Working against Silence: Nahua Scholarly Labor, Digital Precarity, and the Politics of Archaeological Sovereignty—The MONARO Project in Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract Archaeology faces a turning point as digital technologies transform who performs archaeological labor and under what conditions. Although inequities affecting students, technicians, and Indigenous collaborators have been increasingly acknowledged, less attention has been paid to the political economy that structures these forms of work. Drawing on collaborative research with Nahua communities in Mixtla de Altamirano, Veracruz, this article examines how transcription, translation, deep mapping, and digital annotation of oral narratives constitute archaeological labor—despite being excluded from Mexico’s state-defined model of “legitimate” archaeology. Community projects operate under digital precarity, relying on fragile infrastructures, unstable electricity, and unpaid labor. These conditions reveal structural inequalities in archaeological practice and raise urgent questions about data governance. We propose strategies for repurpose digital tools and AI toward more inclusive practices through ethical protocols, community training, and infrastructures grounded in archival sovereignty. The article proposes a grounded framework for rethinking archaeological labor, digital infrastructures, and collaboration in community-based contexts.