Atacameño
Atacameño (plural: Atacameños) is the ethnic appellative for the indigenous people in the Andes of the Región de Antofagasta , in Chile . The term was originally introduced by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century to refer to the population in the northern Atacama desert . The self-name of this population group is Likan Antai. Their settlement area in the Cordillera and the Precordillere extends in the west, towards the coast, roughly down to the 2000 m contour line, between the headwaters of the Río Loa in the north (around 20 ° S) and the southern end of the Salar de Atacama in the south ( around 24.5 ° S). Their language is called Kunza and is practically extinct . The Atacameños or Likan Antai are one of the legally recognized indigenous communities (A) in Chile. Their share in the total population is 0.33% (as of 2012), approx. 54,900 people.
history
It is estimated that in the Puna region in the north of Chile the first settlements arose around 11,000 years ago. The Atacameños were the founders of the so-called San Pedro culture and settled in the oases of the Atacama desert.
Around 800 BC They built the settlement of Tulor near the present-day city of San Pedro de Atacama . This place remained inhabited for about 1300 years. The fortified city of Quitor was established in 900 AD . In the 12th century the Inca conquered the Atacameño territories and tried to integrate them into their culture. In this move they expanded the city of Pukará de Quitor .
The Valle de Jerez served the Inca as the main caravan route. You can still find old rock drawings ( petroglyphs ) here.
In the middle of the 16th century , the Spaniards came to the village in the wake of the expeditions of Diego de Almagro and Pedro de Valdivia to stock up on supplies.
Social structure
The Atacameños were the first farmers and thus also the first settled group in the country. Since the agriculturally workable zone was very small, they constructed terraces that they irrigated artificially and fertilized with llama dung. Various types of corn, rice, beans, figs, cotton, pumpkins and potatoes were grown.
Llamas and alpacas were raised to produce meat and use the skins. They were also used as a means of transport to trade with the towns on the coast.
The craft and artistic development of the Atacameños can be seen in the manufacture of pottery, fabrics, wickerwork and wood carvings. They also mastered metallurgy and the production of copper and bronze early on.
The Atacameños believed in life after death and therefore the dead were buried with clothing and food for their way to the next life. They worshiped various natural forces, but did not use temples or prayer rooms.
Even today there are small Atacameño villages, e.g. B. in Caspana .
Remarks
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Victoria Castro R., José Luis Martínez C .: Poblaciones Indígenas de Atacama . In: Jorge Hidalgo L., Virgilio Schiappacasse F., Hans Niemeyer F., Carlos Aldunate del S., Pedro Mege R. (Eds.): Culturas de Chile Etnografía . Sociedades indígenas contemporáneas y su ideología. tape 2 . Editorial Andrés Bello, 1989, ISBN 956-13-1437-1 , p. 69 ff . (Spanish, limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ A b Latcham, R. "Antropogeografía prehistórica del norte de Chile." Boletín del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural 20 (1942): 5-17 ( PDF )
- ↑ Reyes, Andrea Aravena. "Identidad indígena en Chile en contexto de migración, urbanización y globalización." Amérique Latine Histoire et Mémoire. Les Cahiers ALHIM 27 (2014). ( online )
- ↑ Gobierno de Chile, Ley 19.253, 1993, Ley Nº 20.117, 2006 ( online )