Mulas, tambos y plata: los nuevos materialismos en los Andes coloniales

Abstract

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