Capayán
Encyclopedia
The Capayanes were an indigenous people nowadays extinct that lived in Argentine territory.

Description

Their geographical area was partly of the provinces of La Rioja
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...

, Catamarca
Catamarca Province
Catamarca is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province has a population of 334,568 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km². Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are : Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, and La Rioja...

, San Juan, from the mountainous zone understood to be between the limit of La Rioja with Catamarca on Colorado river
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

 and the surroundings of Jáchal river
Jáchal River
The Jáchal River is a river in the province of San Juan, Argentina. It is part of the Desaguadero River basin, and one of the most important permanent watercourses in the province, with an average flow of 9 m³/s...

-Zanjón, in San Juan, including Andes, in the western part, up to the cords of the Velasco, where they were mixed with the Diaguita
Diaguita
The Diaguita, also called Diaguita-Calchaquí, are a group of South American indigenous peoples. The Diaguita culture developed between the 8th and 16th centuries in what are now the provinces of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucumán in northwestern Argentina, and in the Atacama and Coquimbo...

s. They occupied the fertile valleys of Famatina
Famatina
Famatina is a town in the province of La Rioja, Argentina. It has 6,371 inhabitants as per the , and is the only municipality in the Famatina Department...

, Sanagasta, Yacampis, Guandacol
Guandacol
Guandacol is a municipality and village in La Rioja Province in northwestern Argentina....

 and Jáchal. They had as neighbors, in the northern part the diaguitas and in the southern part the huarpes.

Language

They shared with the diaguita
Diaguita
The Diaguita, also called Diaguita-Calchaquí, are a group of South American indigenous peoples. The Diaguita culture developed between the 8th and 16th centuries in what are now the provinces of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucumán in northwestern Argentina, and in the Atacama and Coquimbo...

s or paziocas the language Kakán
Kakan
Kakan is a little island in Croatia, around Šibenik....

, or a derivation of it. Vestiges of their language are in completions as bis, wee or small stone, for example: Yacampis, Quilmebis, Guanchina, etc.

Technology

They knew the technology of the thread, and spun the wool of guanaco and llamas. Also they knew the metallurgy of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

. They constructed channels and irrigation ditches to water their farmlands. Their cultivars were maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, zapallo, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

 and quínoa
Quinoa
Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...

. They widely used ceramics, principally in the production of funeral urns, decorated geometrically with the colors black, red and white, known as Sanagasta style or Angualasto style.

Their houses were of mud
Mud
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone . When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds...

 and adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...

 and were sometimes built at the foot of a great tree used as a roof. This technology of construction, still lasts in the Riojan zone of Vinchina .

Declination

About 1480, the Incas invaded the region of the diaguita
Diaguita
The Diaguita, also called Diaguita-Calchaquí, are a group of South American indigenous peoples. The Diaguita culture developed between the 8th and 16th centuries in what are now the provinces of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucumán in northwestern Argentina, and in the Atacama and Coquimbo...

s and capayanes, incorporating their territories into the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...

 (Tawantinsuyu). From 1607, the Spanish conquest resulted in their dispersion and later extinction at the end of the 18th century. The capayanes took part in the native uprising of 1632 together with the olongastas and other diaguitas.

Today a Catamarca's department takes their name (See Capayán Department
Capayán Department
Capayán is a department located in the south of Catamarca Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 6,358 inhabitants in an area of 4,284km², and its capital city is Huillapima.-External links:* *...

).

Etymology and ethnic filiation

The etymology of the name started to this people seems to be the word rune simi
SIMI
Simi may refer to:*Symi, a Greek island*Simi Valley, California*Students Islamic Movement of India - a students' social Islamic terrorist organization - now banned - in India.*Society of the Irish Motor Industry...

 Kapak ñan (Great way), that is to say usually so called " Way of the Inca
Inca road system
The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. The network was based on two north-south roads with numerous branches. The best known portion of the road system is the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu...

 ", the explanation for this would be in that the territory that they were living age sedates of a knot of communications very importantly in the south of the Tawantinsuyu.
The majority of the authors considers the capayán due to the cultural common features (for example the use of the language kakán) as one of the parts of the pazioca ("diaguita
Diaguita
The Diaguita, also called Diaguita-Calchaquí, are a group of South American indigenous peoples. The Diaguita culture developed between the 8th and 16th centuries in what are now the provinces of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucumán in northwestern Argentina, and in the Atacama and Coquimbo...

s"), in the same way that it were the calchaquí
Calchaquí
The Calchaquí were a tribe of South American Indians of the Diaguita group, now extinct, who formerly occupied northern Argentina. Stone and other remains prove them to have reached a high degree of civilization...

es, olongastas, quilmes, though they would have differed for the genetic and cultural influence of the neighbors huarpes and after 1480 for the presence of Mitmakuna deported persons up to the region for the Incas, many of such mitimaes would have trade and manufacture of alcoholic maize drink
Chicha
For the musical genre, see Peruvian cumbiaChicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, rather often to those derived from maize and similar non-alcoholic beverages...

 and churumata.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK