Abstract

In this article, we synthesize and discuss pre-Hispanic evidence of the role played by camelids in the economies (i.e., the production, distribution, and consumption of camelid goods and services) of non-pastoralist societies along the Pacific coast and coastal valleys of the Atacama Desert (18º-19ºS, 0-2,000 masl). Over the temporal span considered (3725-490 cal. BP), subsistence was based on marine fishing, hunting, and gathering, later complemented by horticulture. From a substantivist economic perspective, we integrated multiple lines of evidence from funerary and domestic contexts, including fibers, textiles, bones, hides, camelid skeletal elements, and iconography on portable objects and rock art. Our results indicate that, although camelids were not a primary dietary source of protein, they were consumed in different ways: productive consumption (mainly textile production and use as pack animals), ritual consumption (offerings of camelid remains), and visual consumption (rock art and geoglyphs). Local textile production was sourced mainly from highland camelid fibers, however from ca. 2500 cal. BP onward, small-scale husbandry was established in the lowlands specifically oriented toward fiber production. Camelid imagery became increasingly integrated into
the local material culture by lowland populations constituting a primary expression of their identity. What we initially defined as productive, visual, and ritual consumption is better understood as productive dimensions of consumption, embedded within an ontological and relational system whose ultimate purpose was to sustain life.

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Abstract

El taller “Humanos y Camélidos: Interacción Social e Historia Evolutiva” fue organizado y financiado por el Institute of Andean Research (IAR), una organización sin fines de lucro con sede en Nueva York, que promueve la investigación antropológica y el conocimiento sobre la región andina, mediante el financiamiento de investigaciones y la colaboración en publicaciones antropológicas andinas. Desde sus orígenes, el IAR ha mantenido un compromiso con el impulso de la investigación arqueológica en los Andes, cuya proyección más reciente se materializa en la realización del taller arriba señalado, el que se llevó a cabo en Arica en 2023, publicado en el volumen anterior, y que se publica en parte de este volumen.

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Abstract

Drawing on an Afro-Indigenous analytical perspective—one that questions the meanings of identity and the implications of mestizaje in shaping social relations—this article examines baptismal records from 1699 to 1733 from the former “Pueblo de indios” of Sotaquí, located in the Coquimbo region of Chile’s traditional Norte Chico. The study aims to rethink the category of mestizo, while seeking to understand the logic of identity embedded in caste classifications that highlight both Afro-descendant and Indigenous components.

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Abstract

We present a chronicle and reflections on the archaeological research conducted by Calogero Santoro during the 1970s and 1980s. These studies allowed him to discover, excavate, and interpret the earliest human occupations in the puna of the Arica and Parinacota Region (12000 to 9500 BP), as well as to construct the first chronological and historical-cultural sequence for the Archaic period in this region. This article stems from an extensive interview with our colleague and friend, Calogero, together with a close reading of his work, which was fundamental to understanding how hunter-gatherer groups decided to settle in the Andean puna. From the dominant Mediterranean-centered perspective, this environment has often been regarded as one of the most adverse on the planet, overlooking cultural perspectives and frequently ignoring the richness and biodiversity of this landscape. We explore four aspects of his work: (1) How he began working in the puna, and how he discovered and excavated these archaeological sites; (2) the support he received from Esteban Blanco, a muleteer and llama and alpaca herder; (3) the development of the model of early human occupation and the Archaic settlement in the Dry Puna: and (4) what it was like to conduct research at these sites in Chile during the civic-military dictatorship (1973-1989). Our analysis highlights the importance of local pastoral traditions for understanding ancient patterns of human mobility and settlement. It also points to what remains incomplete about the model: the discovery of residential sites in the lower puna (≤4,000 masl).

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