Aymara ethnic group

Aymara

Aymara people in Jujuy Province, c. 1870.
Total population
(~1.75 million)
Regions with significant populations
Bolivia	1,462,286
Peru	220,380
Chile	114,523
Argentina	20,822 (2010)
Spain	20,000
Languages
Aymara, Andean Spanish
Religion
Roman Catholicism (often syncretic with indigenous beliefs, such as the cult of Pachamama)
Related ethnic groups
Quechuas, Urus

The Aymara or Aimara (Aymara: aymara  listen ) people are an indigenous nation in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America; about 1 million live in Bolivia, Peru and a much lesser extent Chile. Their ancestors lived in the region for many centuries before becoming a subject people of the Inca in the late 15th or early 16th century, and later of the Spanish in the 16th century. With the Spanish American Wars of Independence (1810–25), the Aymaras became subjects of the new nations of Bolivia and Peru. After the War of the Pacific (1879–83), Chile acquired territory occupied by the Aymaras.

Archeologists have found evidence that the Aymaras have occupied the Andes, in what is now western Bolivia, southern Peru and northern Chile, for at least 800 years (or more than 5,000 years, according to some estimates, but it is more likely that they are descended from preceding cultures). Their origin is a matter of scientific dispute. The region where Tiwanaku and the modern Aymaras are located, the Altiplano, was conquered by the Incas under Huayna Capac (reign 1483–1523), although the exact date of this takeover is unknown. It is most likely that the Inca had a strong influence over the Aymara region for some time. Though conquered by the Inca, the Aymaras retained some degree of autonomy under the empire.