Cartografías de la memoria: hacia un paradigma más dinámico y viviente del espacio

this article proposes some alternative methods to the functionalists and essentialist paradigms still used in many aspects of andean studies. as part of this existing paradigm, we examine the functionalist approach to culture and identities, evident in previous studies of culture areas and regional studies, and in state definitions of linguistic and cultural groups. two axes of an alternative methodology are proposed: first, some visual modes of analysis, and second, an approach that derives from world systems theory, but that expands on its original criteria to avoid notions of dependency. finally, we seek ways of mapping this more dynamic approach towards identities and differences in the andes, in part through the use of "time maps". the case of andean textiles is taken as a point of departure, and the regional idea of "pathways" (thakhi), as an alternative way of understanding regional ways of thinking about spatial and territorial organization.