Unkunakuchkan and Waylis: an Archaeolinguistic Study of Two Andean Radicals
Karen Lizarraga
Coordinator, Killka Project
MNAAHP-UNSCH (Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropologia e Historia del Peru and UNSCH is Universidad Nacional de San Cristobal de Huamanga) and Seminario de Arqueolinguística y Arqueografía Adnina Escueal Nacional de Bellas Artes, Lima
Plaza Bolivar s/n
Pueblo Libre, Lima 21, Peru
A narrative belt woven in the 1970's in the Río Pampas area of the Central Andes and studied in 1992 by the Killka Project constitutes the first consideration of the unkunakuchkan figure as a radical in the Andean recording system known as killka. The focus of the pioneer study was archaeographic, employing the methodology of deconstruction to initiate the classification of birds common to the Victor Fajardo Province of the department of Ayacucho (Proyecto KillKa 1992-95:68-84).
Subsequently, the figure was related to archaeological sources on the north coast of what is today Peru (Ibid, p. 122-123). At that time gender concepts were enlarged. Later the unkunakuchkan figure was defined as "pájaros enamorándose" (Ibid, p. 277-288), a literal nonvocabulary specific interpretation of the visual image. Finally, taking into consideration the relation pallay/archaeograph/word, the figure recently has been defined in English as "mothering"(Lizárraga 2000).
This paper will employ archaeolinguistic methodology to explore in depth the meanings of the unkunakuchkan and waylis (Op. Cit, p. 300-301) radicals in relation to Andean health concepts and to concepts of gender and changes in concepts of gender through time in order to question the employment of the Christian concept of millennium as an adequate ground for the study of Andean culture, past and/or present.
References:
Falcón, V., Ma. E. Huayanca y Karen lizárraga (1999)Recordando y Reconcilándonos, unpbl. Ms. Proyecto Killka, MNAAHP-UNSCH.
Lizárraga, K.G. (1991) "La mujer peruana: democracia en acción" en Filharmonía Vol. 51;14-15.
(1999) "From Social Archaeology to National Archaeology: up from domination", American Antiquity 64:2, 336-338.
(1999) "Letters to the Editor", Society for American Archaeology Bulletin, 17;5.
(1999) Arqueolinguística y arqueografía: alumbrando un lenguaje propio de estética y comunicación, Lima Y Ayacucho: Proyecto Killka.
(2000) "To conserve is to remember; from archaeocide to archaeolingusitics"in Preprints Textile Symposium 2000, NATCC. Asheville.
See "To conserve is to remember: renacimiento andino", poster with essay and illustrative materials. Lima y Ayacucho: Proyecto Killka.
Proyecto Killka (1992-1995) Killka: vestimenta y registro, Lima y Ayacucho; MNAAHP-UNSCH.
(1997) Conociendo la tradición textil: técnicas noestructurales y conservación. Lima y Ayacucho: MNAAHP-UNSCH.
(1999) Andean Cartography: recording space and time. Lima y Ayacucho: MNAAHP-UNSCH.