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Beyond Diffusion: Maintenance, Craft, and the Rise of Technical Prestige in Colonial Lima.
Technology and Culture
|May 11, 2026
Summary
Technological change in colonial Lima was driven by maintenance labor, not just invention or transfer. This sustained upkeep allowed artisans, including enslaved laborers, to gain expertise and social mobility.
Area of Science:
- History of Science and Technology
- Early Modern History
- Colonial Studies
Background:
- Diffusionist accounts often emphasize invention and transfer in technological change.
- Early modern colonial settings present unique contexts for technological development.
- The role of maintenance labor in technological advancement is often underestimated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge diffusionist perspectives on early modern technology.
- To highlight the significance of maintenance labor in technological change.
- To reframe technological exchange as an artisan-driven, urban process.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of municipal contracts from colonial Lima.
- Examination of artisanal records.
- Focus on the import and upkeep of mechanical clocks from 1535 onwards.
Main Results:
- Maintenance labor, not solely invention or transfer, drove technological change in colonial Lima.
- Sustained maintenance of mechanical clocks enabled artisans to develop expertise.
- Artisans, including enslaved laborers, achieved authority and social mobility through maintenance work.
Conclusions:
- Technological change in colonial Lima was primarily an artisan-driven, urban process.
- Maintenance labor was crucial for developing craft, governance, and technical prestige.
- The study reframes early modern technological exchange by centering the role of artisans and upkeep.
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