…Still the mother did not understand what the child wanted. And so she brought him baskets and necklaces, feathered ornaments and beautiful stones, weapons and utensils, even little birds and…
Culto y Funebria
…funerary practices include burial sites encircled with stones, simple burial of bodies in prone position and bodies buried in wooden canoes (called wampo in Mapudungun). The discovery of pipes or…
Economy
…Two kinds of hunter-gatherer societies occupied this territory, each with a distinct subsistence economy: in the inland ravines and valleys groups based their diet on hunting of land animals,…
Beliefs and funeral rites
…dead in some way. Collective graves, probably family groups, were common in the early part of this period. Grave goods were uncommon however, except for some notable exceptions such as…
Social organization
…based on kinship as well as reciprocity and redistribution among leaders, who also maintained ties with other groups of this ethnicity. Social distinctions within units were based on status and…
Environment and Location
…locations for raising the camelid herds that these people kept, while the rivers that flowed down from the high mountains provided enough water to allow the development of intensive agriculture….
Marine fisher-hunter-gatherers of the Arid North
…enabling these groups to fish on the open ocean, using their harpoons to hunt whales, turtles or swordfish directly on the water. Fishing was especially productive, providing a surplus that…
Expedition of the Seven Explorers
…Seven young men came. The first was called Ira, the second Raparenga, the third Ku’uku’u A’Huatava, the fourth Ringiringi A’Huatava, the fifth Nonoma A’Huatava, the sixth U’Ure A’Huatava and…
Turbans in the Americas
…head, leaving just the face exposed. Because of their pliability, these headdresses easily accommodated the cranial deformations displayed by individuals from some ancient South American indigenous groups. Such deformations were…
The petroglyphs of Las Lizas
There are many rock art sites on the desert coast of Northern Chile that contain images of marine species, but the site of Playa Las Lizasis one…
Toasting, Inka Style
…In the past, toasting with alcoholic beverages was both a central element of Andean celebrations and a political ritual. When the Inka arrived to conquer a region, they…
‘Lost wax’ bronzes
…This bronze piece was found in Illapel and is one nearly 30 bronze discs that have been attributed to the Aguada, one of the most important cultural traditions…
Aymara Headdress
…These hats were constructed from the top down, starting with a small disc that was used for the top. Multiply camelid yarn was used to create the basic structure using…
The pictographs of Confluencia
…wide hips, narrow waists and outlined extremities. Animal and humans are always represented in profile and the former are twice as numerous as the latter. Humans are depicted unclothed or…
History
…began to practice basic farming, using arable land in the coastal valleys. In contrast, the isolated populations of the riverless desert coast did not adopt farming and herding but maintained…
Art
…obsidian eyes were set in place at this time, along with its enormous red scoria headpiece resembling the ariki’s turban or topknot, which was a sign of divine origin….
Language
…largely unrelated tribes. It has also been suggested that the coastal groups shared a common language that differed from those of the mountain and desert peoples and enabled them to…
Social organization
…aristocracy. The arikiof each clan was believed to have descended directly from the gods and had supernatural power—called maná. He presided over initiation rites, harvest festivals and food redistribution ceremonies…
Social organization
…Before the introduction of the horse, Tehuelche society was based on the nuclear family unit, with a dozen of these forming a band. This voluntary multi-family grouping dwelt in…
Environment and Location
…the Yaghan’s region ranged from 10ºC to -12ºC (50ºF to 10ºF), and the region was very rich in wildlife. The tribe was divided into five subgroups, which occupied different parts…