﻿THE 
  CHACO-SANTIAGUENO 
  CULTURE 
  

  

  By 
  Fernando 
  Marquez 
  Miranda 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  The 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  Chaco-Santiagueno 
  culture 
  is 
  not 
  well 
  known 
  

   (map 
  1, 
  No. 
  13). 
  In 
  a 
  general 
  way 
  it 
  includes 
  the 
  present 
  Argentine 
  

   Province 
  of 
  Santiago 
  del 
  Estero 
  and 
  may 
  extend 
  into 
  certain 
  parts 
  of 
  

   the 
  nearby 
  Chaco 
  region, 
  although 
  archeology 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  area 
  has 
  

   not 
  yet 
  revealed 
  its 
  presence 
  there 
  (Marquez 
  Miranda, 
  1942) 
  . 
  Knowl- 
  

   edge 
  of 
  the 
  Chaco-Santiagueno 
  culture 
  comes 
  from 
  archeological 
  

   investigations 
  of 
  sites 
  near 
  Rio 
  Dulce, 
  Province 
  of 
  Santiago 
  del 
  Estero 
  

   (map 
  5). 
  

  

  The 
  culture 
  has 
  developed 
  adaptations 
  to 
  the 
  peculiar 
  features 
  of 
  

   its 
  environment, 
  which 
  therefore 
  must 
  be 
  sketched. 
  

  

  ENVIRONMENT 
  

  

  The 
  Province 
  of 
  Santiago 
  del 
  Estero 
  is 
  now 
  largely 
  deforested, 
  but 
  

   at 
  the 
  Conquest 
  had 
  large 
  forests 
  which 
  produced 
  a 
  more 
  favorable 
  

   climate, 
  a 
  more 
  uniform 
  temperature, 
  and 
  more 
  ample 
  resources 
  for 
  

   native 
  life. 
  It 
  is 
  uniformly 
  flat, 
  with 
  no 
  notable 
  elevations, 
  and, 
  with 
  

   the 
  exception 
  of 
  the 
  Salado 
  River, 
  which 
  flows 
  into 
  the 
  Parana 
  River, 
  

   its 
  rivers 
  do 
  not 
  drain 
  outside 
  the 
  area. 
  The 
  Rio 
  Salado 
  cuts 
  the 
  prov- 
  

   ince 
  obliquely 
  from 
  north 
  to 
  south, 
  and 
  is 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  paralleled 
  

   throughout 
  its 
  course 
  by 
  the 
  Rio 
  Dulce, 
  which 
  is 
  second 
  to 
  it 
  in 
  

   importance. 
  These 
  rivers 
  are 
  fed 
  by 
  rainfall 
  in 
  the 
  Cordillera 
  and 
  

   pre-Cordillera 
  region 
  which 
  causes 
  periodic 
  floods 
  of 
  the 
  Rio 
  Dulce, 
  

   and 
  for 
  that 
  reason 
  both 
  rivers 
  have 
  a 
  torrential 
  period 
  which 
  

   deeply 
  influenced 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  natives 
  settled 
  along 
  their 
  banks. 
  A 
  

   few 
  hydrographic 
  anomalies 
  are 
  worth 
  mentioning: 
  the 
  nitrate 
  

   deposits, 
  the 
  Laguna 
  de 
  los 
  Cisnes, 
  and 
  the 
  wide 
  zone 
  of 
  marshes 
  and 
  

   lowlands 
  into 
  which 
  the 
  Rio 
  Dulce 
  is 
  lost. 
  The 
  salt 
  marshes 
  (salinas), 
  

   the 
  Salar 
  de 
  Alamisky, 
  the 
  swamps 
  of 
  Figueroa, 
  and 
  the 
  complex 
  of 
  

   lagoons 
  (bafiados), 
  salt 
  marshes, 
  and 
  salty 
  pampas 
  along 
  the 
  Rio 
  

   Salado 
  extend 
  from 
  Clodomira 
  and 
  La 
  Canada 
  to 
  the 
  marshes 
  of 
  

   Pellegrini. 
  These 
  zones 
  of 
  depression, 
  which 
  are 
  crossed 
  obliquely 
  by 
  

   both 
  rivers, 
  cause 
  the 
  rivers 
  to 
  diverge 
  in 
  a 
  complex 
  network 
  of 
  

   channels, 
  especially 
  in 
  summer 
  when 
  floods 
  create 
  new 
  courses. 
  

  

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