Collaboration has been a hallmark of applied anthropology for as long as anthropologists have been putting anthropology to use. The very process of applying anthropological methods and theories to real‐world problems requires an understanding of the needs of the people experiencing the problem. Collaboration also has a long history in both archaeology and ethnography in Mesoamerica. This article explores the relationship between collaboration and applied anthropology in the context of a volunteer tourism program in rural Yucatan, Mexico. Tourism—and especially archaeological tourism—is a driving force in the region's economy. Increasingly, volunteer tourism initiatives provide visitors with the opportunity to contribute to the local community as part of their travel experience. I argue that the conceptual framework of what constitutes meaningful collaboration offers us a way to examine the interactions and power dynamics surrounding the encounter between volunteer, host, and even ethnographer. Specifically, the article questions whether contributions of various sorts are a requisite for achieving actual collaboration in these encounters.

中文翻译：

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志愿服务活动中的民族志学家和合作者

只要人类学家一直在使用人类学，合作就一直是应用人类学的标志。将人类学方法和理论应用于现实世界问题的整个过程，需要了解经历问题的人们的需求。在中美洲，考古和人种学方面的合作历史悠久。本文探讨了在墨西哥尤卡坦州乡村的一项自愿性旅游计划的背景下合作与应用人类学之间的关系。旅游业，尤其是考古旅游业，是该地区经济的驱动力。越来越多的志愿旅游计划为游客提供了机会，作为他们旅行经验的一部分，为当地社区做出贡献。我认为，构成有意义的协作的概念框架为我们提供了一种方法，可以研究志愿者，主持人甚至民族志学家之间相遇时的互动和力量动态。具体来说，本文质疑在这些遭遇中实现实际协作是否需要各种贡献。