Modern and Ancient Craftswomen in the Andes, from Tiwanaku (AD 500-1100) to Present in Bolivia and Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This research investigates skeletal evidence of labor (i.e., osteoarthritis and muscle entheseal changes), as performed by 525 females within the precontact Tiwanaku civilization (AD 500-1100) of the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes, and compares these labors to those performed by their modern-day indigenous Aymara descendants who live in the same region and perform many traditional tasks (i.e., non-mechanized farming, carrying goods on the back over varying elevations, weaving, pottery production). Using ethnographic evidence from 20 interviews and three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided video motion capture (mocap) of traditional activities, data from these women were compared to prior published skeletal evidence of Tiwanaku tasks. Results show that many of the tools used in prehistory, such as a sharpened and smoothed llama bone, are the same as those used over a thousand years ago during Tiwanaku times, and that intense labors, such as farming or craft production begins in pre-teen years in both the past and present. Overall, focusing on laborers from the past and present can answer question about gendered labor and the importance of Indigenous expert knowledge.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41719.0