The building and rebuilding of walls

Aspirations, commitments and tensions within an Andean community and the archaeological monument they inhabit

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2391006
AutoresBill Sillar (0000-0002-9232-3995, University College London, UK, autor correspondente)
Ano2013
Volume18
Fascículo1
Páginas27-51
Data de publicação2013-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Material Culture (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1359-1835 • E-ISSN: 1460-3586
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1359183512473558
OpenAlexW2117060904
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas26

Walls are at the foundation of 'civil society': physical and symbolic barriers that differentiate people and activities. Cooperation in construction work expresses people's aspirations and can be a focus for the development of group solidarity. However, walls change the control and use of space, causing tensions and social divisions. In Raqchi, a small Peruvian village whose houses and fields are located within the ruins of a major archaeological complex, walls are a major concern. The work involved in house building, community projects, a monumental Inka temple and recent heritage reconstruction shows how the choice of materials and techniques is influenced by social relations and labour exchange. Tensions are expressed over land ownership and community priorities as well as with heritage management. The community's identity and status are also strongly influenced by building work that is dependent on the Catholic Church, NGOs, the municipality and the nation state.Walls can be read as a document of this contested history

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Civil society · Identity (music · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Solidarity · State (computer science · Work (physics · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Engineering · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Indigenous Cultures and History · Law