“Nuestras Reliquías Históricas” and the Rhetorical Work of Objects at Machu Picchu

A groundbreaking analysis reveals that the debate over archaeological objects from Machu Picchu is not merely about their classification as national treasures or scientific specimens, but a reflection of colonial perspectives that overdetermine public discourse. The study traces the history and political significance of these objects, which were removed in the early 20th century and repatriated in the 21st, showing how they became entangled with Peruvian national identity and U.S. scientific imperialism. By drawing on Andean theories of the pluriverse and Indigenous relational frameworks, the research challenges traditional rhetorical studies, arguing that its ontological turn has often been a colonial return. This work calls for an unsettling of rhetoric's objects, places, and theories to account for the worlds precluded by such debates.

Olson, C. J. (2021). “Nuestras Reliquías Históricas” and the Rhetorical Work of Objects at Machu Picchu. Rhetoric, Politics & Culture, 1(2), 47–70. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhp.2021.0014