Valenzuela, Cases, Clarkson, Capriles, Castro, Standen, Gayó, Santoro, Leiva and Briones

Caravan Archaeologies Workshop/Taller de Caravanas Arqueológicas

Llamas and caravans in the lowlands of the Atacama Desert, ca. 1000-1400 AD: problems, models and evidences.

(Authors: Daniela Valenzuela, Bárbara Cases, Persis B. Clarkson,  José M. Capriles, Victoria Castro, Vivien G. Standen, Eugenia M. Gayó, Calogero M. Santoro,  Paola Leiva, Luis Briones).

Llamas were one of the most valued animals in the Andes. Their importance has transcended the subsistence sphere as they were not only used as a source of food but also served for medicinal and ritual purposes, their fiber was fundamental for manufacturing textiles, and they were a source of symbolism and food for thought and ideologies. Nevertheless, their use as pack animals in exchange caravans has been prominent, stimulating intense mobility and long distance traffic between diverse ecological regions as well as mediating political alliances and social interaction. In this paper we analyze the archaeological evidence of caravanning available in the lowlands (coast and valleys) of northern Chile and discuss the role played by local populations in the systems of interregional traffic. Until recently, it has been assumed that lowland populations relied on a mixed agro-maritime economy and that caravanning was a specialization carried out by pastoralists of the Andean highlands. We discuss alternative models of mobility (with and without caravans) for explaining the regional flow of goods and social interaction by emphasizing the diversity of participation strategies that lowland populations exercised. This work is result of FONDECYT 1151046 and Anillo SOC-1405 grants.