Elqui River
Encyclopedia
The Elqui River starts in the west Andes
, flowing into the Pacific Ocean
, crossing the Chile
an city of La Serena, is a wine
and pisco
producing area. Vicuña
, its main town, was the home of Nobel Laureate poet Gabriela Mistral
.
were the Molle people, which initially combined farming with hunting and gathering to become, over time, full time farmers along with the development burnished red pottery, and did work with stone and copper.
Notable archaeological sites are Alcohuaz and Cochiguaz where soil and water were available for fruitful farming.
They were advanced in their use of technology, as evidence of their knowledge of metallurgy
and its practical applications shows. In the first stage of their development they worked copper by smelting and hammering it and later used gold and silver alloys, as well as employing techniques of rolling, drawing, and embossing. Later on around 1000 A.D. the Diaguita people arrived in the same area. They were named by the archeologist Ricardo Latcham for their similarities to the Argentine Diaguita
. They made contact with the Molle culture, from whom they learned to work with copper
and other metals. Their pottery consisted of asymmetric, wide mouth, containers, with a handles and usually rendered with red, black and white geometrical motifs.
Over time the Diaguita
people began to form their own identity and broke free from the influence of the Molle and reached a growing autonomy. Also of interest is the totemic pottery
tradition wherein zoomorphic and anthropomorphic vessels were fashioned. Called duck jugs, they consisted of a hand sculptured human-like head coming out of one side and an opening for filling and pouring on the other side, both of which were joined by a curved handle. The whole thing was painted with fine geometric patterns. In Las Placetas near Paihuano, burial sites from the classic period have been identified which demonstrate the use of land for crops and pasturing. Three Diaguita cemeteries were also discovered nearby.
During the heyday of the Diaguita, some 550 years ago, the Inca Empire
expanded down into present day Chile from Peru, and they were invaded and put under the dominion of the Incas.
Inca culture influenced the Diaguitas by improving their agricultural production, care of livestock, and employment of mining and domestic industries such as pottery and textiles. The Incas also provided bowls, jugs with handles on top in animal forms, and new decorative motifs such as triangles and checkerboard stripes.
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, flowing into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, crossing the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an city of La Serena, is a wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and pisco
Pisco
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. Pisco was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain...
producing area. Vicuña
Vicuña, Chile
Vicuña is a Chilean commune and city in Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region, founded during the government of Bernardo O'Higgins to secure sovereignty over the Elqui Valley. The famous Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral was born there in 1889. It borders to the west with the communes of La Higuera, La...
, its main town, was the home of Nobel Laureate poet Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945...
.
Ancient Indigenous Culture of the Elqui Valley
Several authors argue that the first community that populated the valleys of Chile's Norte ChicoNorte Chico, Chile
The Norte Chico is one of the five natural regions on which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the limit with the Far North, on west lies the Pacific Ocean, by the east the Andes mountains and Argentina, and by the south the Zona Central natural region...
were the Molle people, which initially combined farming with hunting and gathering to become, over time, full time farmers along with the development burnished red pottery, and did work with stone and copper.
Notable archaeological sites are Alcohuaz and Cochiguaz where soil and water were available for fruitful farming.
They were advanced in their use of technology, as evidence of their knowledge of metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
and its practical applications shows. In the first stage of their development they worked copper by smelting and hammering it and later used gold and silver alloys, as well as employing techniques of rolling, drawing, and embossing. Later on around 1000 A.D. the Diaguita people arrived in the same area. They were named by the archeologist Ricardo Latcham for their similarities to the Argentine 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...
. They made contact with the Molle culture, from whom they learned to work with 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 other metals. Their pottery consisted of asymmetric, wide mouth, containers, with a handles and usually rendered with red, black and white geometrical motifs.
Over time 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...
people began to form their own identity and broke free from the influence of the Molle and reached a growing autonomy. Also of interest is the totemic pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
tradition wherein zoomorphic and anthropomorphic vessels were fashioned. Called duck jugs, they consisted of a hand sculptured human-like head coming out of one side and an opening for filling and pouring on the other side, both of which were joined by a curved handle. The whole thing was painted with fine geometric patterns. In Las Placetas near Paihuano, burial sites from the classic period have been identified which demonstrate the use of land for crops and pasturing. Three Diaguita cemeteries were also discovered nearby.
During the heyday of the Diaguita, some 550 years ago, 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...
expanded down into present day Chile from Peru, and they were invaded and put under the dominion of the Incas.
Inca culture influenced the Diaguitas by improving their agricultural production, care of livestock, and employment of mining and domestic industries such as pottery and textiles. The Incas also provided bowls, jugs with handles on top in animal forms, and new decorative motifs such as triangles and checkerboard stripes.