Under one roof: Material changes and familial estrangement in Puno, Peru

Abstract

Traditional, Indigenous houses in Puno, Peru, were built using adobe bricks, stone, and wood. Today, young Indigenous couples are building houses that utilize modern materials such as concrete, brick, and steel. In this paper, I analyze the effects that changing materialities of house construction practices have on the durability and breadth of kin-relationships in Puno. I argue that these changes are possible due to the kind of personhood that houses occupy within kin networks in the Puno and the Andes. Furthermore, I show how access to new materials allows younger families to build houses more quickly than their parents did, shortening the time to develop stronger kin relationships that were once afforded by building with traditional materials. These new materials affect the house's ability to make and maintain kinship in the future where the quality of kin relationships is directly influenced by the material qualia of the house.