Tehuelches

Tehuelche

Tehuelche chiefs K'achorro, K'oparren, and Kamayo (1903)
Total population
27,813 (2010)
Regions with significant populations
Argentina.
Santa Cruz,  Chubut,	4,351
Buenos Aires Province	6,239
Languages
Tehuelche, Mapudungun, Spanish
Religion
Animism (originally)
Related ethnic groups
Haush, Selknam, Teushen

The Tehuelche people is the generic name given to a group of indigenous peoples of Patagonia and the southern pampas regions of Argentina and Chile.

Tehuelche is a Mapuche language word meaning "Fierce People". They were also called Patagones by Spanish explorers, who found large footprints made by the tribes on the Patagonian beaches. These large footprints were actually made by the guanaco leather boots that the Tehuelche used to cover their feet.

It is possible that the stories of the early European explorers about the Patagones, a race of giants in South America, are based on the Tehuelche, because the Tehuelche were typically tall, taller than the average European of the time. According to the 2001 census [INDEC], 4,300 Tehuelche lived in the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz, and an additional 1,637 in other parts of Argentina. There are now no Tehuelche tribes living in Chile, though some Tehuelche were assimilated into Mapuche groups over the years.

The Tehuelche people have a history of over 14,500 years in the region, based on archeological findings. Their pre-Columbian history is divided in three main stages: a stage with highly-sized rock tools, a stage where the use of boleadoras prevailed over the peaked projectiles, and a third one of highly complex rock tools, each one with a specific purpose. The nomadic lifestyle of Tehuelches left scarce archeological evidence of their past.

They were hunter-gatherers living as nomads. During the winters they lived in the lowlands, catching fish and shellfish. During the spring they migrated to the central highlands of Patagonia and the Andes Mountains, where they spent the summer and early fall, and hunted game. Although they developed no original pottery, they are well known for their cave paintings.,