SHAPING PRECOLONIAL CONCEPTS IN THE ANDES: THEUSHNUFOR LLOCLLAYHUANCUPA (HUAROCHIRÍ, LIMA)

Abstract

In precolonial Andean archaeology, specialists frequently deal with objects whose names and functions are unknown. Similarly, early colonial documents from the Andes often mention objects without describing their shapes or functions. How can we articulate these three features—names, shapes, and functions—for objects from precolonial and colonial periods? How can we define these objects while taking into account intra-Andean variability? This article addresses these questions using one section from a well-known document of the early seventeenth century, the Huarochirí Manuscript. This section includes a term extensively discussed in Andean archaeology:husnoorushnu, which has been translated and described in various ways by diverse scholars. Through analysis of the function, form, and translation of the Quechua termushnu, I explore a typological approach to articulate names, shapes, and functions and also propose a redefinition of the concept itself.