Roads, Bridges and Hammocks Vernacular Technology in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca

Abstract

The aim of this text is to show the development of road infrastructure in a peripheral region of the viceroyalty of New Spain: the mayor’s office of Villa Alta, in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, during the colonial period. The common thread is the historical evolution of the road system, highlighting the vernacular technologies implemented by indigenous peoples to facilitate communication and transportation. Through the qualitative analysis of diverse sources such as vo-cabularies, paintings, maps and archival documents, the existence of two stages of evolution of the regional road network is demonstrated, closely related to the type of transportation used, the characteristics of the roads, and the few changes implemented in the 16th century, with greater dynamism towards the 17th and 18th centuries. It also highlights the importance of the indigenous workforce in the implementation of improvements, especially in the construction of bridges that shortened time and distance. A major finding is that the high costs associated with these works for indigenous communities generated numerous conflicts since the 17th century.