History
Some of the earliest evidence of the Chinchorro culture may have been found at Ancha, a site more than 8,000 years old located in the Azapa Valley of Chile. Although the site contains no obviously Chinchorro mummies, it is believed to show the earliest evidence of that culture’s funerary tradition. The Chinchorro have been linked to the so-called Anzuelo de Concha culture and with the Abtao, with whom they share some technological features, particularly the harpoon. In the later stages, around 2000 BC, the Chinchorro began to blend with the Quiani groups, who simplified the previous complex mummification techniques as they inherited the culture and ancient traditions of the Chinchorro.