ACAIA

Archaeology of Iberian and Andean Stateless Communities (2021 SGR 00190).

General Objectives:

The project focuses on conducting archaeological studies of communities from historical periods in which there is no evidence of the existence of a state, as well as of communities that reproduced their social systems outside the framework of the state or contemporary states.

Strategic Objectives:

These are situated within the framework of a Social Archaeology that seeks to understand the realities of women and men in statal historical contexts that have been commonly overlooked or neglected. A primary goal is to study the living conditions of social and gender groups, their economic and political-ideological practices, and the existence—or absence—of relations of domination and exploitation. Among the strategic objectives is also the pursuit of uncovering the real women and men behind historical stereotypes, and denouncing falsifications of the past that misuse archaeology as a pretext. The investigation of Historical Situations and Historical Changes is guided by Social and Archaeological Theory grounded in materialism, libertarian thought, feminism, and scientific realism.

Archaeological Research:

Societies of the Central Andes, in Perú and northern Chile, within chronologies between c. 1400 cal BCE and c. 1400 cal CE, corresponding to communities prior to or contemporary with regional states.

Communities of the Southeastern Iberian Peninsula and Mediterranean areas of the peninsula from the 5th to the 1st millennia BCE, encompassing periods before, during, and after the formation of state societies.

Research Lines:

• Chronometric Demarcation of archaeological evidence of stateless societies in the Iberian Mediterranean and Andean regions.
• Paleoclimate and Paleoecology: Characterization of territories as the physical foundation for social life.
• Gendered Subjects and Women's Archaeology: Bioanthropological, iconographic, clothing-related, and funerary association studies.
• Production and Technologies: Technical conditions of food production, architectural construction, and the production of tools and other artifacts.
• Social Practices: Activities of various groups, both economic and political-ideological.
• Social Spaces and Urban Forms: Definition of social spaces and relational places of social and gender groups.
• Reciprocity and Exploitation: Links between labor and social relations among gender and social groups, and the political-ideological mechanisms that sustain them.
• Stateless Politics: Historical dynamics of the political practices and ideologies developed by communities before, during, or after state formations, and their relationships with states (submission, confrontation, resistance, evasion).