The San Pedro culture emerged from the first agro-ceramic groups that inhabited the oasis of the same name. These groups established villages such as Túlor around 400 BC….
History
…were strongly influenced by the cultures of the Bolivian highlands. The most noticeable of these Altiplano features include their complex terraced farming and irrigation systems, the ceremonial chullpa, the settlement…
Economy
…The economies of these communities were based on extensive agriculture and livestock raising, taking advantage of the water from ravines by building systems of terraced gardens and irrigation canals….
Settlement pattern
…sedentarism, which is most notably reflected in the existence of complex village constructions. Examples of these are found in the Copiapó valley, which have platforms dug out of the hillside…
Culto y Funebria
Ceramic and stone pipes have frequently been found at sites formerly occupied by Llolleo groups, which indicates that they may have used hallucinogenic substances in their social rituals….
Patrón de Asentamiento
The early inhabitants of Patagonia were highly mobile and ranged freely over hundreds of kilometers, taking advantage of both the open woodland and the steppe environments. They returned…
Economía
…The El Vergel people had a broad-based economy in which hunting and gathering on both land and water (rivers, lakes and sea) complemented their agricultural activities. They grew potatoes,…
Economy
…Azapa, the local communities grew maize, beans, squash, jíquima and gourds that were sent to the Altiplano by llama caravan. In the Atacama, in contrast, the groups had an economy…
Arte
…substances, while with white combarbalita stone and copper ore they made bead necklaces. The Las Ánimas people were also skillful metallurgists, especially with copper, which they used to make a…
Beliefs and funeral rites
…vessels and stone pipes. Males generally had tembetás (lip ornaments). In the cemeteries of the Elqui and Limarí valleys it was common to find piles of gravel on the bodies…
Art
Notable examples of artistic expression attributed to the hunter-gatherers of the early Archaic period are pieces of polished sandstone with geometric forms, known as discoidal or geometric stones….
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…
Culto y Funebria
…While cemeteries in different valleys exhibit some major differences, the custom of burying dead individuals along with whole or partial guanaco cadavers was common, perhaps as a form of…
Environment and Location
The Semi-arid North of Chile is a territory in which the Andes Mountains and the Coastal Mountains converge, virtually eliminating the Intermediate Depression, with rivers forming transversal valleys…
Historia
Little is known about the origins of the Llolleo people, although they share several cultural features with most horticulturalist-ceramicist groups of the Southern Cone of America. This suggests…
Art
…art that has been attributed to the Choapa groups generally consists of engravings of anthropomorphic masks, simple human figures and naturalist camelid images, although in somewhat rigid and schematic form….
Prehistory
For nearly 15,000 years, Chile has been home to a wide variety of indigenous cultures, each with its own unique way of life. Some of these have disappeared…
Environment and Location
The Chango people inhabited the coast of the Atacama Desert at least as far south as the modern city of Coquimbo. The coast in that part of Chile…
Art
The Kawésqar adorned themselves mainly with necklaces made of feathers and seashells. Their clothing consisted of a short cape fastened at the neck and made of animal skin,…
Art
Like many tribes in the south of Chile, the Chonos painted their bodies: They painted their faces red, white and/or black, but used only white paint on their…
Environment and Location
The Chonos occupied the islands of Western Patagonia from latitude 43°–48° South. This region includes the Chiloé and “Chono” archipelagos up to the Taitao Peninsula and Penas Gulf….