Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino

Cultures > Semi-arid North > El Molle

Economía

The El Molle people grew maize, squash, quinoa and probably cotton, tilling the land using stone shovels and hoes and channeling water from the ravines. They also hunted wild camelid and smaller animals and birds, using bows and arrows tipped with triangular projectile points. To crush the algarrobo and chañar seeds into flour they used piedras tacitas, boulders with multiple mortar cups, located at streamside. Both hunting and gathering continued to supply important elements of their diet.