Mónica Aguilar Bonilla (born 11 July 1980 in San Jose) is a Costa-Rican archaeologist. She is a Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

. Her current works are mainly about Costa Rican heritage. She has worked on documenting archaeological artifacts, artifacts

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

, and application for World Heritage Status.

Education

Bonilla graduated in 2011 with an MA from the University of Costa Rica. Previously she had studied for and graduated from two undergraduate degrees in anthropology (2002) and archaeology (2007).

Research

Bonilla is an expert in the pre-Columbian societies of Costa-Rica and Costa-Rican archaeology. She studies cultural law and heritage, in terms of both tangible and intangible assets. She has worked on producing a dictionary of Costa Rican archaeological artifacts, putting indigenous artistry into context from pre-Columbian times to today. There is a long history of Costa Rica's heritage being looted for commercial gain. Under this context, she has studied the potential for the

of over 16,000 artifacts collected by

Minor Cooper Keith Minor Cooper Keith (19 January 1848 – 14 June 1929) was an American businessman whose railroad, commercial agriculture, and cargo liner enterprises had a major impact on the national economies of the Central American countries, as well as on t ...

from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, including 5,000 artifacts acquired by the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

in the 1930s. Bonilla has studied the assemblages of material from Las Mercedes, including material collected by Minor Keith, and published a study on how '' huaqueros'' and archaeologists can work together to preserve Costa Rica's heritage. She worked to produce the first digital repository of work on the

Guayabo National Monument Guayabo National Monument (), is an archaeological site near the city of Turrialba, within the Central Conservation Area in the Cartago Province, Costa Rica. It is almost directly in the center of the country on the Southern slope of the Turr ...

. She has investigated the site of Agua Caliente. In 2005, El Boyeo y la Carreta (the traditions of ox-herding and making ox-carts) were given

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Status ( Intangible Heritage), based on a candidacy case prepared by Bonilla. The ''carreta'' (oxcart) is one of Costa Rica's most famous crafts, used to transport coffee beans, their wheels are a hybrid of Spanish spokes and Aztec disc design. The UNESCO listing has led to a cultural revival, which has increased tourism. In 2018 Bonilla began a research project investigating the industrial heritage of Costa Rica for the first time. One of the first areas to be explored is Abangares in Guanacaste, where mineral extraction has been an important industry for two hundreds years and linked to global supply chains. Companies invested in the area whose artefacts are in the archaeological record, included
Cyanide Plant Supply Company, London, England
and National Manufacturing Company, Dayton, Ohio, USA. Her other academic interests include the paleo-environment of Central America, pre-Columbian musical instruments and

digital heritage The Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage of UNESCO defines digital heritage as embracing "cultural, educational, scientific and administrative resources, as well as technical, legal, medical and other kinds of information ''created digit ...

Membership

Bonilla has been a member of

ICOMOS The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; ) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was fou ...

Costa Rica since 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilar Bonilla, Monica 1980 births Living people Costa Rican women archaeologists Costa Rican women anthropologists Costa Rican archaeologists Costa Rican anthropologists Academic staff of the University of Costa Rica University of Costa Rica alumni People from San José, Costa Rica Mesoamerican archaeologists