An Archaeology of the Aesthetic: Slavery and Politics at the Jesuit Vineyards of Nasca

Abstract

This article makes the case for the utility of an aesthetic approach to the archaeological record, drawing on the philosophical work of Jacques Rancière on aesthetics and politics. The case of an archaeology of African slavery on Jesuit vineyards in colonial Peru is offered to explore nuances in power and the production of enslaved subjectivities that become visible through a consideration of aesthetic fields. Of particular interest are the aesthetics of administrative policy as materialized in space and the built environment and enslaved responses through aesthetic interventions. Rather than focusing on the specific meaning or hybridity involved in the creation of the material, a Rancièrean aesthetic approach considers how materials were potentially charged with multiple, sometimes contentious meanings through activation and engagement in the aesthetic experience.