Theory of Knowledge
Blogpost #3: Indigenous Knowledge systems
Indigenous people are the main components of our ethnosphere, which is the sum of total of human culture. These tribes are the reason for the diversity in multiple aspects: knowledge, language, culture. Due to globalisation, multiple of these indigenous tribes have began to disappear along with their unique culture, tradition and language. A key indicator of a culture’s health and prominence is language and roughly one language dies out every 3 months. It is estimated that of the world’s current languages, around 450 are spoken by fewer than 10 people. The loss of indigenous systems are mainly due to the modernising world, but are the challenges they face the same ones that face all societies? Or are there extra pressures on indigenous peoples that would pose a test to any society in the world?
Indigenous knowledge systems are significant as they help us realise that there are different ways of viewing the world and gaining knowledge about it. As people study and observe indigenous systems, they understand how many possible ways there are of perceiving the world and our place within it. Though we might have an approach that we might consider “right,” these systems might have acquired the same knowledge through a different method. These indigenous systems have been gaining knowledge for generations and passing it down. There might be cases where people have learnt new information from indigenous systems.
The Incas
The Incan empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America located in Peru. The Inca civilisation arose from the highlands of Peru in the early 13th century. The official language of the Incas was Quechua but there were multiple smaller languages spoken such as Aymara, Puquina etc. Their main deity was Inti, the sun god and considered their king to be the “son of the sun.”
Throughout their time, the Incas displayed a tremendous amount of knowledge that was gained through their own methods. An example is monumental architecture, which reflected motifs. The most notable example is the Machu Picchu, which was constructed by Inca engineers. According to archaeologists, it was made of stone blocks that fit so well “that a knife could not be fitted through the stonework.” This construction has survived for centuries. Though their methodology of construction is different approach to modern day architecture. The Incans fitted the rocks together by repeatedly lowering a rock onto another and carving away any section on the lower rock where the dust was compressed. In modern day, architects have to create building plans and technology has made this process much simpler. The knowledge that was gained by the Incas was valuable and helped the development of construction. Though the method right now might be considered inadequate, the knowledge at the time was helpful and significant.
The Incas also created a form of measurement. Physical measures used by the Inca were based on human body parts. These units included fingers, the distance from thumb to forefinger etc. Though we have a standard measurement in the modern world (centimetres, kilometres), the Incas had their own way of developing their knowledge and implemented it in daily life. The same knowledge was acquired in comparison to the modern world, but exhibited and produced in a different way.
The Incans also made discoveries in medicine. They performed successful skull surgery, by cutting holes in the skull to stop fluid buildup and inflammation. Many skull surgeries performed by Inca surgeons were successful. Survival rates were 80-90% compared to about 30% before Inca times. This relates to the human and natural sciences methodology. The methodology used in the modern world is the scientific method since people consider the results to be viable, but the knowledge regarding skull surgeries was significant and derived differently.
The Incas were the first people to cultivate Irish Potatoes. They were very skilled farmers and learned how to farm in difficult places such as mountain terrain. They formed unique methods of farming that was made for their land. The cultivation then spread across the continent.
South American Incas still exist today, but there is not a specific group called the Inca. The “Incas” who exist today are called Bolivians, Peruvians, Bolivians and Chileans. They are the descendants of the Incas. They live a more modern lifestyle and do not follow the rituals and culture of the Incas. I chose to research on the Incas because they made a significant contribution to the knowledge that still exists today even though they cease to exist. The Incan tradition has long gone mainly due to colonisation and modernisation. This can be related to todays indigenous systems since an indigenous system may have a large amount of knowledge but it can be affected by many factors. This causes communities to conform to modernisation and forget their roots and culture. When societies conform, it creates a less diverse area with one single mindset. Our world needs different minds to develop different methods of forming knowledge, discovering knowledge and inventing knowledge. If all of us think the same, the chances of that happening are very unlikely. The Incas thought outside the box and used a different mind set than the rest of the world. This allowed the formation of more knowledge that influenced the world today tremendously. The Incas can be used as a case study of why diversity is important and why people should strive towards saving indigenous people.