Restitution of Human Remains and Landscape Resignification

Abstract

Abstract The restitution of human remains is a process wherein diverse agencies and meanings emerge. In Argentina there has been a significant increase of these processes, as well as claims of human bodies, during the early twenty-first century, allowing the appearance of new actors, the reconfiguration of public policies, and varied academic approaches. This article deals with a seldom-studied phenomenon—resignification of the territory as a consequence of a restitution—focusing on a recent example that involved the Rankülche Nation, an Indigenous nation in central Argentina, and its relationship with the government of La Pampa province, with scientists, and with members of the local community.