Ancestral algorithms: How did rural women end up weaving eDNA into a tapestry in remote Patagonia?

November 8, 2026 · Berlin

How does knowledge return to a community: through data—or through culture? Before biodiversity became data, the community of Raúl Marín Balmaceda had long observed the marine life around them. Environmental DNA research later added another layer of evidence to that knowledge, revealing how life leaves traces in water. But once those traces became scientific information, another question emerged: how could that knowledge return in a form that could be understood, felt, and held close to the heart of its culture?

In this talk, Michelle Lezana brings a linguist’s perspective to how information moves through systems of inscription: the codes that make data legible, the languages that make it shareable, and the surfaces that allow knowledge to be carried, touched, and returned.