BIOCULTURAL HERITAGE: HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS AND CONSTRUCTION OF SOUTHERN ANDEAN LANDSCAPES

THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS FRAMED IN A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH ORIENTED TO THE STUDY OF BIOCULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE ECUADORIAN ANDES, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE PROVINCE OF AZUAY. THIS TERRITORY, CHARACTERIZED BY NOTABLE ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY, OFFERS A PRIVILEGED SCENARIO TO EXPLORE THE HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY INTERRELATIONS BETWEEN SOCIETIES AND THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BIOCULTURAL HERITAGE. THUS, THE RESEARCH SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND HOW KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICES AND BELIEFS ABOUT THE NATURE-CULTURE RELATIONSHIP HAVE BEEN CONFIGURED, TRANSMITTED AND MEANING OVER TIME, COVERING BOTH MANIFESTATIONS OF THE PAST, SUCH AS ANCESTRAL AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, TRADITIONAL TECHNOLOGIES, ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND RITUAL KNOWLEDGE, AS CURRENT EXPRESSIONS OF IDENTITY, COLLECTIVE MEMORY AND TERRITORY MANAGEMENT. THE STUDY PROPOSES A METHODOLOGICAL INTEGRATION BETWEEN DISCIPLINES SUCH AS ARCHEOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY, ETHNOBOTANICS AND LINGUISTICS, IN ORDER TO RECOVER SITUATED KNOWLEDGE AND PROMOTE ITS SOCIAL VALUATION. COLLABORATIVE FIELD WORK WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES WILL BE PRIORITIZED, RECOGNIZING THEIR ACTIVE ROLE IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINATION OF HERITAGE. ALSO, HOW HERITAGE PROCESSES INFLUENCE TERRITORIAL AND CULTURAL DYNAMICS WILL BE ANALYZED, PAYING SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE DISCOURSES, POLICIES AND TENSIONS THAT ARISE AROUND BIOCULTURAL HERITAGE. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO CONTRIBUTE TO CRITICAL REFLECTION ON HERITAGE AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND AS A TOOL FOR CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY, STRENGTHENING LINKS BETWEEN ACADEMY AND SOCIETY, AND MAKING VISIBILITY

OUT OF CALL FOR EXTERNAL FUNDS