For a Cartography of the Puquina Language in the Colonial Altiplano (1548-1610)

Abstract

This paper offers a critical review of a major historical source on the indigenous languages spoken by the year 1600 in the former Bishopric of Charcas, the so-called ‘Copia de los curatos’, which, together with mapping of the information that this text provides, allows a more accurate and precise reconstruction of the territorial extension of the Puquina language during the early Colonial epoch. To be used as sources for the study of Andean historical linguistics, the published documents used for this analysis and reconstruction must be understood in their administrative context of the church and Colonial state. Knowledge of the jurisdictional changes in the Southern Andes during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and their juxtaposition on top of pre-Hispanic indigenous jurisdictions, are crucial to understanding the scope and limitations of this valuable document.