This thesis is a qualitative analysis of how Andean Indigenous Knowledge (IK) challenges prevailing assumptions about sustainable development. Through the examination of the global fashion industry...Show moreThis thesis is a qualitative analysis of how Andean Indigenous Knowledge (IK) challenges prevailing assumptions about sustainable development. Through the examination of the global fashion industry, the study hypothesises that Andean IK challenges dominant beliefs in economic growth and technological progress as preconditions for sustainable development and reveals its anthropocentric nature. A thematic document analysis of content produced by two Andean fashion brands – Allpamamas and Pachacuti – reveals the importance of respecting nature as an innate part of human well-being and achieving sustainable development. Thus, a framework is created to reimagine sustainable development through the re-evaluation of the relationship between humans and nature, broadening the potential for policies to address sustainability in the global fashion industry.Show less
Textile had a major ceremonial role in the Inca empire, and is therefore often researched in Andean archaeology. However, the focus is often on either the production process of the cloth, or on the...Show moreTextile had a major ceremonial role in the Inca empire, and is therefore often researched in Andean archaeology. However, the focus is often on either the production process of the cloth, or on the symbolic value. These approaches are rarely combined. This research focusses on the clothing of five Inca Capacocha mummies: The three individuals from mount Llullaillaco, the young boy from mount El Plomo, and the female adolescent from mount Ampato. The connection between the technology and the meaning of the woven garments is investigated through literature analysis. Technology and style meet in the structure of the textile, as the design is embedded in and part of the woven fabric itself, and the completeness of the structure can be considered a stylistic feature. The two aspects also meet in what the designs depict. These are abstract patterns that represent symmetry, repetitions, contrasts and inversions, all concepts that are found back in Inca socio-political systems, ideology, and the actual structure of woven cloth. Finally, technology meets symbology in the artisans, the people who infuse the raw material with meaning through the process of production. Their social identity and their investment of labour and time gives the textile its value and prestigious status. Treating textile as the unity that it is, brings us one step closer to understanding the people involved in the production and consumption of these goods. When approached holistically, textile holds the potential to inform us on culturally specific ideas, preferences, and values within a society, through the messages that it carries within both its structure and symbols.Show less
Humans are adapters. We not only adapt ourselves to the environment, more often than not we adapt the environment itself to suit our needs, our wishes, and our ideas. This urge to change does not...Show moreHumans are adapters. We not only adapt ourselves to the environment, more often than not we adapt the environment itself to suit our needs, our wishes, and our ideas. This urge to change does not stop with the environment. The human body itself is often used as a canvas where we express who we are, where we express our identity. This thesis discussed one type of such expression of identity: artificial cranial modification (often abbreviated as "ACM"). As the modification can only be done successfully on individuals younger than three years old, it does not express individual identity but rather the group identity the individual's parents belonged to. This makes cranial modification an interesting field of research, which can tell archaeologists many things about past populations. The two populations studied in this thesis originate from the Bolivian Andes; an area with a high percentage of modified crania but a low percentage of research. The aim of this work is thus to add to the information of cranial modification in the Bolivian Andes, which was done through the study of 60 mostly Tiwanaku-period (500 - 1000 CE) crania from two different Andean regions: the Altiplano, and the Cochabamba valles. The Cochabamba valles, although emulating the Tiwanaku culture, remained very much independent, a fact which is confirmed in the results of this thesis. The most striking difference turned out to be the influence of sex on modification presence, which was found to be statistically significant in the valles sample and not in the Altiplano crania. Other differences were found as well: annular modification is much more frequent in the Altiplano, with tabular being more popular in the valles. The annular types are mostly cylindrical in the valles whereas the conical variant is more common in the Altiplano. Occipitally curved tabular modifications only occur in the Altiplano, with the lambdoidally flattened variant being most common. Frontally curved tabular modifications, then, only occur in the valles. Lastly, erect modifications occurred relatively more in the Altiplano sample, where it made up half of the tabular subtypes, than in the valles. Osteological effects of ACM on the cranium were studied as well. These did not indicate regional results, showing that, all cultural differences aside, the populations were not too different from each other. The non-metric traits that seemed to be influenced by cranial modification in the sample are the prevalence of the left infraorbital foramen, right pterygo-spinous bridge and left tympanic dehiscence, as well as the metopic suture retention. The results show that although the populations lived near, and were in contact with, each other, regional cultural differences do exist. Extrapolating findings of the Altiplano's Tiwanaku culture to the rest of the Bolivian Andes is thus not correct, something that should be kept in mind for future (much needed) research in the area. This thesis was made possible by the archaeological museum INIAM of the Universidad Mayor de San Simón in Cochabamba and the zooarchaeological laboratory from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz, which granted access to their collections.Show less
Through the process of cultural ruination, the ancestral cult of the Inka was supposedly lost in exchange for Christian funerary practices. Though there is an outward façade of acculturation in...Show moreThrough the process of cultural ruination, the ancestral cult of the Inka was supposedly lost in exchange for Christian funerary practices. Though there is an outward façade of acculturation in relation to the treatment of death during the Colonial Era in Cusco, Peru, all was not lost. This particular study suggests that through the introduction of Western artistic media, the colonial Inka were able to maintain aspects of their pre-Hispanic belief system. Specifically, this thesis argues that there are distinct parallels between the way the Inka mummies and the practice dynastic portrait paintings that was adopted during the late 16th century.Show less
Legislation, both internationally and nationally, on archaeological heritage management is often based on a dominant heritage discourse which focuses on material conservation. However, there are...Show moreLegislation, both internationally and nationally, on archaeological heritage management is often based on a dominant heritage discourse which focuses on material conservation. However, there are multiple heritage discourses and among them those of indigenous peoples. These are based on different perspectives on issues like history, time and landscape and those differences can have major ramifications for views on appropriate management of archaeological sites. As indigenous peoples’ rights are more often being recognised, also within the archaeological discipline, local indigenous communities become involved in heritage management projects. This involvement entails different degrees, from mere presentation to true collaboration and engagement with the indigenous culture. In Bolivia, there have been significant political developments in the last two decades related to indigenous peoples. The question is whether increased rights for indigenous peoples result in challenging the dominant heritage discourse during archaeological heritage management projects. By examining three case studies, it is shown that the level of involvement is not primarily defined by legislation. Bolivian legislation contradicts itself on several points and the enforcement of the law is questioned. Additionally, various other elements have an influence on the level of involvement, such as the personal background of the initiators of the project and the interest the local indigenous community has in the site. Also, the participants of the project have to be motivated to collaborate and have to be open to new perspectives and ideas that might contradict their own.Show less
