﻿676 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  Don 
  Juan 
  de 
  Matienzo 
  in 
  his 
  "Gobierno 
  del 
  Peru" 
  (1910) 
  deals 
  with 
  

   the 
  natives 
  of 
  C6rdoba 
  and 
  gives 
  some 
  interesting 
  data. 
  Two 
  val- 
  

   uable 
  documents 
  which 
  supplement 
  those 
  mentioned 
  above 
  go 
  back 
  

   to 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  colonization: 
  "La 
  relaci6n 
  de 
  don 
  Pedro 
  

   Sotelo 
  Narvaez," 
  an 
  inhabitant 
  of 
  Santiago 
  del 
  Estero, 
  written 
  about 
  

   1583 
  (Narvaez, 
  1915), 
  and 
  the 
  letter 
  of 
  Father 
  Alonso 
  de 
  Barzana 
  

   (1885), 
  dated 
  in 
  Asunci6n, 
  1594. 
  

  

  These 
  are 
  the 
  main 
  sources 
  on 
  the 
  Comechingon 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  state- 
  

   ments 
  in 
  many 
  other 
  documents 
  and 
  chronicles, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  "Des- 
  

   cripci6n 
  breve," 
  by 
  Lizarraga 
  (1916), 
  encomienda 
  titles, 
  judicial 
  doc- 
  

   uments, 
  cartas 
  anuas, 
  city 
  council 
  acts, 
  etc. 
  

  

  ARCHEOLOGICAL 
  INVESTIGATIONS 
  

  

  The 
  ancient 
  Province 
  of 
  the 
  Comechingones 
  is 
  archeologically 
  poor 
  

   and, 
  therefore, 
  has 
  not 
  attracted 
  much 
  attention. 
  In 
  1911, 
  Outes 
  re- 
  

   viewed 
  all 
  the 
  material 
  from 
  C6rdoba 
  known 
  to 
  that 
  date. 
  Later 
  G. 
  

   A. 
  Gardner 
  (1931) 
  conducted 
  investigations 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  Sierra, 
  

   and 
  published 
  a 
  meritorious 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  rock 
  paintings. 
  The 
  present 
  

   author 
  spent 
  several 
  months 
  on 
  repeated 
  occasions 
  in 
  the 
  field 
  in 
  the 
  

   Sierras 
  de 
  C6rdoba 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Sierra 
  de 
  San 
  Luis. 
  

   The 
  results 
  of 
  these 
  investigations 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  published 
  yet, 
  but 
  a 
  

   summary 
  of 
  the 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  ancient 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  the 
  mountainous 
  

   region 
  of 
  Central 
  Argentina 
  has 
  been 
  given 
  in 
  Aparicio 
  (1936). 
  The 
  

   present 
  resume" 
  is 
  based 
  mainly 
  upon 
  this 
  last 
  article, 
  with 
  some 
  addi- 
  

   tional 
  material. 
  

  

  CULTURE 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  CHARACTER 
  OP 
  THE 
  SITES 
  

  

  Only 
  camp 
  sites 
  (paraderos, 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  called 
  in 
  Argentina) 
  are 
  

   found. 
  There 
  are 
  no 
  ancient 
  pueblos 
  and 
  buildings 
  comparable 
  to 
  

   those 
  of 
  Northwest 
  Argentina. 
  The 
  sites 
  are 
  near 
  streams 
  or 
  small 
  

   springs; 
  often 
  plantations, 
  dwellings, 
  and 
  other 
  remains 
  can 
  be 
  de- 
  

   tected. 
  The 
  most 
  abundant 
  materials, 
  however, 
  are 
  artifacts, 
  food 
  

   refuse, 
  and 
  isolated 
  burials 
  without 
  constructions 
  or 
  funerary 
  offerings. 
  

  

  SUBSISTENCE 
  ACTIVITIES 
  

  

  The 
  Comechingon 
  were 
  settled 
  people 
  and 
  agriculturists. 
  The 
  

   only 
  noticeable 
  difference 
  between 
  the 
  settlements, 
  according 
  to 
  El 
  

   Palentino 
  (1571), 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  their 
  maize 
  fields. 
  Cieza 
  

   (1909), 
  Matienzo 
  (1910), 
  and 
  later 
  chroniclers 
  confirm 
  the 
  practice 
  of 
  

   farming 
  and 
  call 
  particular 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  cultivation. 
  

   In 
  the 
  well-known 
  "Relacion" 
  attributed 
  to 
  Cabrera, 
  it 
  is 
  said 
  that 
  

   they 
  are 
  great 
  agriculturists, 
  and 
  that 
  "no 
  year 
  passes 
  that 
  they 
  do 
  

   not 
  sow 
  their 
  seed 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  employ 
  the 
  ground 
  at 
  all 
  times, 
  whether 
  

   there 
  be 
  water 
  for 
  irrigating 
  or 
  whether 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  simply 
  left 
  satu- 
  

  

  