Capriles, Santoro, Valenzuela, Bedregal, Núñez, Rothhammer
Caravan Archaeologies Workshop/Taller de Caravanas Arqueológicas
Mummified Macaws and Amazon Parrots in the Atacama Desert as Evidence of Long Distance Exchange with the Tropical Lowlands
José M. Capriles, Calogero M. Santoro, Daniela Valenzuela, Eliana Flores Bedregal, Lautaro Núñez, Francisco Rothhammer
Archaeologists have exhibited the finding of feathers and mummies of tropical birds in archaeological contexts of northern Chile as concrete evidence of long distance exchange between the Atacama Desert and the eastern tropical lowlands since at least the 19th Century. Nevertheless, it is unclear how abundant these findings are, which species are present, and what is the cultural context of these findings. We have recently carried out an assessment of most of the known mummified and skeletonized remains of macaws and other parrots found in northern Chilean archaeological contexts by means of direct observation, measurements and morphological comparisons. Here, we present a review of our results including the frequency, taxonomic identification, geographical distribution, and cultural contexts associated with these exotic birds. We also provide evidence of the iconographic representation of tropical fauna in rock art and portable objects. We then use this information to outline a series of general patterns. The social meaning attached to tropical birds was probably consistently important throughout time but their increased importance during the Late Intermediate Period in association with burials might suggest their increasing role to signal social status, and esoteric knowledge. Although long distance exchange was the main mechanism that facilitated the circulation of tropical birds from the Amazonian and La Plata basins to the hyper-arid Atacama Desert, the occasional finding of chicks suggests that either the movement of goods was extremely rapid or that breeding these animals in captivity was attempted. Finally, we speculate that the possible meaning that these birds had for the prehispanic societies that inhabited the desert between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean mountains was associated with economic interaction, religious beliefs, and social status.
José M. Capriles, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
Calogero M. Santoro, Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile
Daniela Valenzuela, Departamento de Antropología, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile
Eliana Flores Bedregal, Factumx Ingeniería, La Paz, Bolivia
Lautaro Núñez, Instituto de Arqueología y Antropología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
Francisco Rothhammer, Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile