Journal of Anthropological Research· 2016Q2
The Living Ones: Miniatures and Animation in the Andes
- 72citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
Andean communities imbue miniature stone camelids (inqaychus) with personhood, viewing them as gifts from powerful places that invigorate herds, challenging Western notions of materiality.
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Key points
- Miniature stone camelids (inqaychus) in the Andes are believed to possess subjective personhood and are seen as gifts that invigorate livestock.
- Quechua terminology reveals an ontological assumption where material objects have agency and are part of moral relationships.
- Materiality is understood as nested hierarchies, inseparable from human activity and moral connections.
- Fractal geometry concepts help explain the dynamic scale changes and part-whole interchangeability associated with these miniatures.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
In highland Andean communities, certain miniatures inspire complex emotions that go beyond the aesthetic. I have previously examined “pebble play” during pilgrimages, in which devotees make requests of a mountain/saint by building miniature stone house compounds. Here, I explore other types of miniature, in particular tiny stone camelids (inqaychus) considered as gifts from powerful places that invigorate the herds. Guided by Quechua terminology, I explore the ontological assumption that material things such as inqaychus possess subjective personhood. Materiality, composed of nesting hierarchies, is not independent of human activity and moral relationship. I amplify my earlier analysis—which interpreted “pebble play” as characterized by synecdoche and play with dimensionality—using terminology drawn from fractal geometry to approximate a world characterized by dynamic changes in scale and interchangeability of parts and wholes. I conclude by contrasting inqaychus with alasitas (mass-produced miniatures purchased on holy days, increasingly popular among urban migrants).
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Anthropological Research, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Archeology (Social Sciences)
ArcheologySocial Sciences