Abstract:
Since antiquity, knowledge has often been juxtaposed with opinion. Whereas opinion
commonly refers to subjective perceptions and viewpoints, knowledge is typically
intended to represent objective and verifiable propositions. On this view, knowledge
per se claims a universal dimension in that it pretends to be approvable through the
reason of everyone, everywhere. This universal aspect of the concept of knowledge
stands in marked contrast to cultures of local knowledge, where the generation of
knowledge is dependent on specific times and places. These divergent aspects came
into conflict when Indigenous knowledge was contested by Europeans and likewise,
Indigenous challenges to European knowledge occurred. Based on religious, linguistic,
demographic, and cultural disparities, knowledge operative in one context was
adapted, manipulated, reframed, or dismissed as spurious or heretical in another
framework.
This book focuses on historical examples of Indigenous knowledge from 1492 until
circa 1800, with contributions from the fields of history, art history, geography,
anthropology, and archaeology. Among the wide range of sources employed are
Indigenous letters, last wills, missionary sermons, bilingual catechisms, archive
inventories, natural histories, census records, maps, herbal catalogues of remedies,
pottery, and stone carvings. These sources originate from Brazil, the Río de la Plata
basin (parts of current-day Argentina, lowland Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay), the
Andean region, New Spain (current-day Mexico), the Canary Islands, and Europe. The
14 chapters in this book are clustered into five main sections: (1) Medical Knowledge;
(2) Languages, Texts, and Terminology; (3) Cartography and Geographical Knowledge;
(4) Material and Visual Culture; and (5) Missionary Perceptions.