Embodied knowledge: Bodies, Objects and Intangible Astronomical heritage

LÓPEZ, ALEJANDRO MARTÍN

Honolulu

Congreso; Annual Conference of the Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S), Session 'Sea, Sky, and Land Engaging in Solidarity in Endangered Ecologies'; 2023

Society for Social Studies of Science

In this contribution we propose to consider the constitutively embodied character ofwhat is usually called intangible astronomical heritage. Based onconsiderations about the social and embodied nature of mind and cognition (Restivo 2017) and taking examples from our ethnographic experience among theMoqoit of the Argentine Chaco (López 2021), we seek to address what is usually called intangible astronomical heritage in its constitutive relationship withbodies and objects. In this way, we propose the enormous relevance of communities of life and practice as a substrate for the construction of knowledge systems, highlighting the role of bodies, places, objects, ways ofdoing, perceiving and feeling. Thus, we will discuss the separation between tangible and intangible heritage and we will analyze the challenge that this perspective poses to the visibility and respect for the diversity of existing astronomical traditions.