﻿Vol.2] 
  THE 
  ATACAMENO 
  BENNETT 
  601 
  

  

  South 
  of 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  region 
  in 
  Chile, 
  the 
  desert 
  conditions 
  be- 
  

   come 
  less 
  intense 
  as 
  the 
  transition 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  Mediterranean 
  cli- 
  

   mate 
  of 
  the 
  Central 
  Valley. 
  Geographically, 
  the 
  southern 
  boundary 
  

   of 
  the 
  Atacama 
  Desert 
  is 
  the 
  Copiap6 
  River. 
  On 
  the 
  eastern 
  side 
  of 
  

   the 
  Andes, 
  there 
  is 
  less 
  climatic 
  change 
  to 
  the 
  south, 
  but 
  the 
  intermont 
  

   basins 
  are 
  larger, 
  and 
  the 
  streams 
  more 
  permanent. 
  The 
  immediate 
  

   southern 
  neighbors 
  of 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  mountains 
  

   were 
  the 
  Diaguita. 
  

  

  CHRONOLOGICAL 
  POSITION 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  archeological 
  finds, 
  the 
  principal 
  centers 
  of 
  the 
  

   Atacameno 
  culture 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  provinces 
  of 
  Antofagasta, 
  Chile, 
  and 
  

   Jujuy, 
  Argentina, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  some 
  evidence 
  that 
  the 
  culture 
  also 
  

   extended 
  into 
  adjacent 
  provinces 
  in 
  both 
  countries. 
  A 
  number 
  of 
  

   authors 
  have 
  suggested 
  that 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  once 
  occupied 
  a 
  much 
  

   larger 
  territory. 
  Their 
  evidence 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  place 
  names 
  which 
  seem 
  

   to 
  be 
  of 
  Atacameno 
  origin 
  rather 
  than 
  Diaguita, 
  Quechua, 
  or 
  Aymara. 
  

   Such 
  place 
  names 
  appear 
  throughout 
  North 
  Chile, 
  in 
  large 
  sections 
  of 
  

   Northwest 
  Argentina, 
  in 
  Southern 
  Bolivia, 
  around 
  Lake 
  Titicaca, 
  

   along 
  the 
  South 
  Coast 
  of 
  Peru, 
  in 
  the 
  Arequipa 
  district, 
  and 
  even 
  in 
  

   some 
  localities 
  around 
  Cuzco, 
  the 
  capital 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  Empire. 
  The 
  

   significance 
  of 
  this 
  wide 
  spread 
  of 
  Atacameno 
  place 
  names 
  is 
  still 
  un- 
  

   certain. 
  In 
  the 
  present 
  description 
  of 
  Atacameno 
  culture, 
  only 
  the 
  

   central 
  area 
  is 
  considered 
  since 
  it 
  presents 
  the 
  best 
  archeological 
  

   materials. 
  1 
  

  

  The 
  determination 
  of 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  chronological 
  position 
  depends 
  

   on 
  which 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  total 
  area 
  is 
  considered 
  and 
  on 
  which 
  charac- 
  

   teristics 
  are 
  selected 
  as 
  diagnostics. 
  Many 
  authors 
  call 
  the 
  total 
  

   archeological 
  history 
  of 
  North 
  Chile 
  "Atacameno," 
  and 
  distinguish 
  

   various 
  subdivisions 
  based 
  on 
  influences 
  from 
  other 
  cultures. 
  For 
  

   example, 
  Latcham 
  (1938 
  a) 
  thinks 
  that 
  the 
  Atacameno 
  Period 
  may 
  

   cover 
  a 
  time 
  span 
  of 
  some 
  2,000 
  years, 
  but 
  that 
  the 
  typical 
  diagnos- 
  

   tics 
  do 
  not 
  emerge 
  until 
  post-Tiahuanaco 
  times 
  or, 
  according 
  to 
  his 
  

   dating, 
  between 
  A.D. 
  900 
  and 
  1100. 
  Uhle 
  (1919) 
  speaks 
  of 
  Atacameno 
  

   influence 
  in 
  the 
  Titicaca 
  Basin 
  in 
  pre-Tiahuanaco 
  times. 
  He 
  also 
  

   considers 
  the 
  early 
  fishing 
  cultures 
  on 
  the 
  North 
  Coast 
  of 
  Chile 
  as 
  a 
  

   branch 
  of 
  Atacameno 
  . 
  In 
  contrast 
  to 
  this 
  view 
  of 
  Atacameno 
  antiquity, 
  

   Vignati 
  reports 
  the 
  finding 
  of 
  a 
  Peruvian 
  coin 
  dated 
  1677 
  in 
  an 
  

   Atacameno 
  grave. 
  

  

  Leaving 
  aside 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  ultimate 
  origins, 
  Latcham 
  (1938 
  a) 
  

   states 
  that 
  only 
  the 
  periods 
  following 
  the 
  Tiahuanaco 
  are 
  character- 
  

   istically 
  Atacameno. 
  He 
  believes 
  also 
  that 
  the 
  Coastal 
  sequence 
  pro- 
  

   posed 
  by 
  Uhle 
  is 
  applicable 
  in 
  part 
  to 
  the 
  Rio 
  Loa 
  region. 
  The 
  three 
  

   early 
  periods 
  are 
  not 
  found, 
  so 
  the 
  sequence 
  starts 
  with 
  Period 
  4, 
  

  

  * 
  See 
  Casanova, 
  p. 
  619, 
  this 
  volume. 
  

  

  