Life in a Colonial Mining Camp: Reconstructing Power and Identity in a Colonial Context (Puno, Peru)

Summary

Mineral mining was a critical driver of the Peruvian economy during the early colonial period (AD 1550 – 1700). Peru's mineral wealth was used to fund the Spanish empire's geopolitical domination, often at the expense of indigenous Peruvians. Many were forced to labor in distant mines and work camps, decimating local communities. The south-central highlands of Peru were an especially rich area for mineral exploitation and mines, work camps, and processing mills have been identified throughout the Northern Lake Titicaca Basin. Despite being a major center for colonial mining, no archaeological research to date has been conducted in the region. This poster presents preliminary mapping and surface survey data from multiple colonial silver processing sites (often called ingenios or trapiches) located 10 km southwest of Puno. These sites exhibit a variety of indigenous and Spanish architectural forms and spatial patterns. Spatial analysis techniques are applied to compare the spatial layout of domestic buildings, work zones, and communal areas at each site, noting differential levels of accessibility and visibility. Analysis reveals how social inequality, restricted and controlled access, and difficult living conditions were part of everyday social life for indigenous miners and laborers at these sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20432