Hernán Salinas

Early Evidence (ca. 12,000 BP) for Iron Oxide Mining on the Pacific Coast of South America

Iron oxides have been used extensively in the Americas from the Paleoindian period up to the ethnographic present. But, because archaeological mining sites are extremely rare in this continent, we still know very little about how indigenous groups exploited and processed these minerals. Here we report finds from the San Ramón 15 site, located on the arid coast of northern Chile, where our research revealed a prehistoric mine with associated tailings and mining debris that was exploited by hunter-gatherer-fisher groups. The mine was first exploited during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (ca. 12,000–10,500 calibrated years before present [cal yr BP]) and then again during the Late Archaic (ca. 4300 cal yr BP), representing the earliest known mining activity in the Americas. This discovery has important implications, including (1) the record of undisputed mining activity in the continent is extended by several millennia, showing the first insights into Early Archaic mining techniques and technologies; (2) the earliest inhabitants of the Pacific Coast of South America had a well-developed mining knowledge, that is, they were hunter-gatherer-fisher-miner communities; and (3) mobility patterns of early nomadic maritime adaptations in northern Chile were influenced by repeated access to iron oxide pigments used mainly for symbolic purposes.

Cronología y organizaCión eConómiCa de las poblaCiones arCaiCas de la Costa de taltal

This study is a reassessment of the chronological and cultural sequence of the Archaic Period in Taltal, in an attempt to document the continuities and transformations in the economic organization of local populations who inhabited this area. We base our understanding of this process on new data generated by our project in recent years, as well as previously published studies in the area. This research has been mainly directed towards the understanding of three variables in the economic organization of Taltal’s hunter-gatherer-fisher communities: mobility systems, subsistence practices and technology.

PRE-HISPANIC MINING ERGOLOGY OF NORTHERN CHILE: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Mines, spoils, retention walls and pads are the most common material remains of pre-Hispanic mining activity studied by archaeologists. In this paper we will focus on yet another category, the mining ergology, defined as the material artefacts associated with day to day mining activities. Mining ergology seeks to document the technological equipment of the pre-Hispanic miner, which is seldom found in archaeological contexts due to poor preservation of organic materials. The arid conditions of the Atacama desert offer unique conservation possibilities which have shown a varied mining ergology that includes hafted stone hammers bound to wooden handles with rawhide and wool, lithic hammer heads, lithic and wooden shovels, baskets and capachos (rawhide sacks). The study of these components complements our knowledge of pre-Hispanic mining technologies and increases our understanding of the organization of mining operations, the diachrony of mining activity, the variability and continuity of the material record, and therefore of mining and its development in the Andes in general

MINERÍA Y METALURGIA EN LA COSTA ARREICA DE LA REGIÓN DE ANTOFAGASTA, NORTE DE CHILE

Este trabajo da cuenta de los resultados de un proyecto aun en curso acerca de la historia de la mineria y la metalurgia de la zona de Taltal y Paposo. Se presentan datos sobre San Ramon 15, la primera mina prehispanica de oxidos de hierro conocida en Chile, y datada en el Periodo Arcaico. Se plantea que su data indica que la actividad minera en el norte de Chile tendria su origen en la extraccion de pigmentos rojos, antecediendo en varios milenios a la mineria del cobre. Asimismo, se sintetizan diversos datos recopilados con relacion a los objetos metalicos prehispanicos de Taltal y Paposo, centrandose en sus caracteristicas morfologicas y analisis preliminares de composicion quimica, los cuales sustentan la existencia de una metalurgia de caracter local, ademas de la existencia de bienes metalicos importados.

Metalurgia prehispánica en las sociedades costeras del norte de Chile (quebrada Mamilla, Tocopilla)

We present direct and indirect evidences of metallurgical activities by hunter-gatherer and fishers populations of the arid coast of Northern Chile during Late Intermediate and Late periods. We discuss these evidences and propose the existence of a local metallurgical tradition with particular characteristics for the coastal societies in this region. This tradition complements current knowledge about the use and significance of metals in the Andes.

Hunter–Gatherer–Fisher Mining During the Archaic Period in Coastal Northern Chile

In the following chapter, we discuss new data from the San Ramon 15 site, an Archaic Period iron oxide mine located off the coast of Taltal, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Two periods of mining have been identified from stratigraphic and chronological evidence dating to the Early Archaic and the Late Archaic. In both cases, the miners were hunter–gatherer–fisher groups with residential mobility patterns across the arid coast of northern Chile. This site contains the oldest primary evidence of mining in the New World and regional archaeological information suggests that this early mining activity was primarily driven by social and ceremonial demands. We will review the importance of iron oxides in human prehistory, present the San Ramon 15 site in the context of the few archaeological mining sites known to date, and explore the role of this site within local settlement systems.

TRAS LA HUELLA DEL SÍLICE PAMPINO: NUEVAS METODOLOGÍAS PARA EL RASTREO DE LAS ÁREAS FUENTE DE APROVISIONAMIENTO LÍTICO EN TALTAL

Las materias primas siliceas desempenaron un rol fundamental en laorganizacion tecnologica de las poblaciones arcaicas de Taltal, tal comoatestigua su ubicuidad en los sitios arqueologicos locales. Sin embargo,aspectos cruciales como sus fuentes de origen y las estrategiasdesplegadas para su obtencion han sido referidas solo tangencialmenteen la literatura arqueologica de la zona.Este trabajo desarrolla una sistematizacion de la informacion arqueologicadisponible para el area de estudio y una propuesta metodologicadirigida al rastreo remoto de las potenciales areas fuente de aprovisionamientolitico arcaico. Adicionalmente, se presentan los primerosresultados de las labores de reconocimiento en la Depresion Intermediade Taltal y del analisis de imagenes satelitales multiespectrales.