Mules, tambos, and silver: new materialisms in the colonial andes

Abstract

Recent discussions of a renewed materialist approach (often referred to as the new materialisms) have fostered a revisiting of some of the foundational tenets – ontological, epistemological, ethical – of the social sciences. The challenges and possibilities raised in these discussions between historians, archaeologists, geographers, and political ecologists have the potential to open new perspectives on the nature and ethics of research practice, representation, and the objects of our study. This article takes the form of an experimental intervention, highlighting the multiple intersections between recent discussions in new materialist political ecology and archaeological approaches to practice and representation. A case study exploring the historical archaeology of the colonial Andes provides a brief yet concrete examination of some of the potential impacts of a new materialist approach, highlighting new foci on labor, animal history, and the ‘slowness’ of archaeological practice.