Back to the Future in a Place Called America

Ancient Logics, Media and Technologies

Abstract

Our media and current technologies are the result of a global form established by Western thought. This thought, as in many parts of the world was imposed particularly in The New Spain in the discovery by Christoph Columbus in the late 16th century. Before the European contact, pre-America had a different way of thinking to the West and therefore a different development and understanding of concepts such as media, technology, time, body and space. On one hand the official history shows a pre-Columbian poor picture in technological developments, but on the other hand archaeological discoveries demonstrate an illuminated past with a more sustainable and different form of “hight technology.” To get closer to this form, we have to consider the worldview of pre-Columbian cultures as the central matrix for their technological developments. The aim of this research is to extend the pre-Columbian understanding so that we could approach archaeological discoveries and access to alternative forms of knowledge to expand Western boundaries.