Date of Award

12-31-2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Historical Archaeology

First Advisor

Daniela Balanzátegui

Second Advisor

Douglas J. Bolender

Third Advisor

Nedra K. Lee

Abstract

This project examines the legacies of the colonial hacienda (estate) system in the community of Mascarilla, situated in the Ancestral Territory of the Chota Valley, Carchi Province, in the northern highlands of Ecuador. This study is framed within the first half of the 20th century, during the early stages of industrialization in Ecuador, and the last period in which the Trapiche de Mascarilla was still functioning. These elements will be viewed through the lens of the archaeological feature of the trapiche (panela production facility), serving as a referential space of history under the huasipungo system (debt-peonage). The interconnected components of the research focus on participatory mapping, ethnographic research, and historical analysis to elicit a narrative constructed in collaboration with multiple actors based on the intersecting readings of the past. While delineating the complexity of historical narratives that emerged from the dialectics of forced labor and Maroonage, a counter-map was created that focuses on recognizing women and their role in place-making.

Comments

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