Changes in the social and food practices of indigenous people in the New Kingdom of Granada (Colombia): through artifacts

Abstract

Changes in social organization and food systems in a community could be understood through the modifications that occurred to cookware in a specific period of time as these artifacts are not only thought for a final purpose but also represent the values, beliefs, and meanings of the culture that has created them. To understand this correlation, this text explores how the arrival and subsequent settlement of Spanish conquerors in South America, specifically in the New Kingdom of Granada (Spanish colonial province located in modern-day Colombia—from the 16th to 18th century), modified indigenous cookware and, therefore, some part of their social life. This analysis was carried out by reviewing documents that describe the cookware used by indigenous peoples before the Spanish settlement, the social shifts that occurred through the alterations of those utensils, and the views that Spaniards had of the “new” lands and its peoples. It was possible to appreciate how the variations in cookware signified a reorganization of indigenous cultural and social life, as well as an imaginary construct of what it meant to be indigenous (synonym to savages, barbarians, and uncivilized people).