Preliminary Programme

Agrarian change accelerated in Highland Ecuador in the late twentieth century as the traditional hacienda regime collapsed and the capitalist modernization of agriculture advanced. During this period, indigenous peasants became more tightly enmeshed in capitalist relations and class differentiation in highland indigenous communities increased. Multiple factors contributed to class differentiation. In this paper, I focus on individual and collective access to and management of land and water. The collapse ofthe traditional hacienda complex created opportunities for indigenous peasants to strengthen individual and collective rights to land and water. Both of these were uneven processes which contributed to class differentiation among the highland indigenous population. Yet, communal practices and structures endured and provided a platform to negotiate difference, build collective autonomy, and reconfigure power relations. Drawing on research undertaken in Highland Ecuador since 2010, I will explore the dynamics of this historical process and consider the implications for contemporary indigenous struggles and broader debates about agrarian change and class differentiation. (Show less)

The transformation of class structure and social inequality during the process of industrialization in Western Europe is a classic topic which different strands of Social Sciences have repeatedly acknowledged. However, only very recently Archaeology has come to propose complex narratives of how industrialization and modernity really impacted in prior societies and landscapes. In this paper, I will present an archaeological analysis of social inequality and the transformation of class structure using as a case study the village of Casaio (Carballeda de Valdeorras, Ourense), where our group (Sputnik Labrego) has been developing a scientific research in the last five years. This case study is particularly interesting because of its late industrialization, which had an enormous and quick impact both on social structures and landscapes which we characterise as a truly "moment of danger", as archaeologist C. Matthews has conceptualised. Taking into consideration the archaeological analysis of pre-industrial economies and societies through the study of the common lands and the impact that Tungsten mining had during the mid 20th century through landscape and architectural analyses, I will tackle the transformation from a peasant-based society into an industrial one. This will contribute to a deep and critical dialogue with other Social Sciences in order to create alternative narratives for these processes. (Show less)