﻿THE 
  COMECHINGON 
  AND 
  THEIR 
  NEIGHBORS 
  

   OF 
  THE 
  SIERRAS 
  DE 
  CORDOBA 
  

  

  By 
  Francisco 
  de 
  Aparicio 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  The 
  explorers 
  of 
  the 
  Argentine 
  territory 
  gave 
  the 
  name 
  "Provincia 
  

   de 
  los 
  Comechingones" 
  to 
  the 
  mountainous 
  region 
  included 
  today 
  in 
  

   the 
  Provinces 
  of 
  C6rdoba 
  and 
  San 
  Luis 
  (map 
  1, 
  No. 
  14; 
  map 
  5). 
  

   Here, 
  as 
  in 
  other 
  instances, 
  they 
  called 
  the 
  region 
  after 
  its 
  inhabitants. 
  

   The 
  men, 
  characterized 
  by 
  specific 
  anthropological 
  features, 
  and 
  the 
  

   region 
  are 
  clearly 
  treated 
  as 
  a 
  unit 
  in 
  passages 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  chronicles. 
  

   "We 
  went 
  to 
  the 
  mountains 
  and 
  the 
  Province 
  of 
  the 
  Comechingones, 
  

   who 
  are 
  bearded 
  people," 
  records 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  explorers. 
  

  

  TRIBAL 
  DIVISIONS 
  

  

  Ancient 
  chronicles 
  include 
  among 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  this 
  area 
  not 
  

   only 
  the 
  Comechingon 
  but 
  the 
  Sanaviron, 
  Indarna, 
  and 
  others. 
  But 
  

   space 
  is 
  too 
  brief 
  to 
  present 
  here 
  the 
  complicated 
  relationships 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  these 
  tribes 
  and 
  their 
  subdivisions. 
  For 
  the 
  purposes 
  of 
  the 
  

   present 
  cultural 
  summary, 
  it 
  will 
  suffice 
  to 
  treat 
  all 
  the 
  prehistoric 
  

   and 
  protohistoric 
  tribes 
  of 
  the 
  Sierras 
  de 
  C6rdoba 
  and 
  San 
  Luis 
  as 
  an 
  

   ethnic 
  unit. 
  Any 
  cultural 
  differences 
  between 
  these 
  tribes 
  were 
  

   insignificant. 
  

  

  GEOGRAPHY 
  AND 
  ENVIRONMENT 
  

  

  The 
  Sierras 
  de 
  C6rdoba 
  compose 
  three 
  parallel 
  cordons 
  which 
  run 
  

   in 
  a 
  north-south 
  orientation 
  for 
  over 
  4 
  degrees 
  of 
  latitude 
  (lat. 
  29° 
  to 
  

   33° 
  S. 
  at 
  approximately 
  long. 
  64° 
  W.). 
  With 
  their 
  intermediate 
  

   valleys, 
  these 
  mountain 
  ranges 
  include 
  approximately 
  30,000 
  sq. 
  km. 
  

   (about 
  11,500 
  sq. 
  miles). 
  These 
  Sierras 
  de 
  C6rdoba 
  constitute 
  the 
  

   most 
  eastern 
  and 
  southern 
  extension 
  of 
  the 
  Pampean 
  Sierras. 
  The 
  

   Sierra 
  de 
  San 
  Luis 
  is 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  orographic 
  unit, 
  and 
  lies 
  

   off 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  southern 
  tip 
  of 
  the 
  Sierra 
  de 
  Comechingones, 
  

   separated 
  from 
  the 
  main 
  mountain 
  mass 
  by 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  Concaran. 
  

  

  The 
  mountain 
  cordons 
  lie 
  transversely 
  to 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  pre- 
  

   dominating 
  eastern 
  humid 
  winds. 
  These 
  winds 
  are 
  a 
  decisive 
  factor 
  

   in 
  climatic 
  conditions, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  differences 
  in 
  humidity 
  and 
  tem- 
  

   perature 
  are 
  more 
  marked 
  when 
  one 
  crosses 
  the 
  Sierras 
  from 
  east 
  to 
  

  

  673 
  

  

  