o d u c t io n 7 Cha p t e r I N o t io n s of 'H e r it a g e ' 9 C h a p t e r II H ist o r ic a l B a c k g r o u n d 18 Cha p t e r III M e t h o d o l o g y 29 Ch a p t e r IV Fin d in g s 40 Co n c l u s io n 57 A p p e n d ix A: S u m m a r y of In t e r v ie w w it h "Ju l ia " 64 A p p e n d ix B : S u m m a r y of In t e r v ie w w it h "L u z " 65 A p p e n d ix C: Su m m a r y of In t e r v ie w w it h "Cr is t o b a l " 67 A p p e n d ix D : S u m m a r y of In t e r v ie w w it h "M a n u e l a " 69 A p p e n d ix E: S u m m a r y of In t e r v ie w w it h "G r a c ie l a " 71 A p p e n d ix F : C o n s e n t F o r m 73 A p p e n d ix G: In s t it u t io n a l R e v ie w B o a r d N o tic e of A p p r o v a l 75 B ib l io g r a p h y 7 7 V it a 82 iv D e d ic a t io n