Volumen 44, N4, 2012.

Pginas 637-653
Chungara, Revista de Antropologa Chilena

RISE AND DECLINE OF CHINCHORRO

SACRED LANDSCAPES ALONG THE HYPERARID
COAST OF THE ATACAMA DESERT*
AUGE Y DECADENCIA DEL PAISAJE SAGRADO DE LOS CHINCHORRO
EN LA COSTA HiPERRIDA DEL DESIERTO DE ATACAMA
Calogero M. Santoro1,2*, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira3, Claudio Latorre4,5,
Francisco Rothhammer1,2,6 and Vivien G. Standen76, 7
The study of complex funerary ritual development among hunters and gatherers societies should take into account how people made
up for the continuity of their social system without the support of centralized organizations. This research integrates cultural and
natural factors to explore how the Chinchorro carried on with their way of life isolated at geographically restricted perennial river
mouths with fresh water along the Atacama Desert in the Pacific coast of South America. Within these rather crowded settlings,
they created and maintained a social system catalyzed by a complex funerary tradition, embodied by a unique funerary ideological
discourse that resulted in the creation of a sacred landscape or spiritscape. We argue that the extreme hyperaridity of the coastal
Atacama Desert (21 - 17.30 S), and the extraordinary biomass production of the marine littoral constituted a fundamental milieu
for the maintenance of their long-term social system. The Chinchorro belief system lasted for several millennia (8,000-4,000 BP), but
new ways of life and burial practices followed major changes in the coastal ecosystem they relied on, which would have influenced
how the old tradition was manifested over time. Conversely, we sustain that these natural constraints faced by the Chinchorro
along the coast of the Atacama Desert, were influential, in the course of their history or the way they socially organized themselves.

Key words: Chinchorro spiritscape, sacred landscape, hyperaridity, coastal Atacama Desert.

Es conveniente que el estudio de rituales funerarios complejos desarrollados por colectividades de cazadores recolectores considere
la forma como stas lograron mantener un sistema social sin la ayuda de organizaciones sociales centralizadas. Este estudio
integra factores culturales y naturales para explorar cmo los Chinchorro manejaron su sistema de vida en localidades aisladas
y geogrficamente circunscritas a un pequeo nmero de desembocaduras de quebradas con agua fresca y algunas aguadas
ubicadas a lo largo de la costa del Desierto de Atacama en Amrica del Sur. En estos asentamientos, ms bien sobrepoblados,
los Chinchorro crearon y mantuvieron un sistema social caracterizado por una compleja tradicin funeraria, representada por
un sistema ideolgico nico que result en la creacin de un paisaje sagrado o espiritual. Argumentamos que las condiciones de
extrema hiperaridez de la costa del Desierto de Atacama (21 - 17.30 S) y la extraordinaria produccin de biomasa del litoral
martimo constituyeron pilares fundamentales para la mantencin a largo plazo de su sistema social. El sistema de creencias
de los Chinchorro se mantuvo por varios milenios (8.000-4.000 a.p.), pero nuevas formas de vida y prcticas funerarias fueron
experimentadas despus que el ecosistema costero del que dependan sufriera cambios mayorers, que parecen haber dificultado la
reproduccin de la vieja tradicin. Consecuentemente, concluimos que los constreimientos naturales de la costa del Desierto
de Atacama fueron influyentes en el curso de la historia y la manera como los Chinchorro se organizaron socialmente.

Palabras claves: Chinchorro, paisaje espiritual, paisaje sagrado, hiperaridez, costa desierto de Atacama.

*
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Artculo proyecto ECOS-CONICYT Dinmicas culturales en el rea Centro Sur Andina. Cdigo C06H04 y PICS 4796.
Instituto de Alta Investigacin, Universidad de Tarapac, Antofagasta 1520, Arica, Chile, [email protected]
Centro de Investigaciones del Hombre en el Desierto, Avda. General Velsquez 1775, of 403, Arica, Chile. *Corresponding
author
Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas ridas (CEAZA) & Universidad Catlica del Norte, Larrondo 1281, Coquimbo,
Chile, [email protected]
Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology & Biodiversity (CASEB) & Departamento Ecologa, Pontificia Universidad Catlica
de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago, Chile, [email protected]
Institute of Ecology & Biodiversity (IEB), Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile.
Programa de Gentica Humana ICBM, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Avda. Independencia 1027, Santiago,
Chile, [email protected]
Departamento de Antropologa, Universidad de Tarapac, 18 de Septiembre 2222, Arica, Chile, [email protected]

Recibido: octubre 2011. Aceptado: octubre 2012.

638

Calogero M. Santoro, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Claudio Latorre, Francisco Rothhammer and Vivien G. Standen

Social and territorial circumscription among

hunters and gatherers during the PleistoceneHolocene transition was a worldwide phenomenon.
Nevertheless, the cultural effects of these processes
on societies that colonized marginal and environmentally extreme landscapes remain poorly studied.
This is the case of the Chinchorro, a mid-Holocene
decentralized society that as coastal-marine huntergatherers, faced and learned to live in the Mars-like
Atacama Desert extreme hyperarid coast of northern
Chile (Drees etal. 2006).
The Chinchorro were a cultural tradition of hunters, fishermen, and gatherers that relied mostly on
marine resources, complemented by some terrestrial
ones, and whose extractive economy did not include
animal and crop husbandry or any other form of
cultivation. The archaeological background of these
peoples shows that for approximately five millennia
they maintained a social system that included a
semi-sedentary settlement pattern centered around
residential camps located along the few isolated
mouths of perennial rivers (canyons) and springs
that flowed into the Pacific within their territory
(Figure1) (Standen and Santoro 2004). Mobility was
likely restricted to interior oases formed by isolated
springs and rivers within hyperarid conditions, from
where they obtained complementary resources (i.e.
lithic raw material, which are absent on the coast;
(Nez 1975; Schiappacasse 1995; Schiappacasse
and Niemeyer 1975), although no evidence exists
for the introduction of obsidian, found only in the
high Andes.
Thus, the Chinchorro mostly moved along the
coast to maintain their social ties, and relations
with other neighboring groups. It is possible that
their social organization was based on kin-related
groups integrated by several adults and children,
both female and male, as signaled by the display of
extended, multiple burials. Their mortuary system
shows a wide variety of forms to treat the corpses
of deceased people, which ranged from simple
interment of a corpse wrapped in plant fiber mats
to heavily modified corpses that were then artificially mummified (Allison et al. 1984; Arriaza
1994; Standen 1997). Although the Chinchorro did
not invest much energy in domestic infrastructure
in their camps (represented today by large shell
middens), the recurrent use of the same place used
both by the living and the dead created a unique
landscape and associated spiritscape (Knapp and
Ashmore 1999; McNiven 2003) and the possible

sense of belonging to a particular community and

territory; which are unparalleled along the Pacific
coast of South America. The uniqueness of this
spiritscape was favored by the high marine primary
productivity of coastal northern Chile (Kaschner
etal. 2008; Ortlieb etal. 2011), discussed below.
We argue that geographic and ecological
conditions were influential in the development
and maintenance of their cultural landscapes, embodied in complex and time consuming funerary
procedures that included artificial mummification
(AM) of human corpses buried close to or inside the
living areas. The economy, technology, ideology,
and mortuary practices of the Chinchorro endured
for approximately four millennia (ca. 8,000-7,000
to 4,000-3,000 cal yrs BP or calibrated 14C years
before 1950) when the social and environmental
constraints failed to provide the necessary life
support for the reproduction of their traditional way
of life (Marquet etal. 2012). As a consequence,
new cultures and sacred landscapes arose, although
still within a hunting and gathering marine social
system.
Here, we analyze the cultural and natural factors
behind the continuity and changes of the Chinchorro
social system with its ideological discourse, based
on the premise that even in the harshest environment
such as the Atacama Desert, hunters, fishermen and
gatherers found ways to keep on going (Ingold
2011:4) by reproducing their social system which
was not exclusively devoted to subsistence procurement (Dillehay 2011; Gamble 1999; Winterhalder
1993). In other words, we expect to broaden the
understanding of the conditions that allowed the
Chinchorro to create, maintain, expand, and eventually abandon their cultural tradition.
The Chinchorro Burial Practice
The first studies of the Chinchorro (Skottsberg
1924; Uhle 1917, 1919a, b, 1922) did not consider
social and environmental backgrounds for the occurrence of their society. Rather, the focus was on AM
itself, which as a cultural prehistoric phenomenon has
been recently highlighted as a conspicuous cultural
phenomenon (Arriaza 1995a, b; Arriaza etal. 2012;
Arriaza etal. 2008; Bittmann 1982; Bittmann and
Munizaga 1976, 1979, 1980; Guilln 2004; Guilln
1995; Munizaga 1974; Nez 1966, 1969; Standen
1991, 1997, 2011; Steele and Politis 2009; Van Hoesen
and Arriaza 2011). Recently (Marquet etal. 2012)

Rise and decline of Chinchorro sacred landscapes along the hyperarid coast of the Atacama Desert

emphasized the importance of hyperarid conditions

and past climate change coupled with social and
environmental factors for the origin of AM.
Before inhumation, some corpses were drastically modified and transformed into a new
artificially mummified being. Groups of collective
interments were covered by reed mats, suggesting
that the basic unit of the society was rooted in collectiveness and sharing. In contrast, post Chinchorro
funerary patterns emphasized individual interments
with particular garments and offerings (Standen
et al. 2004). Based on cultural archaeological
material from Camarones 14, Schiappacasse and
Niemeyer (1984), suggested an Andean origin of
the Chinchorro people, precursory signs of their
mortuary rituals have been found at Acha 3, along
the coast of Arica, and at Quebrada los Burros in
southernmost Peru, both dated around 10,000 to
9,000 cal yrs BP (Delabarde etal. 2009; Lavalle
etal. 2011; Standen and Santoro 2004). Nevertheless,
as will be discussed later, recent ancient mtDNA

639

evidence actually endorses an highland origin

(Manrquez etal. 2011).
Radiocarbon dating has established that of all
the Chinchorro funerary rituals, black mummies
are the oldest and most complex (7,000 to 4,800
cal yrs BP), and the earliest evidence of AM (child
mummies) comes from Camarones (Arriaza and
Standen 2002:29). Corpses were skinned, defleshed
and dismembered; the abdominal organs and the
brain were removed and, in some cases, the thoracic
cavity was heat-dried using glowing coals and ashes.
The skeleton was reassembled and reinforced with
long wooden sticks tied with plant fiber strips.
This new body structure was modeled with grey
clay. Skin, possibly of the same individual, was
refitted on the body and coated with a black paste
possibly made with manganese. Sexual and facial
characteristics were modeled and a short black-hair
wig was attached to the back to the head. This pattern is mostly restricted to the Camarones Azapa
region (Figure1).

Figure1. Territorial distribution of Chinchorro camps located along the few perennial river mouths (canyons) and springs that
flowed into the Pacific: (1) Yara (spring), Kilmetro 4 (spring), Via del Mar; (2) Los Burros (spring); (3) Macarena (Lluta); (4)
Chinchorro-Arica (Azapa); (5) Caleta Vitor (Chaca); (6) Camarones; (7) Pisagua (Camia); (8) Bajo Molle (spring); 9 Punta
Patillo (spring); (10) El Loa.
Distribucin territorial de sitios Chinchorro a lo largo de un nmero limitado de desembocaduras, quebradas y aguadas que
fluyen en el Pacfico: (1) Yara (aguada), Kilmetro 4 (aguada), Via del Mar; (2) Los Burros (spring); (3) Macarena (Lluta); (4)
Chinchorro-Arica (Azapa); (5) Caleta Vitor (Chaca); (6) Camarones; (7) Pisagua (Camia); (8) Bajo Molle (aguada); 9 Punta
Patillo (aguada); (10) El Loa.

640

Calogero M. Santoro, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Claudio Latorre, Francisco Rothhammer and Vivien G. Standen

Red mummies appeared at ~5,000 cal yrs BP

but did not completely replace the black mummy
practice (Table1). In this case, organs and several
muscles were removed by making incisions in the
shoulders, groin, knees, and ankles. The head was
cut from the body and the brain removed. The body
cavities were dried with glowing coals and ashes.
Wooden thin poles (less than 3 cm of diameter)
were introduced under the skin through the arms,
legs, and spine to rigidify and provide the body with
a structure. Body cavities and the head were then
stuffed with sea bird feathers (pelicans, seagulls),
different soil matters, and camelid fiber. A long,
black human hair wig (~60 centimeters long) was
attached. A black paste (elaborated using manganese
and other elements) covered the face and the head to
secure the wig. Facial characteristics were modeled.
Incisions made in different parts of the body were
sown using threads of human hair. The body was
entirely covered with a red color paste (Arriaza
and Standen 2002). This kind of transformation
is recorded from Yara to Punta Patillo (Figure1).
Alternatively, other procedures were added at
later stages such as bandages made out of strings
of leather or plant fiber, cordage and beach sand
coating (Arriaza and Standen 2002). The bandaged
mummies are basically a variation of the red ones,
as the skin was reattached in the form of bandages and colored red. The sand-coated mummies
correspond to naturally dried bodies covered with
sand and which (Uhle 1917, 1919a, b) described
as mud-coated mummies. Mummies such as
these were recently discovered at Colon 10, a late
Archaic funerary site located in the historical district
of downtown Arica (Arriaza 1994, 1995a; Arriaza
etal. 2005; Bird 1943; Santoro etal. 2005; Santoro
etal. 2010; Standen 1997; Uhle 1974).

Roots, Territorial and Social Boundaries

By the end of the Pleistocene (ca 15,000-10,500
cal years B.P.), all the major landmasses had been
colonized by humans, and as hunting gathering was
the only form of social organization, the possibilities to maintain settlement systems in permanent
movement became increasingly reduced (Flannery
1986). Colonized during that time, South America
was also subject to processes of circumscription
early in the Holocene (ca. 11,000-10,000 years cal
BP; (Dillehay 2011; Dillehay etal. 2003), including
marginal habitats with extreme hyperarid climate
conditions such as the Atacama Desert (Grosjean
etal. 2005a, b; Santoro etal. 2011; Steele etal.
2000; Steele and Politis 2009).
Human colonization of coastal northern Chile
Atacama began by 10,000 to 9,000 cal BP and may
have stemmed from earlier coastal groups found
in Ecuador, and northern, central and southern
Peru (Arriaza 1995a; Chauchat and Pelegrin 2003;
de France and Umire 2004; Dillehay etal. 2012;
Lavalle etal. 1999; Lavalle etal. 2011; Manrquez
etal. 2011; Nez and Santoro 2011; Rivera 1995;
Rothhammer and Dillehay 2009; Sandweiss 2003;
Sandweiss etal. 1998; Standen and Santoro 2004;
Stothert etal. 2003). Current craniometrical data
and genetic mtDNA evidence (Manrquez et al.
2011; Rothhammer etal. 2009) has revealed that
the skeletal material uncovered at the Acha archaic
site (10,000-9,000 BP) where cultural roots of
the Chinchorro have been found, are related to
an early coastal migration. In contrast, skeletal
remains from Camarones 14 site (8,000-7,000
BP; Figure1) seem to be more closely related to
a highland migration, an idea first proposed by
Schiappacasse and Niemeyer (Schiappacasse and

Table1. Chronological distribution of principal artificial mummification procedures.

Distribucin cronolgica de los principales procedimientos de momificacin artificial.
Chinchorro Early
Archaic phase
7,000-5,000
Baby high complex black mummy
Baby median complexity AM
Adult and sub adult high complex black mummy
Adult median complexity AM
All ages, including fetuses, high complex Red style
Adult & juvenile median complexity plastered style
All ages low complex natural mummification

Chinchorro Middle to
Late Archaic Phase
5,000-4,400

X
X
X
X

X
X

Rise and decline of Chinchorro sacred landscapes along the hyperarid coast of the Atacama Desert

Niemeyer 1984) based on cultural archaeological

material from Camarones 14.
The geographic origin of the Chinchorro people,
whether from the north coast or from the highland,
does not imply that the mortuary practices were
allocthonous. After their arrival on the coast, the
Chinchorro could have developed complex and
diverse funerary procedures as a result of experiencing the barrenness of the territory (Marquet etal.
2012). Moreover, non-metric dental traits from
Yara individuals, and from other sites in the coast
of Ilo zone, show certain biological similarities
with Chinchorro people located in northern Chile
(Rasmussen 1998:85), indicating that some groups
did not remain isolated and un-communicated.
According to Arriaza et al. (Arriaza et al.
2005), this funerary tradition began at the mouth
of the Camarones valley (Figure1), from where it
expanded to the north and south. By the end of the
Chinchorro cultural tradition (ca. 4,000 - 3,000 BP)
the geographic distribution of AM encompassed a
coastal fringe of ~500 km (293 miles) from the Ilo
(21S) zone in southern Peru to the El Loa canyon
(17.30S) in northern Chile. This coastal fringe
is interrupted by the mouth of 10 canyons that
deliver perennial fresh water: Osmore, Locumba,
Sama, Caplina, Lluta, Azapa, Vtor, Camarones,
Camia, and El Loa. No archaeological evidence
of Chinchorro AM, however, has been reported for
Locumba, Sama, Caplina, and Vitor. This may be
due to sampling problems and poses a challenge
for future research. Aside from rivers, conspicuous
point springs that used to or even still emerge from
the Coastal Cordillera (Nez and Varela 1967)
were also selected by the Chinchorro (i.e. Yara, Los
Burros, Quiani, Punta Pichalo, Bajo Molle, Punta
Patillo, Figure1).
The Chinchorro, as hunter gatherers, do not
show the economic pattern of hunting for small
and/or large games, plant recollection and highly
mobile residence (Dillehay 2011). In contrast, they
were highly territorial foragers, subsisting on Pacific
coast marine resources that they mastered with
specialized maritime technology, which reduced the
stress of the otherwise hyperaridity of the Atacama
Desert. The coastal open settlement corresponds
to residential rather permanent camps that formed
extensive shell middens covering several square
kilometers, which are locally known archaeologically as conchales (shell middens). These settlements
are located above the fluctuation of the sea-level

641

and shoreline occurred throughout the Holocene,

which are described below.
Between the zone of Ilo and the El Loa river
mouth it is possible to distinguish three physiographic zones related to the origin and expansion of
Chinchorro societies. The core area corresponds to
the segment made up of five river valleys (between
Lluta and Camia Figure1) whose mouths were
partially covered with totora (reed, Scirpus sp.), a
key element for the Chinchorro burial bundle and
domestic ware (Standen 2003). This section is also
characterized by a littoral zone with almost no
exposed coastal platform as the Coastal Cordillera
emerges abruptly from the Pacific (Figure2), and
lomas vegetation is reduced to some shrubs, cactuses
and tillandsiales (Latorre etal. 2011), specialized
communities that live off fog moisture and almost
no rainfall. It was here where the complex funerary
behavior started to be practiced, 8,000 - 7,000 BP,
and where all the different stages of this practice
were experimented up to ~4,000 BP. In contrast, a
wide exposed continental platform extends north
of the Lluta valley and an increase in local rainfall
produces complex lomas vegetation, which complemented the marine diet of coastal hunting gathering
(Latorre etal. 2011; Rasmussen 1998:109). Apart
from the early archaic pre-Chinchorro features
found at Los Burros (Delabarde etal. 2009; Lavalle
etal. 2011), it has been difficult to locate documented examples of Chinchorro-style burial sites
(Rasmussen 1998:78). Studies by Wise (Wise 1990,
1995), Rasmussen (Rasmussen 1998) and Umire
(Umire 2009) show that sites Yara, Villa del Mar,
Kilmetro 4, and Carrizal 4 dated between 8,000 to
5,000 BP in the Ilo zone, contain certain Chinchorro
funerary traits (Umire 2009). This includes clay
masks, and application of ochre (Villa del Mar;
Rasmussen 1998; Wise 1995); while at the collective burial of Kilmetro 4, close to domestic areas,
individuals in extended positions were covered with
layers of reed mat, and some bones were wrapped
in the same material (Wise 1999); a pattern also
found in Carrizal (Wise 1997). Yara, which started
to be occupied ~8,000 but more intensively around
5,000 BP, has yielded convincing Chinchorro traits,
including ochre application, wrapped bones and
wooden poles attached to long bones. This evidence
made Rasmussen (Rasmussen 1998:76) state that
the Chinchorro were living in Ilo, Peru, confirming previous estimations (Allison etal. 1984;
Arriaza, Allison, Focacci etal. 1984; Wise 1995).

642

Calogero M. Santoro, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Claudio Latorre, Francisco Rothhammer and Vivien G. Standen

Figure2. The Coastal escarpment emerges abruptly from the Pacific coast with almost no continental platform and no vegetation.
Escarpe costero abrupto sobre la costa del Pacfico, con mnima plataforma continental, sin vegetacin.

Yara collective burials also show evidence of other

funerary features not seen in northern Chile (i.e.
adults surrounded by childrens heads, and stone
around adults heads), which make reference to
other kinds of funerary rituals (Rasmussen 1998;
Umire 2009). The preservation of the remains makes
the evidence of fully artificially mummified bodies
opaque, but the presence of wooden sticks attached
to long bones is an unequivocal feature of the drastic
transformation of corpses started with the earlier
black mummy style in Arica. It is important to
note that Chinchorro traits in the Ilo zone were
mixed with other burial rituals used exclusively
by the people that inhabited those locations, and
which may have been introduced during the later
phase of the Chinchorro.
South of Camia until El Loa there are no
perennial rivers along the Pacific littoral, mostly
due to a reduction in the amount of rainfall along
western Andes, and the interruption of that runoff by
the a large endorrheic basin (Pampa del Tamarugal,

20-30 km from the coast) where complementary

floral and faunal resources as well as raw material
for lithic artifacts were available for coastal populations. Temporary camps, such as those of Tiliviche
and Aragn, were established at inland oases some
20 to 30 km from the coast (Nez 1986; Nez
and Moragas 1977-78; Nez and Zlatar 1976).
The absence of runoff merging into the Pacific is
compensated by an increase in precipitation and
fog moisture, which is intercepted by the Coastal
Escarpment.
As in the northern section, this southern section contains evidence only of later expansion of
the Chinchorro funerary tradition, which has been
found in Bajo Molle, Los Verdes, and Punta Patillo,
but the best evidence comes from the latter (Bittmann
1982; Bittmann and Munizaga 1976; Nez 1965;
Olmos and Sanhueza 1984; True and Nez 1972).
The remains, excavated by Ankel Nielsen during
the 1940s, included burials of adults in extended
dorsal position, face up, covered by reed mat and

Rise and decline of Chinchorro sacred landscapes along the hyperarid coast of the Atacama Desert

application of clay masks (Figure3). The cemetery

also included clay figurines (Figure4). South of
Patillo, Chinchorro features consist of application
of red color and paste to cover the orbit of certain
adult individuals found at Caleta Hueln 42 site, in
the northern margin of the mouth of El Loa river
(21S; (Nez and Santoro 2011:Figures 5a and
5b). There are no valleys with permanent surface
flow south of El Loa all the way to the mouth of the
Copiap river (28S). This extreme hyerparid coastline runs for ~650 km (407 miles) where the lack of
water is the product of decreased rainfall in the high
Andes which in turns affects availability of runoff
and groundwater resources along the coast (Latorre
etal. 2005). Perhaps not surprisingly, the Chinchorro
spiritscape did not expand into this territory; instead
the Huentelauqun, another group coeval with the
Chinchorro, developed a different landscape and
social system, whose ideological world was channeled through other ritual performances, materialized
by the use of cogged-stones and other geometric
cut stones. These cogged-stones resemble those
reported for coastal southern California, which have
been interpreted as magical-religious artifacts (Jackson
etal. 2011; Koerper and Cramer 2011; Koerper etal.
2006; Llagostera 1989; Llagostera etal. 1997; Nez
and Santoro 2011). The funerary procedures of the
Huentelauquen people included impregnation of a
red color substance as seen in the site El Hipdromo
(Antofagasta). According to Agustn Llagostera
(personal communication 2012), this feature led
Juan Munizaga to think that the Chinchorro were

643

Figure3. Chinchorro remains of adults covered by a reed

mat and with a clay mask, excavated by Ankel Nielsen in
Punta Patillo (photo courtesy of the American Museum
of Natural History, New York, edited by Paola Salgado).
Cuerpos de adultos Chinchorro cubiertos con estera de
totora y mscara de arcilla, excavados por Ankel Nielsen
en Punta Patillo (foto cortesa del American Museum of
Natural History, de Nueva York, editada por Paola Salgado).

Figure4. Group of clay figurines found together in Punta Patillo, excavated by Ankel Nielsen (photo courtesy of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, edited by Paola Salgado).
Conjunto de figurinas de arcilla encontradas en Punta Patillo, excavadas por Ankel Nielsen en Punta Patillo (foto cortesa del
American Museum of Natural History, de Nueva York, editada por Paola Salgado).

644

Calogero M. Santoro, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Claudio Latorre, Francisco Rothhammer and Vivien G. Standen

other ritual forms included features not seen in the

Chinchorro tradition are present. It is possible that
segments of the Chinchorro population reached
these zones and became involved with people there
to foster certain social activities including funerary
practices, but this does not mean that the Chinchorro
as a whole society were living there. Conversely,
although there are no signs that the Chinchorro
moved their residence permanently, they spread
their social network and cultural pattern over 255
km of coast, from the Lluta valley to Punta Patillo.
Fresh Water and Marine Resources
Figure5. Undated human remains from burial at Los Canastos
site, Antofagasta (female behind male), with vague evidence
of Chinchorro ritual procedures (photo by an unknown photographer taken during the excavation of the site in 1974, led
by Agustn Llagostera, who authorized its publication, edited
by Paola Salgado).
Enterratorio, no datado, de dos individuos del sitio Los Canastos,
Antofagasta (mujer detrs del hombre), con incierta evidencia
de procedimientos rituales Chinchorro (foto de fotgrafo desconocido tomada durante la excavacin del sitio en 1974 dirigida
por Agustn Llagostera, quien autoriz su publicacin, editada
por Paola Salgado).

also living there (see also Arriaza 1995a), but this

was a common feature in this region since the early
Archaic throughout late periods. The most striking
evidence comes from the site Los Canastos, and
consists of two individuals, a female behind a male,
lying on their left side with flexed lower extremities
(Figure5). The torso and the soil surface around them
were spread with a mud coating, and covered with
plant fiber mat and sea bird skins, which resemble
the Chinchorro tradition. The offering, however, is
a mix of late archaic and Chinchorro traits (aduja
baskets, and net bags linked to sea food collecting,
associated with the women, while the man offering
was related to marine hunting, harpoons and darts,
and pubic cover made out of plant fiber). Also,
both individuals present annular head deformation
(Llagostera 1983).
We maintain that the core of the Chinchorro territory was located at Lluta (188S) and Punta Patillo
(2049S). In the later phase, some Chinchorro key
features made there way north up to Ilo (i.e. Yara
site), and south down to El Loa. The Antofagasta
case should be excluded from the Chinchorro
social territorial landscape and spiritscape, because

The sparse, pearl string-like distribution of

fresh water resources was a key factor which the
Chinchorro used intensively, instead of moving
outside of these conspicuous coastal spots, to settle
a larger territory for their subsistence procurements,
as other groups living in hyperarid environments
do. The availability of fresh water was linked to
the prevalence of La Nia-like conditions during
the mid-Holocene (Latorre etal. 2005; Rech etal.
2002). This implies a relatively steady rainy summer
season on the high western slope of the Andes and
increased ground water recharge (Rech etal. 2002).
In these contrasting living spaces, the Chinchorro
found crucial resources such as reed and cactus
fruits. Because of hyper aridity, plant and game
food, commonly consumed by hunters and gatherers
even in coastal maritime environments, were rare
in their economy and diet (Aufderheide etal. 1993;
Schiappacasse and Niemeyer 1984).
In contrast, the Chinchorro had access to a bountiful Pacific coast favored by a rocky littoral and the
upwelling of the Humboldt Current (Montecino and
Lange 2009; Thiel etal. 2007), in which biomass
abundance and richness includes mammals, fishes,
mollusks, algae, and sea birds. Maximum marine
primary productivity peaks at ~18S (Kaschner etal.
2008; Ortlieb etal. 2011), and present-day landings
of artisanal fisheries in northern Chile (18-21S) are
approximately two to three times higher than that
observed for a similar geographic extension along
southern Peru (15-18S) (Alfaro-Shigueto et al.
2010; SERNAPESCA 1999-2005). This highly
productive and predictable seascape geographically
coincides with the core of Chinchorro territory, and
allowed them to intensify production through the
development of a strong coastal-marine economy
and long-term permanent settling.

Rise and decline of Chinchorro sacred landscapes along the hyperarid coast of the Atacama Desert

There is no continental coastal marine platform between the Lluta and Camia valleys, thus
walking from one river mouth to another along
the littoral was highly unlikely. In general, the
coastal platforms are narrow across the entire
region (Figure6). During the early phases of the
Chinchorro, however, shoreline changes associated
with a lower sea level stand may have favored the
presence of wide platforms along the coast, as
suggested by topographic analyses (Figure 6a).
The lack of a specific Holocene sea level curve
for the region prevents a more detailed evaluation
of the impact of eustatic sea level changes on the
inter-valley connectivity. However, reconstructions
for other regions in Chile and Peru suggest a low
sea level stand of several meters below present-day
level until 8,000-7,000 years BP (Isla etal. 2012;
Wells and Noller 1999). This sea level regression
may have allowed the presence of marine platforms
of moderate slope (i.e. < 25, Figure6b), favoring

645

travel of early Chinchorro populations along the

coast. Between 6,000 to 5,000 years BP, sea level
rose up to 5-6 m (Encinas etal. 2006), almost erasing marine platforms (i.e. slopes > 80, Fig. 9b),
thus reducing the possibility to walk through the
littoral and increasing the chances of isolation among
populations. The Chinchorro, however, selected for
their living and interment areas at higher elevation,
above these sea level and shoreline fluctuations.
Within these living circumstances the Chinchorro
show higher degrees of pathologies, not common
to hunter-gatherers living with a high mobility and
small demography. The most frequent acute infectious
diseases correspond to pneumonia, whereas chronic
pathologies included periostitis, treponematosis,
osteitis, parasitic infections, and signs of nutritional
stress evidenced by orbital sieve and hypoplastic
lines. They also suffered from arseniasis and occupational diseases like external auditory exostosis,
and osteoarthrosis (Allison 1989; Arriaza 1995a;

Figure6. Potential connectivity across the northern coast of Chile during the Holocene, modulated by eustatic sea level changes:
(a) connectivity is inferred by the width of marine terraces (defined as areas between 0-100 m above sea level). Submerged terraces were much more developed than today, allowing potential connections of canyons along the coast; (b) elevation profile for
particular latitudinal section (red strip in a) showing the presence of moderate slope marine terraces during low sea levels during
the Pleistocene Holocene transition. Elevation data obtained from Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT, Ryan etal. 2009).
Holocene sea levels collected from several sources (Waelbroeck etal. 2002).
Potencial conectividad a travs de la costa norte de Chile durante el Holoceno modulada por cambios eustticos del nivel del
mar: (a) conectividad inferida por el ancho de las terrazas marinas (definidas como reas entre 0-100 m sobre el nivel del mar).
Terrazas sumergidas eran mucho ms desarrolladas que en la actualidad, permitiendo la conexin potencial de las quebradas a
lo largo de la costa, (b) perfil de elevacin de una seccin latitudinal particular (franja roja en a), que muestra la presencia de
terrazas marinas de pendiente moderada en pocas con niveles del mar ms bajos durante la transicin Pleistoceno Holoceno.
Los datos de la elevacin fueron obtenidos del Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT, Ryan etal. 2009). Los niveles del
mar durante el Holoceno fueron obtenidos de varias fuentes (Waelbroeck etal. 2002).

646

Calogero M. Santoro, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Claudio Latorre, Francisco Rothhammer and Vivien G. Standen

Arriaza, Allison and Standen 1984; Aufderheide

2003; Aufderheide and Rodrguez-Martn 1998;
Boston and Arriaza 2009; Byrne etal. 2010; Reinhard
and Aufderheide 1990; Reinhard and Urban 2003;
Standen 1991; Standen et al. 1984; Standen and
Arriaza 1999, 2000a; Standen et al. 1997). This
pathological profile, which clearly increased over
time (Arriaza 1995a; Standen 2011; Standen etal.
1997), suggests long-term residence of all members
of the Chinchorro nuclear social groups, rather than
permanent residential mobility, which may amplify
the possibilities for transmission of infectious diseases, along with the contamination of the recurrently
used domestic spaces and the scarce sources of fresh
water, facilitating the proliferation of bacteria, viruses,
and parasites (Standen 2011). Moreover, postmortem
manipulation of human corpses for evisceration and
brain extraction linked to the operational sequence
for AM may have also triggered the propagation of
infectious diseases (Arriaza 1995a). Besides health
condition and diseases, the Chinchorro experienced
population growth within the same residential areas
(Aufderheide etal. 1993).
The geomorphic and ecological circumstances
experienced by the Chinchorro during the early to
middle Holocene (ca. 9,500-5,000 cal years BP)
changed and became more stressful in the midHolocene (5,000-4,000 years cal BP). The climatic,
oceanographic, and ecological changes altered the
traditional habitat managed by the Chinchorro.
Besides the sea level transgression, major transformations occurred in the littoral ecosystem, as El
Nio events increased in frequency and intensity
after 5,000 years cal BP (Andrus etal. 2008; Chazen
etal. 2009; Debret etal. 2009; Grosjean etal. 2007;
Moy etal. 2002; Sandweiss etal. 2001; Williams
etal. 2008). The transformation of the coastal marine
ecology was also enhanced by a reduction in fresh
water availability that affected the habitability of
the Chinchorro crowded/overpopulated homeland
(Draper 1973). Today, El Nio events increase the
possibility of drought over the western central Andes
(Grosjean etal. 2005a, b; Nester etal. 2007; Nez
etal. 2002; Santoro etal. 2011). The marine productivity in coastal environments, measured as the
regional radiocarbon reservoir effect, experienced a
noticeable drop (due to decreased upwelling of deep
water) after 5,000 years cal BP across southern Peru
and northern Chile (i.e.14-24S, Figure7a) (Ortlieb
etal. 2011). Other paleoceanographic studies have
yielded different trends (Mohtadi etal. 2004), but

Figure7. Changes in the paleoceanographic and paleoecological

conditions of marine coastal assemblages along central Per
and northern Chile during the Holocene: (a) primary productivity estimated as the reservoir effect (14-21S), data taken
from Ortlieb etal. (2011), (b) changes in species composition
in mollusk assemblages (bivalves and gastropods) in shell
middens of central Peru and northern Chile (12-31S). Species
composition measured as the first axis of a constrained analysis
of principal coordinates (CAP, Anderson and Willis 2003) based
on a matrix of 71 species and 29 shell middens, and (c) changes
in proportion of large-sized mollusk species in shell middens.
The cut-off level to define large (> 45 mm) and small forms
( 45 mm) corresponds to the median of the maximum shell
length of 58 species. Shell midden data was compiled from an
exhaustive literature survey combined with new samplings.
Cambios en las condiciones paleoceanogrficas y paleoecolgicas
en ensambles marinos costeros a lo largo de la zona central de Per
y norte de Chile durante el Holoceno: (a) estimacin de la productividad primaria como efecto reservorio (14-21S), datos tomados
de Ortlieb etal. (2011), (b) cambios en la composicin de especies
en ensambles de moluscos (bivalvos y gastrpodos) en conchales
del centro de Per y norte de Chile (12-31S). Composicin de las
especies medido a partir del primer eje de un anlisis restringido
de coordenadas principales (CAP, Anderson y Willis 2003), basado
en una matriz de 71 especies y 29 conchales, y (c) cambios en la
proporcin de especies de moluscos de gran tamao en conchales.
El nivel de corte para definir las categoras de tamaos grande
(> 45 mm) y pequeo ( 45 mm) corresponde a la mediana de
la longitud mxima de la valva de 58 especies. Los datos de los
conchales fueron compilados a partir de una revisin bibliogrfica
exhaustiva combinada con nuevos muestreos.

Rise and decline of Chinchorro sacred landscapes along the hyperarid coast of the Atacama Desert

these more likely reflect oceanic rather than coastal

conditions. A marked shift in the species composition of mollusks in shell middens of central Peru
and northern Chile (12-31S) has been observed
for the period between 4,500-4,000 years cal BP
(Figure7b), associated with the onset of El Nio
and the collapse of the primary productivity. The
timing of this transition is rather different from that
indicated for mollusk assemblages of northern Peru
(Sandweiss etal. 2001) bracketed around 5,800 to
3,000 years cal BP, suggesting that the transition
was asynchronous along the coast of the Humboldt
Current Ecosystem. The change in composition
comprised a drastic reduction in the proportion of
large-sized species harvested by people (Figure7c),
the abundance of which likely declined as a result
of the environmental forcing, rather than overfishing (Rivadeneira etal. 2010). For example, before
4,000 cal years BP most of the species harvested
(50-100%) were large-sized forms, including
Concholepas concholepas, Choromytilus chorus,
Fissurella spp., and Mesodesma donacium; after
4,000 BP, the percentage of large-sized species drops
to 40-60%, implying a change in the subsistence
strategy towards preferential harvesting of smaller
species, such as Scurria spp., Chlorostoma spp.
and Donax spp. The reduction in the availability
of large-sized species may have implied increased
fishing efforts, via longer and deeper diving excursions and a time-consuming gathering of more
common but small-sized intertidal species (e.g.
Scurria spp., Donax spp.) during the low tides
(Llagostera 1982, 1983).
Coincidentally, during this epoch certain changes
in subsistence strategies are noticeable, such as the
shifting toward intensified fishing with a variety of
new tools and technology such as the removable
wooden harpoon head, fishhooks of different sizes and
materials, stone weights for fishing nets, and fishing
lines, which made marine extraction more efficient
in terms of productivity (Bird 1943; Schiappacasse
and Niemeyer 1984; Wise 1990). More intense use
of terrestrial plant and game resources was not
possible as seen elsewhere.
These transformations, however, seem to be
opposed by population growth, as reflected by an
increase in the quantity of cases of AM and the
number of sites and radiocarbon dating toward the
late Holocene (Williams etal. 2008). Population
increase and reduction or changes in the traditional
resources triggered population pressure and possibly

647

enhanced competition among groups. Regional

competition for resources (Wise 1990) seems to be
signaled by an increase in interpersonal violence as
shown by bone trauma, during the late phase of the
Chinchorro. In some cases, interpersonal aggression
resulted in death, a phenomenon not seen in early
phases (Aufderheide etal. 1993; Standen and Arriaza
1999, 2000b). Moreover, food and water poisoning
through arseniasis, a natural condition still present
in the zone, affected population throughout the
whole history of the Chinchorro, thus it may have
also contributed to the apparent Chinchorro process
of cultural transformation. Arsenic is very high in
the natural water system (1000g/L) as well as in
the food. For instance, Camarones arsenic level in
the water is 100 times higher than accepted WHO
recommendations, and considering its nocive effect
of population (i.e. premature births, stillbirths, low
birth weight, spontaneous abortions, high infant
mortality, systemic organ damage and low red blood
cell production made Arriaza and collaborators to
suggest this problem as possible cause for the origin
of AM, as a social response (Arriaza 2005; Boston
and Arriaza 2009; Byrne etal. 2010). What we see
is that the apparent stressful and conflicting social
atmosphere and the transformation of natural conditions during the later phase of the Chinchorrro were
associated with a diversification and an increase in
AM procedures (Table1), which means that besides
the technological changes to intensify production
people made effort to build on the ideological side
and rituals of their social structure.
Discussion and Conclusions
The Chinchorro provides an excellent case study
that sheds light on the diversity shown by ancient
forager societies, and on the theoretical anthropological discussion with regard to the conditions,
both social and ecological, that maintain a cultural
system or trigger innovative processes that resulted
in new behavioral patterns (Craig 2011). Contrasting
archaeological, ecological, paleoecological, and oceanographic factors have been compiled to highlight
some clues to understand how the Chinchorro
foraging society maintained and transformed their
way of life (9,000-8,000 to 4,000-3,000 yr BP).
The hyperaridity of the coastal Atacama Desert was
not restrictive for Chinchorro social organizations,
as they accommodated their everyday life to the
sparse, pearl-string like distribution of fresh water

648

Calogero M. Santoro, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Claudio Latorre, Francisco Rothhammer and Vivien G. Standen

spots along ~500 km of coast from Ilo to El Loa

(Figure 1). The Chinchorro flourished under the
prevalence of La Nia-like conditions that help to
maintain the 10 river mouths and springs documented
here. There, they had the possibility to select from
a bountiful marine coastal environment, a long
and almost unlimited list of resources (Bird 1943;
Schiappacasse and Niemeyer 1984; Wise 1990);
they also managed with ingenious technologies to
obtain the necessary resources for their everyday
life. More importantly, combining these two natural
contrasting conditions, they were able to support
the leisure time needed for the creativity, experimentation and transmission involved in creating a
unique cultural landscape (Ingold 2000, 2011), or
spirtscape (McNiven 2003), signaled by complex
funerary rituals that included AM applied to all the
members of the social groups (Probst 2002). The
renovated bodies, along with other un-mummified
corpses, were placed within or outside the domestic areas that were continuously used for several
millennia. Like the Australian Aboriginal people
and Torres Strait Islanders, the Chinchorro heavily
relied on coastal marine resources, and likely saw
themselves as a Saltwater People developing a rich
and complex spiritual cosmology. This spiritscape
helped them spiritually manage and control their
seas and ultimately orchestrate their seascapes
(McNiven 2003:329). The Chinchorro landscape
and spiritscape can be archaeologically viewed
through truly funerary areas, within or separated
from the residential domains, uncommon among
prehistoric hunters and gatherers. The spiritscape
was gradually formed by adults, sub adults, children,
and new born, both female and male, one next to
or even on top of each other.
As living conditions were favorable throughout
early and middle Holocene (9,500-5,000-4,000), the
Chinchorro put together a social and ideological
system that was maintained until the mid-Holocene.
Therefore, the development of a long-term spiritscape, although framed by the ecological scenario, was
certainly crafted within the ideological world, and it
was transformed into a tradition that kept these groups
together for several millennia. The meanings of this
funerary ritual are unknown (Arriaza and Standen
2008; Marquet etal. 2012), but it is striking to note
that despite all its variations, some basic principles
were maintained within a confined territory between
Ilo in the north and El Loa in the south (Figure1), and
this may have been their way to explain, represent,

and show legitimacy to settle and claim particular

territories for current and future generations (Ingold
2000; McNiven 2003; Pearson 2001).
Between 5,000 to 4,000 cal yrs BP the traditional
habitat was transformed (resulting in lack of fresh
water, changes in the variability and availability of
marine-coastal resources). Population, however,
was still growing and health conditions worsened
as cases of infectious, metabolic and parasitic diseases increased as well as indicators of nutritional
stress (Allison 1989). There is also an increase in
occupational (external auditory exostosis), and
degenerative diseases (osteoarthrosis) (Standen
1997). Competition for space seems to be reflected
in death caused by interpersonal quarrel, especially
among males (Standen and Arriaza 2000a).
In this rather unstable late phase of the
Chinchorro tradition, individuals of all ages, including fetuses, were subject to highly complex AM,
together with the red, bandage, and sand coated
styles (Table 1). During the early period, mummification was applied principally to newborns or
infants, while adults received low complex or no
treatment at all. These transformations, such as the
use of the red color, may be the result of the social
dynamics that were taking place in that epoch as
an attempt to maintain things as they used to be,
looking to find new ways through and keep on
going (Ingold 2011). The cultural transformation
that took place while the composition and conditions
of the environment were changing after 5,000 cal yrs
BP seems not to have been sufficient. As a result,
after 4,000 cal yrs BP the coastal peoples gradually
abandoned their old traditions and shifted towards
other forms of society and funerary rituals, linked
to a mixed economy of marine hunting-gathering
and horticulture (Nez and Santoro 2011; Wise
etal. 1994).
Acknowledgements: This paper was developed
within the ECOS-CONICYT project: Dinmicas
culturales en el rea Centro Sur Andina. Cdigo
C06H04 led by Terss Bouysse-Cassagne and
Juan Chacama. Support for the research involved
in this manuscript comes from different sources:
Centro de Investigaciones del Hombre en el Desierto
(CIHDE) CONICYT-REGIONAL R07C1001 to
CS, FONDECYT projects 11070147, 1110582,
National Geographic Research Grant #8690-09,
and FONDAP-FONDECYT 1501-0001 to MMR,
and FONDECYT 1095006 to FR. Alex Alballay

Rise and decline of Chinchorro sacred landscapes along the hyperarid coast of the Atacama Desert

provided valuable help compiling the shell midden

database and with GIS analyses. We are grateful
to Paula Ugalde for her remarks, Marco Espinoza
for English editing, Paola Salgado for improving
the Figures, and the insightful comments by two

649

anonymous reviewers of Chungara. The first reediting of the paper was finished in Dumbarton Oaks,
August 2011, and it was edited at lUniversit de
Rennes1 under the cadre de la Chaire des Amriques,
Rennes2, March-April 2012.

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