Chinchorro Culture

The Chinchorro culture of South America was a preceramic culture that lasted from 9,000 to 3,500 years BP (7,000 to 1,500 BC). The people forming the Chinchorro culture were sedentary fishermen inhabiting the Pacific coastal region of current northern Chile and southern Peru. Presence of fresh water in the arid region on the coast facilitated human settlement in this area. The Chinchorro were famous for their detailed mummification and funerary practices. The area of the Chinchorro culture started to receive influences from the Andean Plateau around 4,000 BP, which led to the adoption of agriculture. Much later, it came under the influence of the Tiwanaku Empire.

The Chinchorro culture is named after Chinchorro Beach (Spanish: Playa Chinchorro), near Arica, Chile, where the first mummies were discovered.

The culture was spread across the arid coastal regions of the Atacama Desert from Ilo, southern Peru, to Antofagasta in northern Chile. But the cultural core of the Chinchorro seems to be the Chilean Arica-Camarones region, which stretches between the coastal towns of Arica and Caleta Camarones to the south. There are many archaeological sites around Arica, and around Caleta Camarones.

The Chinchorro were expert fishermen. They developed an extensive and sophisticated fishing tool assemblage. The people had efficient fishing gear, such as fishing hooks made of shells and cactuses, and stone weights for nets made of mesh fabrics. They became skilled weavers of baskets and mats.

While most Chinchorro sites are located on the coast, some are also found inland and in the nearby highlands. Their lifestyle was predominantly supported by fish, shellfish and sea mammals. There are some large coastal middens that have been excavated. Analysis of the hair and human bones from the mummies indicates that about 90 percent of their diet existed of maritime food sources, with the remaining 10 percent of their food from terrestrial animals and plants.

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