The Place of Construction: Practices and Knowledge in the Argentine Puna

Abstract

The decision to erect some kind of construction—a house, a corral, or a pirca wall—entails the mobilization of a great deal of knowledge, both technical and design-related. At the same time, the moment of construction requires the mobilization of a large amount of material and human resources. On the one hand, certain materials must be obtained, which are not always “at hand”, as the saying goes; on the other, this work requires the participation of a number of people that, in many cases, exceeds the possibilities of the family group.

In relation to this, this paper seeks to observe how construction, for many Puna families, constitutes an important element within their body of knowledge, insofar as many aspects of social life are expressed and reproduced in practices related to building. We will examine how, in both Susques and Rinconada—the two villages in the Puna of the province of Jujuy taken here as case studies—building knowledge forms part of the body of knowledge held by a large proportion of the inhabitants.

We propose to address three points that are, in a certain sense, independent, although closely related: who holds this knowledge, how it is learned and transmitted, and what the social implications of construction are in the Puna context. We approach these points on the basis of the material recorded in the fieldwork we have been carrying out for several years, placing it within a broader context of the “Andean world” through reference to the work of other researchers.