The chinchorro people of Northern Chile 5000 BC-500 BC, a review of their culture and relationships

The earliest human occupation of the South American Pacific Coast at latitudes of around 18° South appears to have been by hunters and gatherers in the process of adapting to a maritime setting. One of their most distinctive features are their ritual treatment of their dead by a form of mummification. These mummies are the earliest yet described. The bodies were eviscerated, treated internally and externally, refilled with a variety of materials, modelled externally with clay and the skin replaced over the modelled shape. A number of variation in technique have been noted. Radiocarbon dates (uncorrected) range from 7810±180 B.P. to 2480±100 B.P. It is hypothesised that this early occupation was the result of population movements from a tropical forest environment because of population pressure. This hypothesis has been tested using evidence derived from biological distance studies based on craniometrical data, blood groups and enzymes, on material cultural remains and on ecological comparisons.