Individual Articles by Nancy Egan
Diálogo Andino, 2021
Este trabajo examina la fragmentación del Estado boliviano por medio de una mirada acerca de las ... more Este trabajo examina la fragmentación del Estado boliviano por medio de una mirada acerca de las dinámicas fronterizas que se
dieron a finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX. En su búsqueda de construir un Estado centralizado, las zonas de frontera con
Chile, Perú y Argentina eran consideradas por los políticos liberales bolivianos como espacios anárquicos. Sin embargo, más que
una ausencia, encontramos en estas zonas una fragmentación extrema de la estructura estatal en distintos niveles administrativos,
los que contaron con una cierta autonomía y respondieron a sus propios intereses y agendas políticas. Durante un momento clave
para la consolidación del Estado liberal boliviano, en el que se firmaron numerosos tratados internacionales y se construyeron las
principales líneas de ferrocarriles, las tensiones provocadas por esta fragmentación y multiplicidad de intereses confluyeron en
marginalizar las poblaciones indígenas de los circuitos comerciales prexistentes. Analizaremos aquí tanto las tensiones y conflictos
que surgieron entre los distintos niveles estatales como los impactos que tuvieron las reformas liberales en la actividad comercial
en manos de la población indígena.
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Studies in Latin American Popular Culture, 2010
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Group Publications/Collaborations by Nancy Egan
Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, 2023
Capital social, patrimônio biocultural e bens comuns para a sustentabilidade inclusiva da agricul... more Capital social, patrimônio biocultural e bens comuns para a sustentabilidade inclusiva da agricultura camponesa: três estudos de caso na Argentina, Bolívia e Chile
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Capital social, patrimônio biocultural e bens comuns para a sustentabilidade inclusiva da agricul... more Capital social, patrimônio biocultural e bens comuns para a sustentabilidade inclusiva da agricultura camponesa: três estudos de caso na Argentina, Bolívia e Chile
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Ecology and Society, 2022
The scarcity or unpredictability of natural resources is a threat to cooperation within human soc... more The scarcity or unpredictability of natural resources is a threat to cooperation within human societies. Exacerbated competition between individuals could affect social cohesion and collective action, generate conflicts over natural resources, and compromise their sustainable use. Yet, our in-depth archaeological study of the arid Andean highlands of Bolivia reveals the sustainable development of a complex agrarian society in a harsh environment marked, moreover, by a prolonged climatic degradation from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The 49 community settlements studied comprised independent family households that managed their own economic resources. A detailed study of the granary and housing structures of 549 of these households provided a strong quantitative data set for an analysis of Gini coefficients for grain storage capacity and housing area. This agro-pastoral society flourished with neither notable inequalities of wealth between villagers nor apparent long-lasting conflicts between villages. By sharing local knowledge, labor, and natural resources, this society succeeded both in limiting power and wealth concentration, and in sustainably producing food surpluses to be exchanged with neighboring populations. These results indicate a high degree of social cohesion and low levels of social and wealth inequality, similar to other well-established horticultural and agricultural societies around the world. We propose a conceptual model of low inequality in agrarian societies subject to extreme or unstable environments, where the sharing of knowledge, resources, and labor are the adaptive social responses to cope with the uncertainty in natural resources. The sustainability of the society is then guaranteed by a balance between collective action and family-based social organization.
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This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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Science Advances, 2017
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Book Chapters by Nancy Egan
The Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Development, 2022
In this chapter, I examine some of the more recent histories written about the early Spanish peri... more In this chapter, I examine some of the more recent histories written about the early Spanish period in the city, in order to reveal the complex ways in which colonial rule in Potosí forged parts of the development models that endure to the present day. By delving into the machinations of colonial rule, this chapter sheds light on the wide range of responses among the city’s population to the technological changes in production and the city’s urban development. The studies examined here detail how the Spanish Crown appropriated Indigenous technologies; engaged in large-scale experiments of labor coercion and exploitation; reshaped the landscape;
and attempted to control a nearly unprecedented process of economic and demographic growth that was marked by constant challenges from the colonized populations. These histories force us to re-think the role of Indigenous people in colonial extractive development. Indigenous peoples were critical to the process through the exploitation of their labor, their forms of political organization, and their technological knowledge. Though a direct translation of lessons learned from historical processes that occurred nearly five hundred years ago onto the dynamics seen in extractive and industrial development schemes today may be impossible, research into Potosí’s colonial history allows us to see some enduring patterns and conflicts related to the risks and benefits of negotiation, the degrees of sovereignty possible under colonization, the power of evasion and escape, and ultimately of the resilience of colonized populations.
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Dissertation by Nancy Egan
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Papers by Nancy Egan
Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente
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Science advances, 2017
Archaeological research suggests significant human occupation in the arid Andean highlands during... more Archaeological research suggests significant human occupation in the arid Andean highlands during the 13th to 15th centuries, whereas paleoclimatic studies reveal prolonged drier and colder conditions during that period. Which subsistence strategy supported local societies in this harsh environment? Our field and aerial surveys of archaeological dwelling sites, granaries, and croplands provide the first evidence of extended pre-Hispanic agriculture supporting dense human populations in the arid Andes of Bolivia. This unique agricultural system associated with quinoa cultivation was unirrigated, consisting of simple yet extensive landscape modifications. It relied on highly specific environmental knowledge and a set of water-saving practices, including microterracing and biennial fallowing. This intense agricultural activity developed during a period of unfavorable climatic change on a regional and global scale, illustrative of efficient adaptive strategies to cope with this climatic...
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Center For Iberian and Latin American Studies, Sep 17, 2007
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Book Review by Nancy Egan
Bulletin of Latin American Research, 2012
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Individual Articles by Nancy Egan
dieron a finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX. En su búsqueda de construir un Estado centralizado, las zonas de frontera con
Chile, Perú y Argentina eran consideradas por los políticos liberales bolivianos como espacios anárquicos. Sin embargo, más que
una ausencia, encontramos en estas zonas una fragmentación extrema de la estructura estatal en distintos niveles administrativos,
los que contaron con una cierta autonomía y respondieron a sus propios intereses y agendas políticas. Durante un momento clave
para la consolidación del Estado liberal boliviano, en el que se firmaron numerosos tratados internacionales y se construyeron las
principales líneas de ferrocarriles, las tensiones provocadas por esta fragmentación y multiplicidad de intereses confluyeron en
marginalizar las poblaciones indígenas de los circuitos comerciales prexistentes. Analizaremos aquí tanto las tensiones y conflictos
que surgieron entre los distintos niveles estatales como los impactos que tuvieron las reformas liberales en la actividad comercial
en manos de la población indígena.
Group Publications/Collaborations by Nancy Egan
Book Chapters by Nancy Egan
and attempted to control a nearly unprecedented process of economic and demographic growth that was marked by constant challenges from the colonized populations. These histories force us to re-think the role of Indigenous people in colonial extractive development. Indigenous peoples were critical to the process through the exploitation of their labor, their forms of political organization, and their technological knowledge. Though a direct translation of lessons learned from historical processes that occurred nearly five hundred years ago onto the dynamics seen in extractive and industrial development schemes today may be impossible, research into Potosí’s colonial history allows us to see some enduring patterns and conflicts related to the risks and benefits of negotiation, the degrees of sovereignty possible under colonization, the power of evasion and escape, and ultimately of the resilience of colonized populations.
Dissertation by Nancy Egan
Papers by Nancy Egan
Book Review by Nancy Egan
dieron a finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX. En su búsqueda de construir un Estado centralizado, las zonas de frontera con
Chile, Perú y Argentina eran consideradas por los políticos liberales bolivianos como espacios anárquicos. Sin embargo, más que
una ausencia, encontramos en estas zonas una fragmentación extrema de la estructura estatal en distintos niveles administrativos,
los que contaron con una cierta autonomía y respondieron a sus propios intereses y agendas políticas. Durante un momento clave
para la consolidación del Estado liberal boliviano, en el que se firmaron numerosos tratados internacionales y se construyeron las
principales líneas de ferrocarriles, las tensiones provocadas por esta fragmentación y multiplicidad de intereses confluyeron en
marginalizar las poblaciones indígenas de los circuitos comerciales prexistentes. Analizaremos aquí tanto las tensiones y conflictos
que surgieron entre los distintos niveles estatales como los impactos que tuvieron las reformas liberales en la actividad comercial
en manos de la población indígena.
and attempted to control a nearly unprecedented process of economic and demographic growth that was marked by constant challenges from the colonized populations. These histories force us to re-think the role of Indigenous people in colonial extractive development. Indigenous peoples were critical to the process through the exploitation of their labor, their forms of political organization, and their technological knowledge. Though a direct translation of lessons learned from historical processes that occurred nearly five hundred years ago onto the dynamics seen in extractive and industrial development schemes today may be impossible, research into Potosí’s colonial history allows us to see some enduring patterns and conflicts related to the risks and benefits of negotiation, the degrees of sovereignty possible under colonization, the power of evasion and escape, and ultimately of the resilience of colonized populations.