Atacamenos

The Atacama people, known as atacameños or atacamas in Spanish and kunzas, Likan-antai or Likanantaí in English, are an indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia.Pukará de QuitorMummy found in the Atacama desertA deformed Atacameño skullTulor settlement in the Atacama Desert The Atacama people, known as atacameños or atacamas in Spanish and kunzas, Likan-antai or Likanantaí in English, are an indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010, 13,936 people identified as first-generation Atacameño in Argentina, while Chile was home to 21,015 Atacameño people as of 2002. The origins of Atacameño culture can be traced back to 500 AD. The Tiwanaku people were the first known conquerors. At the start of the 15th century, the Atacameño were conquered by the Inca Topa Inca Yupanqui, who introduced a new social order, the Inca sun cult and various customs including coca leaves. The Inca regime constructed roads from the Salar de Atacama to what is now north east Argentina. In 1535, the first Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area and it was finally annexed under Spanish control in 1556. In the 18th century, the Atacameño Tomás Paniri joined the uprisings led by the Peruvian Túpac Amaru II and the Bolivian Túpac Katari. In 1824, the region became part of Bolivia and in 1883 fell into Chilean hands. In 2007, the Atacameño population was estimated at 21,015 people. The Atacameños protected their villages with strong stone walls known as pukara, a Quechua word. They also developed ceramic crafts, copper work (using copper extracted from Chuquicamata) and gold work. Many of the historic villages still exist today with the same names, including Quitor, Chiu-Chiu, Lasana, Turi, Topayín, Susques, Calama, Toconao, Antofagasta de la Sierra, and one of the most important settlements in the region, San Pedro de Atacama. The original language of the Atacameños was the recently extinct language of kunza. The Atacameño were lamini herders who made best use of the scarce water and sparse terrain by using their livestock - llama and alpaca - both as pack animals and for their meat, hide and wool. Like many other Andean people, the Atacameño created a terraced agriculture to prevent water run-off. They grew various crops, including pumpkins, zucchini, chili, beans, tobacco, melon, corn, and, above all, potatoes and quinoa. They fertilized the crops with guano from seabirds, which they transported inland on llama. They also ate meat from their livestock and bought fish and shellfish from coastal peoples in return for ch'arki, a dried, salted meat they produced.