Transforming traditions : Manuel Gamio's study of the Valley of Teotihuacan

The thesis focuses on Manuel Gamio???s study on the indigenous population of the\ud valley of Teotihuacan, which formulated a program to assimilate them into Mexico's\ud post-Revolutionary national culture. The thesis outlines the intellectual context of his\ud theories from the nineteenth century through the post-Revolutionary era, ending in 1925\ud with the dissolution of the Department of Anthropology. The thesis argues that folklore\ud primarily guided both his historical interpretation and program illustrating the persistence\ud of nineteenth century attitudes of the indigenous population's racial inferiority, which also\ud undermined his program???s ability to bring about the social reforms claimed by the post-\ud Revolutionary state. In addition, Gamio???s definition of folklore also revealed motives to\ud alter indigenous cultural traditions and ways of life through direct intervention, which\ud also served the purpose of removing and countering the influence of institutions blocking\ud the state???s functions and objectives, such as the Catholic Church. The thesis concludes\ud that by focusing on Gamio???s use of folklore his program revealed to represent a break\ud with the pre-Revolutionary state???s policies towards the indigenous population, but also\ud illustrated strong continuities with pre-Revolutionary objectives to alter and ultimately\ud eliminate indigenous cultural traditions