SantiagoAt it lán is on the south shore of LakeAt it lán in the highlands of Guatemala.At it lán is
made up of the Tzutujil Maya, one of the three principal ethnic groups in Guatemala at the time
of the conquest. During the colonial period (1524-1821),At it lán was an important regional
center, both administrative and religious.

For a variety of reasons, from its regional importance to the attraction to visitors of its natural
beauty and cultural richness, through its history there has been a considerable quantity of
ethnographic production about the community. Ranging from administrative and church records
from the colonial and post-independence periods, works by national historians and chroniclers
from 1542 on, writings by travelers from the mid-1800s on, to academic ethnographies in the
20th and 21st century, they constitute a large and interesting body of information.1 Photographic
works, beginning as early as 1870, include:

Carl Dammann (1870), Alfred P. Maudslay and Alberto Valdeavellano (1880s), Elsie
McDougall (1928), F.A. Mitchell-Hedges (bef. 1931), Roberto Eichenberger and Adolfo Biener
(1930s), National Geographic (1945, 1947, 1974), Time Life Pictures (1945), Felix McBryde
(pub. 1947), E. Michael Mendelson (1952), John D. Early (1970s)

Despite the richness and breadth of materials produced, there has been an unfortunate absence of
the return of these works and materials to the community. Even currently, aside from a few
copies distributed by authors, for structural reasons it is difficult for an enduring and wide access
to be provided on a community level. Until very recently, the majority of the population was
unable to study or become literate. In recent history, Guatemala’s Civil War (1960s-1997)
contributed to the general lack of access to information in many different ways. Today, access to

a high school level education in Atitlan is less than 10 years old. There are now a small handful
of libraries in the community that have just begun to enable students to do research for their
schoolwork and to promote reading.

This issue of lack of access to information and information production is a key issue in
development. Our project is conceived as an attempt to counteract and reverse a tendency that
has for the most part prevailed until now.

Our objective is the formation of a digital Archive, which could be accessible from public
computers, in places such as municipal and private libraries, museums and schools. This archive
will consist of digitalized ethnographic material about the town and area, including photographs
and postcards, film and audio, manuscripts and other available historic media of relevance to the

While in the past the possibility of repatriation of cultural materials held abroad has depended on
the establishment of physical housing and displaying institutions like museums, which require
strong sources of funding, we believe that currently with the increased availability and access to
technology, we can achieve a durable mechanism for repatriation in the community with a
relatively small amount of resources. Currently there are many members of the community
(especially young people) who use computers and are learning different applications, so we feel
that this is an appropriate and practical medium for making available information in a way that
was never possible before.

The purpose of theAt it lán Digital Archive would be to promote valorization, learning and
reexamination of history on a local level by serving as a repository for visual and textual
ethnographic materials about the area of Santiago Atitlán freely accessible to members of the
community.

As stated above, the Atitlan Digital Ethnographic Archive Database2 will consist of
digitalized ethnographic material about the town and area, including photographs and
postcards, film and audio, manuscripts and other available historic media of relevance to the

Alfred P. Maudslay- 1881-1882
Tempest Anderson 1907
Elsie McDougall 1928
Carnegie photographs (Lothrop and Kidder) 1929-1957
F.A. Mitchell Hedges early 1930s
Bruce Scherschel– National Geographic and Time/LIFE (1945,1947)
Felix McBryde (pub. 1947)
E. Michael Mendelson early 1950s
Postcards 1920s-1960s (Roberto Eichenberger, and Adolfo Biener in 1930s, Guillermo Mata