"Under the Volcano": Assemblages, Causality and Volcanic Matter at San Pedro Aguacatepeque, Guatemala.

Summary

The colonial Maya community of San Pedro Aguacatepeque, located in Pacific piedmont Guatemala, sits on the eastern flank of the Volcan de Fuego, a long-active stratovolcano. The interventions of new materialist approaches, in particular Bennett’s notion of the "vibrancy" and influence of nonhumans in the unfolding of history, are brought into relief when considering the abundant historical entanglements between the Volcan de Fuego and Aguacatepeque. The regular flows and bursts emanating from the Volcan afforded much (productive and destructive) for Maya populations drawn to settle at Aguacatepeque. The continual eruptions of the Volcan contributed to the emergence of a unique corridor linking coast and highlands, and a high altitude microclimate and well-drained soils amenable to cacao cultivation. In turn, the Volcan continued to play a critical role in structuring life and practice at Agucatepeque. The influence of the Volcan and other nonhuman entities in the affairs of Aguacatepeque provides a compelling case for expanding attributions of historical causality at the community beyond humans. This paper focuses on the Volcan de Fuego, its capacities, and its place within the assemblage of human and nonhuman actors and emergent effects that afforded Aguacatepeque’s unique historical trajectory both before and after colonization.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Archaeology and the New Materialism

Keywords

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