﻿THE 
  DIAGUITA 
  OF 
  CHILE 
  

  

  By 
  Samuel 
  K. 
  Lothrop 
  

  

  HISTORY 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  Spaniards, 
  under 
  Diego 
  de 
  Almagro, 
  first 
  entered 
  Chile, 
  

   they 
  had 
  guides 
  with 
  them 
  from 
  the 
  present 
  Argentine 
  Provinces 
  of 
  

   Catamarca 
  and 
  Jujuy, 
  who 
  spoke 
  the 
  same 
  tongue 
  as 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  

   of 
  what 
  are 
  now 
  the 
  Chilean 
  Provinces 
  of 
  Atacama 
  and 
  Coquimbo 
  

   (map 
  1, 
  No. 
  10; 
  map 
  5). 
  No 
  adequate 
  historical 
  accounts 
  of 
  these 
  

   natives 
  exist, 
  and 
  their 
  tribal 
  names 
  are 
  unrecorded. 
  The 
  linguistic 
  

   link 
  of 
  the 
  16th 
  century, 
  however, 
  indicates 
  that 
  these 
  Chilean 
  Indians 
  

   should 
  be 
  numbered 
  among 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  tribes, 
  most 
  of 
  whom 
  lived 
  

   across 
  the 
  Andes 
  in 
  Argentina. 
  This 
  conclusion 
  is 
  borne 
  out 
  by 
  

   present 
  botanical 
  and 
  geographical 
  names, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  by 
  archeo- 
  

   logical 
  proof. 
  

  

  The 
  Diaguita 
  of 
  Chile 
  evidently 
  entered 
  the 
  country 
  from 
  the 
  east 
  

   with 
  an 
  already 
  developed 
  culture. 
  The 
  most 
  ancient 
  graves 
  indicate 
  

   the 
  practice 
  of 
  agriculture, 
  weaving, 
  pottery 
  making, 
  and 
  metallurgy. 
  

   That 
  they 
  came 
  from 
  across 
  the 
  mountains 
  seems 
  certain, 
  because 
  

   animals 
  not 
  native 
  to 
  Chile 
  — 
  jaguars, 
  rheas, 
  and 
  quirquinchos— 
  are 
  

   represented 
  in 
  pottery, 
  and 
  because 
  the 
  actual 
  skeletons 
  of 
  llamas 
  

   or 
  alpacas 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  with 
  early 
  burials 
  on 
  the 
  Chilean 
  Coast. 
  

  

  How 
  long 
  ago 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  entered 
  Chile 
  cannot 
  be 
  stated 
  at 
  pres- 
  

   ent, 
  but 
  additional 
  archeological 
  data 
  probably 
  will 
  give 
  a 
  fairly 
  exact 
  

   answer, 
  for 
  trade 
  relationships 
  existed 
  with 
  distant 
  but 
  better-known 
  

   regions. 
  As 
  might 
  be 
  expected, 
  the 
  principal 
  commercial 
  ties 
  were 
  

   with 
  Northwest 
  Argentina, 
  where 
  shells 
  from 
  the 
  Pacific 
  were 
  ex- 
  

   changed 
  for 
  local 
  products. 
  The 
  identical 
  forms 
  of 
  many 
  implements 
  

   and 
  tools 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  Cordillera 
  also 
  suggest 
  frequent 
  con- 
  

   tacts. 
  Trade 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  resulted 
  in 
  cultural 
  interchange 
  between 
  

   the 
  Atacameno 
  and 
  Diaguita. 
  Furthermore, 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  evidently 
  

   came 
  in 
  touch 
  with 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  Tiahuanaco, 
  for 
  they 
  copied 
  classical 
  

   Tiahuanaco 
  designs 
  on 
  objects 
  of 
  local 
  manufacture. 
  Facts 
  now 
  

   available 
  do 
  not 
  disclose 
  whether 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  had 
  seen 
  the 
  Tiahu- 
  

   anaco 
  stone 
  sculpture 
  of 
  Bolivia 
  or 
  the 
  textiles 
  and 
  pottery 
  in 
  this 
  

   style 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Nasca 
  region 
  on 
  the 
  Coast 
  of 
  Peru, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  clear 
  

   that 
  both 
  cultures 
  were 
  in 
  part 
  contemporaneous. 
  

  

  633 
  

  

  