…Conquered by the valleys of central Chile By the time Diego de Almagro the Elder undertook his expedition La flor de las Indias (The Flower of the Indies)…
South Central
…to reorganize themselves. Pedro de Valdivia knew that he would have to weaken the insurgent indigenous groups that had taken refuge in the Aconcagua and Mapocho valleys. He also was…
Rapa Nui
…Across the south sea to Rapa Nui Around the middle of the 16th century the “South Sea,” as the Pacific Ocean was formerly called, was full of vessels…
Far South
…Terra Australis Incógnita, the ‘unknown southern land,’ had gradually become known. As more and more ships plied these waters—those of Magellan himself (1520), Juan Ladrillero (1558), Francis Drake (1578), Pedro…
Atacameña
…evolved in different ways. One of the customs most commonly celebrated among the Atacameño people is the cleaning of the irrigation canals. In the ritual surrounding this activity the people…
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 of…
Haciendo un casco andino
…fijando a las tablillas mediante dos lazadas en los puntos donde las urdimbres y tramas se cruzan. A un tercio de la altura del casco, se agregan e intercalan el…
Semi-Arid North
…the watersheds of Copiapó, Huasco, Elqui, Limarí and Choapa. In 1535, this zone was inhabited by the Copiapo and Diaguita people, who numbered around 25,000. In the valleys, these groups…
Beliefs and funeral rites
…are based on worshiping the spirits of the great mountains, the Achachilas, Mallkus and T’alla or “Providers”. These male and female spirits wield enormous power over peoples’ lives by controlling…
The pictographs of Tambillo
…Quebrada de Quisma, Pica, I Region of Tarapacá Timeframe: Approximately 1000¬–1600 A.D. Site: Tambillo Source: A. M. Llamazares, 1993, “Arte rupestre de las quebradas de Guatacondo y Quisma, norte de…
The Creation
…According to the Mapuche cosmovision, in the beginning there was only air, and the master of that air was called Ngen, a powerful spirit who dwelt among other spirits….
Location and Environment
…freshwater springs and pools that are used by the local inhabitants to water their crops and their animals, and they provide essential water for high altitude pasturelands as well. In…
The pictographs of El Médano
…9 (5): 2-5, Santiago. For more information: J. Berenguer, 2009, “Las pinturas de El Médano: 25 años después de Mostny y Niemeyer”, Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino 14…
The pictographs of Cueva Blanca
…Around 400 B.C., in the Upper Salado River basin, a style of rock painting emerged that had never been seen before in the region. This style was radically…
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…
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…
Art
…Fueron los primeros ceramistas de la región, confeccionando vasijas de uso doméstico, algunas de las cuales pulían y decoraban con grabados geométricos. También manufacturaron objetos en hueso y cuentas…
Economy
…nearby frost-free ravines such as Puquios, Cohasa, Del Inca, Caichape and Amincha. In the San Pedro River zone, in contrast, agriculture was abandoned many years ago due to the lack…
History
…has determined that the area was first occupied around 8000 B.C. by hunting-gathering groups that made use of the ravines and salt flats. In the later pre-Hispanic period, between 900…
Pipes of Central Chile
…Ritual pipe smoking was a common practice among early agricultural groups in the region, but the custom seems to have disappeared around 400 C.E. in Chile’s far north…
The encounter
…how the Conquest imposed more than just a new system of political, administrative, economic and social organization on the American lands that were incorporated into the Spanish realm; what was…
Inka Provincial Ceramics
…Inka capital of Cuzco. Lastly, the plate was used to serve individual portions of solid or semi-solid food, including meat. These three kinds of dishes would have been handled mainly…
Economy
…with complex water systems. Livestock husbandry was based on alpacas and llamas before the arrival of the Spanish; today, sheep, goats and mules are also raised. The people obtained meat,…