Symbolic and Material Boundaries : An archaeological genealogy of the Urus of Lake Poopó, Bolivia

Abstract: The thesis focuses on Bolivian Indians who are assimilated into ethnic groups as one of many consequences of the colonial past. An understanding of the complexity of this construction draws from disciplines such as Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Sociology, in an effort to expose the power relations behind the construction. Departing from written sources and the general belief that the area would lodge the most ancient of such Indians, the Uru from Lake Poopó, a specific location has been selected in the Oruro province of the mid Bolivian highlands. The province is named after this people. The identity of the Uru people has been established by reference to other Indians in the Bolivian Andes known as the Aymara or the Quechua. Colonial accounts written by the Spanish conquerors, including priests, soldiers and commoners, as well as modern sources are discussed and analysed. The fieldwork combines archaeological and anthropological methods. Finally, the importance of multidisciplinary approaches is discussed in an effort to contribute to an understanding of multi-cause phenomena in this case the constructed ethnic identity of the Uru people.