﻿THE 
  ATACAMENO 
  

  

  By 
  Wendell 
  C. 
  Bennett 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  The 
  term 
  Atacameno 
  (Atacama, 
  Kunza) 
  refers 
  to 
  a 
  people, 
  witb 
  a 
  

   distinctive 
  language 
  and 
  culture, 
  who 
  once 
  occupied 
  the 
  northern 
  

   Chilean 
  provinces 
  of 
  Tacna, 
  Arica, 
  Tarapaca, 
  Antofagasta, 
  and 
  Ata- 
  

   cama, 
  and 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  Northwest 
  Argentine 
  provinces 
  of 
  Los 
  Andes, 
  

   Salta, 
  and 
  Jujuy. 
  The 
  name 
  is 
  probably 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  Chilean 
  

   town 
  of 
  San 
  Pedro 
  de 
  Atacama, 
  which 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  principal 
  centers 
  

   of 
  this 
  culture. 
  Today, 
  the 
  few 
  remaining 
  Atacameno 
  are 
  located 
  in 
  

   isolated 
  sections 
  of 
  Chile 
  and 
  the 
  Puna 
  de 
  Jujuy, 
  but 
  culturally 
  and 
  

   linguistically 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  absorbed 
  by 
  Ay 
  mar 
  a 
  or 
  Spanish. 
  No 
  

   contemporary 
  ethnological 
  studies 
  have 
  been 
  made. 
  Likewise, 
  the 
  

   Spanish 
  historical 
  sources 
  furnish 
  little 
  information 
  about 
  these 
  people. 
  

   One 
  early 
  document 
  mentions 
  two 
  divisions 
  of 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  in 
  north- 
  

   west 
  Argentina 
  — 
  the 
  Casavindo, 
  who 
  spoke 
  a 
  Diaguita 
  language, 
  and 
  

   the 
  Cochinoca, 
  who 
  were 
  mixed 
  with 
  the 
  Chicha. 
  No 
  further 
  informa- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  given. 
  As 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  this 
  paucity 
  of 
  historical 
  and 
  contempo- 
  

   rary 
  information, 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  culture 
  comes 
  largely 
  

   through 
  archeology. 
  (See 
  also 
  Casanova 
  on 
  the 
  Puna 
  de 
  Atacama, 
  

   the 
  Puna 
  de 
  Jujuy, 
  and 
  the 
  Quebrada 
  of 
  Humahuaca.) 
  

  

  GEOGRAPHY 
  

  

  The 
  Atacameno 
  occupied 
  an 
  area 
  along 
  the 
  southern 
  margin 
  of 
  the 
  

   Central 
  Andean 
  region 
  of 
  Peru 
  and 
  Bolivia 
  (map 
  1, 
  No. 
  8; 
  map 
  5). 
  

   From 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  of 
  human 
  inhabitation, 
  the 
  environment 
  is 
  far 
  

   from 
  favorable. 
  The 
  desert 
  conditions 
  which 
  characterize 
  the 
  west 
  

   coast 
  of 
  Peru 
  reach 
  their 
  maximum 
  intensity 
  in 
  North 
  Chile 
  where 
  the 
  

   dry 
  belt 
  cuts 
  across 
  the 
  Andes 
  into 
  Argentina. 
  The 
  600-mile 
  (960 
  km.) 
  

   stretch 
  from 
  Arica 
  to 
  Caldera 
  in 
  Chile 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  complete 
  

   desert 
  areas 
  of 
  South 
  America. 
  Along 
  the 
  Pacific, 
  a 
  Coastal 
  mountain 
  

   range 
  rises 
  from 
  the 
  sea 
  like 
  an 
  unbroken 
  wall 
  to 
  an 
  altitude 
  of 
  between 
  

   2,000 
  and 
  3,000 
  feet 
  (about 
  600 
  to 
  900 
  m.). 
  Only 
  one 
  river, 
  the 
  Rio 
  

   Loa, 
  makes 
  its 
  way 
  through 
  this 
  Coastal 
  range. 
  The 
  plateau 
  between 
  

   the 
  Coastal 
  mountains 
  and 
  the 
  high 
  Andes 
  is 
  composed 
  of 
  old 
  lake 
  

   beds 
  and 
  alluvial 
  fans, 
  and 
  in 
  many 
  sections 
  rainfall 
  has 
  never 
  been 
  

  

  599 
  

  

  