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Abstract
The critical review of a fundamental historical source on indigenous languages spoken around 1600 in the ancient bishopric of Charcas, called Copia de los Curatos, combined with a cartographic interpretation of key information contained in its text, allows a more accurate reconstruction of the territorial extent of puquina language in the early colonial era. Published documents utilized here to complement this analysis and reconstruction need to be used not only as sources of information for the study of Andean historical linguistics, but must be understood in their compositional process within the administrative context of the church and the colonial state. Knowledge of jurisdictional changes in the southern Andes during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and their placement on top of pre-Hispanic indigenous jurisdictions, are crucial to understand the scope and limitations of this valuable document.
Keywords: puquina language, southern Andean plateau, Charcas, "aimara kingdoms", cartography
Resumen
La revisión crítica de una fuente histórica fundamental sobre las lenguas indígenas habladas hacia 1600 en el antiguo obispado de Charcas, la llamada Copia de los curatos, combinada con la representación cartográfica de la información que este texto proporciona, permiten una reconstrucción más adecuada y precisa de la dispersión territorial de la lengua puquina en la época colonial temprana. Los documentos publicados que se utilizan para complementar este análisis y reconstrucción requieren ser empleados no solo como fuentes de información para el estudio de la lingüística histórica andina, sino que deben ser entendidos en su proceso de composición dentro del contexto administrativo de la iglesia y el estado coloniales. El conocimiento de los cambios jurisdiccionales en el sur andino durante los siglos XVI y XVII, y su yuxtaposición sobre las jurisdicciones indígenas prehispánicas, resultan cruciales para entender los alcances y limitaciones de este valioso documento.
Palabras clave: puquina, altiplano andino, Charcas, "reinos aimaras", cartografía
Introduction
This article aims to discuss and make explicit the scope and limitations of the scarce, and thus extremely valuable, colonial documents pertaining to the use and distribution of Andean languages in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These sources must be understood as a product of the jurisdictional and administrative requirements of the colonial state and church in their relationship with the indigenous population. Although today they provide data of great linguistic,...