Ricardo Pozas Arciniega
Encyclopedia
Ricardo Pozas Arciniega (May 4, 1912, Amealco de Bonfil
, Querétaro
– January 19, 1994, Mexico City
) was a distinguished Mexican
anthropologist, scientific investigator and indigenista
. He wrote the classic anthropological works Juan Pérez Jolote, biografía de un tzotzil and Los mazatecos y Chamula, un pueblo indio de los altos de Chiapas.
Arciniega's parents were Eduardo Pozas, an elementary school teacher, and Isabel Arciniega. Pozas began his studies in the Escuela Normal (Elementary Teacher's formation School) of San Juan del Río, Querétaro. After graduating he began teaching in Vizarrón de Montes, Querétaro
, and later in San Sebastián de las Barrancas.
Then in 1929 he moved to Mexico City
, where he taught in an elementary school for working-class children. Later he worked in Zamora, Michoacán
. In 1938 he returned to Mexico City as a secondary school history teacher and a laboratory worker at the Escuela Nacional de Maestros. In 1940 he entered the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia
(ENAH; National School of Anthropology and History) as a student. It was there that he began his anthropological work. Pozas then went to the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
(UNAM; National Autonomous University of Mexico) for postgraduate studies in sociology
.
He worked as an ethnologist in the Museo Nacional de Antropología
(National Museum of Anthropology) and as a researcher in the Instituto de Alfabetización para Maestros de Indígenas Monolingües (Literacy Institute for Teachers of Monolingual Indigenous) of the Instituto Nacional Indigenista (National Indigenous Institute).
In UNAM he was one of the professors who founded the School of Political and Social Sciences, where he also founded the Sociological Research Workshops. His work at the University emphasized both teaching and Research. He founded the journal Acta Sociológica, which had the objective of publishing the research works of the University students.
Near the end of his life, in recognition of his career and his dedication to anthropological and cultural research of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, he was awarded the Manuel Gamio
Medal and the University Medal of Merit.
Amealco de Bonfil
Amealco is a municipality in the Mexican state of Querétaro. Its name is thought to mean place of springs in Nahuatl. The municipality seat, also called Amealco, is located 63 km southeast of Santiago de Querétaro. Its elevation is 2,605 meters above sea level, and the annual temperature...
, Querétaro
Querétaro
Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
– January 19, 1994, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
) was a distinguished Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
anthropologist, scientific investigator and indigenista
Indigenismo
Indigenismo is a Latin American idea and movement pressing for a greater social and political role for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and the revindication of indigenous rights and including compensation for past wrongdoings of the colonial and republican states...
. He wrote the classic anthropological works Juan Pérez Jolote, biografía de un tzotzil and Los mazatecos y Chamula, un pueblo indio de los altos de Chiapas.
Arciniega's parents were Eduardo Pozas, an elementary school teacher, and Isabel Arciniega. Pozas began his studies in the Escuela Normal (Elementary Teacher's formation School) of San Juan del Río, Querétaro. After graduating he began teaching in Vizarrón de Montes, Querétaro
Querétaro
Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
, and later in San Sebastián de las Barrancas.
Then in 1929 he moved to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where he taught in an elementary school for working-class children. Later he worked in Zamora, Michoacán
Zamora, Michoacán
Zamora de Hidalgo, is a city in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The 2010 census population was 141,627. making it the third largest city in the state. The city is the municipal seat of Zamora Municipality, which has an area of 330.97 km² and includes many other smaller communities, the largest of...
. In 1938 he returned to Mexico City as a secondary school history teacher and a laboratory worker at the Escuela Nacional de Maestros. In 1940 he entered the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia
National School of Anthropology and History is a Mexican institution of higher education founded in 1938 and a prominent center for the study of anthropology and history in the Americas...
(ENAH; National School of Anthropology and History) as a student. It was there that he began his anthropological work. Pozas then went to the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(UNAM; National Autonomous University of Mexico) for postgraduate studies in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
.
He worked as an ethnologist in the Museo Nacional de Antropología
Museo Nacional de Antropología
The Museo Nacional de Antropología is a national museum of Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Calle Mahatma Gandhi within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, the museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from the pre-Columbian heritage of...
(National Museum of Anthropology) and as a researcher in the Instituto de Alfabetización para Maestros de Indígenas Monolingües (Literacy Institute for Teachers of Monolingual Indigenous) of the Instituto Nacional Indigenista (National Indigenous Institute).
In UNAM he was one of the professors who founded the School of Political and Social Sciences, where he also founded the Sociological Research Workshops. His work at the University emphasized both teaching and Research. He founded the journal Acta Sociológica, which had the objective of publishing the research works of the University students.
Near the end of his life, in recognition of his career and his dedication to anthropological and cultural research of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, he was awarded the Manuel Gamio
Manuel Gamio
Manuel Gamio was a Mexican anthropologist, archaeologist, sociologist, and a leader of the indigenismo movement. He is often considered as the father of modern anthropological studies in Mexico...
Medal and the University Medal of Merit.
Works
- Juan Pérez Jolote, biografía de un tzotzil. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1952.
- El desarrollo de la comunidad : técnicas de investigación social. Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1961.
- Los mazatecos y Chamula, un pueblo indio de los altos de Chiapas. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
- "Etnografía de los mazatecos", in Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos, v. XVI. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, 1960.
- Chamula. Mexico: Instituto Nacional Indigenista, 1977. ISBN 968-822-076-0
- La Política Indigenista en México, with Gonzalo Aguirre BeltránGonzalo Aguirre BeltránGonzalo Aguirre Beltrán was a Mexican anthropologist known for his studies of marginal populations. His work has focused on Afro-Mexican populations...
. Mexico: Instituto Nacional Indigenista, 1981. ISBN 968-822-023-X - , with Isabel Horcasitas de Pozas. Mexico: Siglo XXI, 1985. ISBN 968-23-0067-3