Congress No. 6 “Frozen Pasts”

This meeting will focus on the complex interaction of glaciers with biotic and abiotic factors, as well as with human communities through time. In particular, we want to assess their impact on our perceptions, expressed in the complex ideological systems of mountain ecosystem representations. Frozen Pasts 6 stands for the protection of glaciers, for water conservation and for the well-being of a global citizenry.

This meeting will focus on the complex interaction of glaciers with biotic and abiotic factors, as well as with human communities through time. In particular, we want to assess their impact on our perceptions, expressed in the complex ideological systems of mountain ecosystem representations. Frozen Pasts 6 stands for the protection of glaciers, for water conservation and for the well-being of a global citizenry.

María Constanza Ceruti (UCASAL – CONICET and Adina Racoviteanu (IRD – GLIMS)

The session dedicated to the past and present of “archaeology on ice” aims to provide a space for reflection, opinion, dissemination and analysis of case studies related to the emergence, expansion, milestones and current events of high mountain archaeology, glacier archaeology, alpine archaeology and the study of frozen mummies. Such research contributes to the appreciation of the historical and cultural aspects of the high mountain landscape and to the strengthening of local identities. The professional contributions of these sciences, whose approaches and discoveries have opened up new horizons for previously consolidated fields of research (Inca archaeology and landscape archaeology, among others), deserve to be better known by the general public and the international scientific community, and have also contributed to the emergence of new disciplines focusing on the cryosphere. Contributions on archaeological research related to mountains and glaciers in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Antarctica and Oceania are welcome.

Sophie Cauvy-Fraunié (INRAe) and Carmen Fernandez-Salvador (USFQ)

Beyond the Western and modern conception of water as an element of nature or as an indispensable resource for the development of societies, different cultures at different times in history have emphasised the symbolic value and capacity for meaning of rivers, lakes and glaciers. In addition, different peoples have conceived of water as a living being with its own agency or with a kinship relationship. In all its forms, water is also the habitat of a multitude of life forms, creating spectacular and fragile ecosystems. This session invites us to propose definitions and descriptions of water in its different forms and states, according to the discipline studied, and to reflect on alternative ontologies that recognise correspondences, continuities and relations of reciprocity with the natural environment.

Alden Yépez (PUCE) and Olivier Dangles (IRD – PUCE)

Esta sesión pretende explorar los glaciares no sólo como entidades físicas, sino también como espacios emblemáticos que escenifican valores positivos y negativos de sociedades pasadas y presentes. Nos interesan especialmente las contribuciones que examinen los glaciares como lugares de encuentros culturales, religiosos, científicos y geopolíticos. Serán bienvenidos los estudios sobre la intersección de la historia cultural, el turismo, la conservación y el cambio climático en lugares específicos de estudio de glaciares de todo el mundo en los que se haya llevado a cabo un estudio exhaustivo e interdisciplinar. Estos encuentros abarcan desde la interacción de elementos naturales y culturales hasta la convergencia de actores humanos y no humanos, incluidos científicos, comunidades indígenas, gestores, políticos y turistas, así como aspectos existenciales y cognitivos de los glaciares. Al abordar los glaciares como lugares de encuentro polifacéticos, esta sesión pretende ampliar nuestra comprensión de su importancia tanto en el mundo natural como en la experiencia humana.

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