{"id":{"repo_id":"colostate","oai_identifier":"oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/183949"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/colostate/oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/183949","repository":{"repo_id":"colostate","name":"Colorado State University","base_url":"https://api.mountainscholar.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The Potosi-Cobija route: archaeology of colonial transportation in the south Central Andes","abstract":"In this thesis, I analyze Andean colonial transportation in archaeological and historical terms based on the Potosi-Cobija route case. Potosi was a strategic extractive region during the expansion of the world-economy. In this region, the Spanish Empire obtained large quantities of silver and produced the main international trade currency used between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Potosi-Cobija route was one of the most significant scenes of colonial commerce and smuggling in the South Central Andes. A total of 34 archaeological sites were identified on the route using a methodology constituted by remote sensing and archaeological inspection of targets. This case is used to discuss the modern European imperial economic control of peripheral regions. In the case of the Spanish Empire, the characteristics of mercantilism and expectations about imperialism suggested a centralized control over the flow of silver to Spain, an important reorganization of transportation labor, and official investment in imperial road infrastructure. However, my results contradict the idea of centralized imperial control of the peripheral flow of resources based on official road infrastructure. They indicate the continuity of native transportation labor practices along with some transformations during colonial times, suggesting transportation organized by local agents for their own economic purposes. I conclude by discussing the idea of peripheries as passive channels that ensure the flow of resources to the early modern European metropolis and providing new methodological directions for this type of historical archaeology in the Andes.","abstract_html":"In this thesis, I analyze Andean colonial transportation in archaeological and historical terms based on the Potosi-Cobija route case. Potosi was a strategic extractive region during the expansion of the world-economy. In this region, the Spanish Empire obtained large quantities of silver and produced the main international trade currency used between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Potosi-Cobija route was one of the most significant scenes of colonial commerce and smuggling in the South Central Andes. A total of 34 archaeological sites were identified on the route using a methodology constituted by remote sensing and archaeological inspection of targets. This case is used to discuss the modern European imperial economic control of peripheral regions. In the case of the Spanish Empire, the characteristics of mercantilism and expectations about imperialism suggested a centralized control over the flow of silver to Spain, an important reorganization of transportation labor, and official investment in imperial road infrastructure. However, my results contradict the idea of centralized imperial control of the peripheral flow of resources based on official road infrastructure. They indicate the continuity of native transportation labor practices along with some transformations during colonial times, suggesting transportation organized by local agents for their own economic purposes. I conclude by discussing the idea of peripheries as passive channels that ensure the flow of resources to the early modern European metropolis and providing new methodological directions for this type of historical archaeology in the Andes.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["García-Albarido, Francisco, author","Van Buren, Mary, advisor","Leisz, Stephen, committee member","Yarrington, Doug, committee member"],"institution":"Colorado State University. Libraries","degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017","date_published":"2017","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:13:16Z","subjects":["colonial routes","historical archaeology","Spanish Empire","early modern imperialism","Potosi","Andes"],"languages":["eng","English"],"rights":["Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018796"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018796","href":"https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018796","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10217/183949","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["García-Albarido, Francisco, author","Van Buren, Mary, advisor","Leisz, Stephen, committee member","Yarrington, Doug, committee member"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2017-09-14T16:05:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-14T16:05:07Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2017"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Colorado State University. Libraries"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Colorado State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["colonial routes","historical archaeology","Spanish Empire","early modern imperialism","Potosi","Andes"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["GarciaAlbarido_colostate_0053N_14316.pdf"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10217/183949","https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018796"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this thesis, I analyze Andean colonial transportation in archaeological and historical terms based on the Potosi-Cobija route case. Potosi was a strategic extractive region during the expansion of the world-economy. In this region, the Spanish Empire obtained large quantities of silver and produced the main international trade currency used between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Potosi-Cobija route was one of the most significant scenes of colonial commerce and smuggling in the South Central Andes. A total of 34 archaeological sites were identified on the route using a methodology constituted by remote sensing and archaeological inspection of targets. This case is used to discuss the modern European imperial economic control of peripheral regions. In the case of the Spanish Empire, the characteristics of mercantilism and expectations about imperialism suggested a centralized control over the flow of silver to Spain, an important reorganization of transportation labor, and official investment in imperial road infrastructure. However, my results contradict the idea of centralized imperial control of the peripheral flow of resources based on official road infrastructure. They indicate the continuity of native transportation labor practices along with some transformations during colonial times, suggesting transportation organized by local agents for their own economic purposes. I conclude by discussing the idea of peripheries as passive channels that ensure the flow of resources to the early modern European metropolis and providing new methodological directions for this type of historical archaeology in the Andes."]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["born digital","masters theses"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Potosi-Cobija route: archaeology of colonial transportation in the south Central Andes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["García-Albarido, Francisco, author","Van Buren, Mary, advisor","Leisz, Stephen, committee member","Yarrington, Doug, committee member"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2017-09-14T16:05:07Z"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-14T16:05:07Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this thesis, I analyze Andean colonial transportation in archaeological and historical terms based on the Potosi-Cobija route case. Potosi was a strategic extractive region during the expansion of the world-economy. In this region, the Spanish Empire obtained large quantities of silver and produced the main international trade currency used between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Potosi-Cobija route was one of the most significant scenes of colonial commerce and smuggling in the South Central Andes. A total of 34 archaeological sites were identified on the route using a methodology constituted by remote sensing and archaeological inspection of targets. This case is used to discuss the modern European imperial economic control of peripheral regions. In the case of the Spanish Empire, the characteristics of mercantilism and expectations about imperialism suggested a centralized control over the flow of silver to Spain, an important reorganization of transportation labor, and official investment in imperial road infrastructure. However, my results contradict the idea of centralized imperial control of the peripheral flow of resources based on official road infrastructure. They indicate the continuity of native transportation labor practices along with some transformations during colonial times, suggesting transportation organized by local agents for their own economic purposes. I conclude by discussing the idea of peripheries as passive channels that ensure the flow of resources to the early modern European metropolis and providing new methodological directions for this type of historical archaeology in the Andes."],"dc:format.medium":["born digital","masters theses"],"dc:identifier":["GarciaAlbarido_colostate_0053N_14316.pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10217/183949","https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018796"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Colorado State University. Libraries"],"dc:rights":["Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright."],"dc:subject":["colonial routes","historical archaeology","Spanish Empire","early modern imperialism","Potosi","Andes"],"dc:title":["The Potosi-Cobija route: archaeology of colonial transportation in the south Central Andes"],"dc:type":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Colorado State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:13:16Z"}