Culture and nature: the "pensée paysagère" of the indigenous peoples of America

• Grant number: 24/06662-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Landscaping
• Principal Investigator: Ana Carolina Carmona Ribeiro
• Grantee: Larissa Hilary Ramos Intimaita
• Host Institution: Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo (IFSP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, education in Architecture and Urbanism courses is predominantly Eurocentric, little valuing the knowledge of indigenous and African-American cultures or the relationship they established with the continent's landscapes. Departing from the concept of pensée paysagère by Augustin Berque and the principles defended in the Charter of the Landscape of the Americas, we propose to investigate how the autochthonous peoples of America intervened in their territories and in the natural environment - also discussing whether concepts such as "landscape", "landscaping" and "garden" are suitable for interpreting these relationships. To this end, we will carry out bibliographical reviews on the impacts of Eurocentrism on the production of knowledge about landscaping, and research authors who, based on the world views of non-Western cultures, discuss other ways of seeing the relationships between mankind and nature. We will then proceed to a general overview of the civilizations and ethnic groups present on the continent between the 7th and 15th centuries AD., emphasizing the "cultural landscapes" of these people and their determining elements. Finally, a deeper investigation on Inca society will be carried out, with emphasis on its social, economic, cultural and other characteristics that express the relationships between people and landscape. This will also be achieved through the production of one or more case studies of spaces related to their pensée paysagère, such as cultivated territories, built complexes or infrastructure networks.