…and for cooking. The huts had no smoke holes, which made them uncomfortable to live in. When a Chono group left a camp, they left the frame in place for…
Environment and Location
…herds of large land animals, now extinct, around these more verdant areas. Among these animals were the so-called megafauna, including mastodon, New World horses, swamp deer, early llama and Milodon….
Story of the Forbidden Otter and the Great Flood
Narrated by José Tonko Wide (Kstákso) Puerto Edén, 1975 A long time ago, while his father….was out hunting otters and birds, a young man went out after him…
The petroglyphs of Kalina
Eight kilometers south of Alero de Taira is the archeological site of Calina Oeste, an open-air campcontaining the remains of several circular stone-walled dwellings. The camp’s former…
Beliefs and funeral rites
…mud masks. The mummies were apparently not buried but were stood upright in a visible location in the camp, perhaps to indicate the group’s lineage from a common ancestor. In…
The petroglyphs of Las Lizas
…Lizas (Región de Atacama, Provincia de Copiapó, Chile)”, in Estudios en arte rupestre, C. Aldunate, J. Berenguer & V. Castro, eds., pp. 131–171, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Santiago….
Social organization
…choose and organize the location of the camp. Although Tehuelche society was matrilocal, the males held the power within each group. However, the Tehuelche were extremely independent in general, lacking…
Settlement patterns
…was insulated with leaves, which kept out the cold and damp and were vital for holding in warmth. Women slept close to the fire, men near the entrances. When a…
Settlement patterns
…the single women slept in the center of the dwelling, near the fire, accompanied by the children and dogs. The Tehuelche usually wintered in one camp and moved around more…
Semi-Arid North
The conquest advances through the transverse valleys of the semi-arid north Between the great Despoblado (Uninhabited Land) of the Atacama and the Aconcagua Valley of Central Chile…
Culto y Funebria
…sometimes buried in a very flexed position, and were accompanied by some artifacts or necklaces or with no grave goods at all. Some burials are associated with camp fires, evidence…
Arte
…made seashell necklaces and animal tooth pendants. Since the region’s damp environment accelerates the decay of organic matter, there is little evidence left to allow us to understand this important…