摘要
Starting by some of the concerns that were considered in the Age of the Enlightenment, we annalize Creoles and Spaniards∩ proposals to the knowledge of the Pre- Columbian antiquities and fine arts between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. We will verify that, during this period, fine arts started to be considered a reflection of a society∩s attaintments. As a result, they became an unavoidable component in the placing that a civilization occupied in what contemporaneously was called ※the Great Map of Mankind§. Partiendo de algunas de las inquietudes que recorrieron el Siglo de las Luces, analizamos las aportaciones de criollos y espa oles al conocimiento de las antig邦edades y las Bellas Artes precolombinas entre finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX. Comprobaremos que durante este periodo las Bellas Artes empezaron a considerarse un reflejo de los logros de una sociedad. Devinieron por ello un elemento ineludible en la determinaci車n del lugar que una civilizaci車n ocupaba en lo que contempor芍neamente se denomin車 el ※gran mapa de la humanidad§.