Abstract

TOMASI, Jorge. The place of building: practices and knowledge in the Argentine Puna. Cuad. Fac. Humanid. Cienc. Soc., Univ. Nac. Jujuy [online]. 2009, n.36, pp.141-157. ISSN 1668-8104.

The decision to raise some kind of construction (a house, corral, a wall) draws on a great deal of knowledge, both technical and organizational. At the same time, the timing of the construction needs the mobilization of a great quantity of human and material resources. On the one hand, certain materials must be obtained, and on the other, this work requires the participation of many people, that in many cases exceeds the possibilities of the family alone. In this paper we observe how building, for many families in the Jujuy Puna, constitutes an important part of their knowledge, and how many aspects of their lives are expressed and reproduced in these building practices. Our case study centers on Susques and Rinconada, two villages in the Jujuy Puna in Argentina, where constructive knowledge forms part of a body of knowledge held by the majority of families. We trace three aspects of building practices that are independent though intimately related: how this knowledge is "owned" by most people in the villages, how it is learnt and transmitted, and the social implications of this in the Puna context. We consider these aspects using material registered in fieldwork we have been developing for some years, and the wider contextualization of these in the "Andean world" with reference to the work of other researchers.

Keywords : Building; Practices; Puna.

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