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Chile

Weapons and defensive objects are evidence that show that hunter-gatherer communities in the Atacama Desert resorted to violence for conflict-solving. Source:  Standen et al., 2023, PLOS ONE/CC-BY 4.0

Hunter-Gatherers in the Atacama Desert Resorted to Brutal Violence

A couple of years ago, a study alluded to Neolithic farmers in Chile’s Atacama Desert engaging in violent battles over resources. Turn back the clock further, and a newer study points to ancient...
Chinchorro mummy. Source: Pablo Trincado / CC by SA 2.0.

The Deadly Toxin Found in the World's Oldest Mummies (Video)

The Chinchorro mummies , dating back up to 7,000 years, are an ancient treasure that predates the well-known Egyptian mummies by thousands of years. Found in Chile's Atacama desert, these mummies...
Representational image of the ruins of the lost City of Caesars in an overgrown jungle. Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock

Exploring the City of Caesars: Patagonia's Legendary Lost City

Legend has it that the City of Caesars, otherwise known as the Wandering City, once existed in Patagonia, nestled between contemporary Chile and Argentina. Despite rumors and reports having...
Image depicting the Inka tunic or Unku found in northern Chile from the wearer’s point of view. Source: Correa-Lau, J., et. al. / CC BY 4.0

Chilean Inka Tunic Provides Insight into Inka Power & Cultural Fusion

A brilliant new study on unkus , a type of standardized Inka tunic, has shed light on a rather important matter of socio-political organization – that of centralization of power. Based on the unku...
Irish Liberators In South American Independence Wars

Irish Liberators In South American Independence Wars

For much of its history Ireland was just one of a legion of realms conquered by the British Empire in a morally reprehensible quest of world domination. The road to independence was long and arduous...
The famous moai statues of Easter Island have been damaged by a fire that is under investigation. Source: Municipality of Rapa Nui

700-Year-Old Moai Statues Irreparably Damaged by Fire on Easter Island

A shocking case of possible arson, still officially being called a forest fire, has caused irreparable damage to the ancient moai statues on Easter Island. The iconic towering stone heads and other...
Two of these South American mummies were victims of violent deaths. Source: Begerock et al. 2022/ Frontiers in Medicine

Death Detectives Discover South American Mummies were Brutally Killed

There are cold cases, and there a really, really, cold cases. The story of two South American mummies falls into the latter category. When researchers analyzed the remains of three pre-Columbian...
Descendants of Araucanians with ceremonial attire and bearded masks –Kollón– from Cautín in the Region of Araucanía, in southern Chile. These representations are strikingly similar to the Buttnmadl of the Berchtesgaden Valley in southern Germany. Source: Gustave Millet, ca. 1930, courtesy of the author Rafael Videla Eissmann

From Araucanía, Chile to Berchtesgaden, Germany - A Remote Connection?

Significantly, the magical-religious “attire” of the tradition of ancient Araucania and the now disappeared Araucanians of the south-central and southern zone of Chile are related to the pagan...
Giant sinkhole that has opened up in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Source: Sernageomin

Giant Sinkhole Is Growing In Chile’s Atacama Desert

An enormous sinkhole that appeared on a plot of mining land in Chile’s Atacama Desert region has continued to grow. The gigantic cavity was first seen on July 30 in a rural area outside the town of...
Ancient petroglyphs at the Valle del Encanto in Chile. Source: Vera & Jean-Christophe / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Alien Petroglyphs of Chile’s Valle del Encanto

The Enchanted Valley, known as el Valle del Encanto in Spanish, is one of the most well-known rock art sites in Chile. Home to a varied set of petroglyphs, pictographs and so-called cup-marked stones...
The Atacama Desert in Chile. Source: baisa / Adobe Stock

Chilean Mega-Earthquake Left Atacama Deserted for 1,000 Years

One of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history occurred in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Chile approximately 3,800 years ago. This catastrophic seismic event created a massive...
The return of the moai to Rapa Nui from Chile. Source: Paula Rossetti

The Return of the Moai: Rapa Nui and the Fight for its Ancestors

Rapa Nui, the original name for Easter Island, is most famous for its giant monolithic moai statues. Located 3,512 km (2,182 mi) off the coast of Chile, Rapa Nui has suffered a history of constant...
Neolithic fisherman Source: Stephen Bates / Andrade et al.

Neolithic Fisherman Died by Drowning 5,000 Years Ago, New Research Shows

The 5,000-year-old remains of a man unearthed from a mass burial in northern Chile have been identified as having belonged to a Neolithic fisherman who died by drowning. The details of the man’s life...
Left: Machi playing the Kultrún. Behind her it can be seen the inclination of the staggered Rehue . Center: A Rehue in the exhibition of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. Right: A Rehue as a symbolic figuration of the Tree-Man.			Source: Martin Thomas / Photographic Archive of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino; Photo by the author: Rafael Videla Eissmann, 2017; Author provided

Araucanian “Staircase to Heaven” Symbolism in the Pre-Hispanic World

One of the fundamental magical-religious symbols of the Lituche-Araucanian cultural substrate of Chile is the Rehue or stepped totem carved in wood. The Rehue is a representation of the Axis Mundi ,...
High-impact shocks to the face and skull. Source: Standen et al. / Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

Neolithic Atacama Desert Farmers Battled Violently Over Resources

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that human history has been a continuum of violence, bloodshed, and gore. This phenomenon has been captured today in virtual simulations, games, and other forms of...
A Chinchorro mummy

7,000-Year-Old Chinchorro Mummies are the World's Oldest

The mummies of ancient Egypt are arguably the most famous mummies in the world. They are not, however, the oldest. The Chinchorros of South America began preserving their dead about 7,000 years ago...
Amazonian Mummified Parrots Discovered in the Atacama Desert

Amazonian Mummified Parrots Discovered in the Atacama Desert

Researchers have made the curious discovery of mummified parrots in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile . Between 1000 and 1460 BC, parrots and macaws were transported over 300 miles to one of the...
Moai on Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island. Source: thakala /Adobe Stock

Hidden Rapa Nui: Easter Island’s Cults, Cannibals, and Cultural Connections

Two-thousand-and-two-hundred miles (3,500 km) west beyond the coast of Chile, in the dark blue belly of the southeastern Pacific Ocean, hides Easter Island. A slightly more appropriate name of this...
First Hand Reports Of Early Encounters With Ancient American Cultures

First Hand Reports Of Early Encounters With Ancient American Cultures

Over five-hundred years ago, European monarchs began dispatching their most masterful navigators to the far reaches of the planet, marking the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Epic voyages occurred...
‘White Gold’ Seabird Guano Sustained Life in Ancient Atacama

‘White Gold’ Seabird Guano Sustained Life in Ancient Atacama

“White Gold,” or seabird guano fertilizer, is found to have boosted agricultural systems in the pre-Inca civilizations of South America who inhabited Chile’s hellish Atacama Desert. Seabird and bat...
Main: Group of Moai monoliths during sunset on Easter Island. Inset: Birdman cult carvings on the back of standing Moai.       Source: Aliaksei & thakala / Adobe stock

Easter Island’s Birdman Cult: A Story of Struggle and Survival

The Pacific Ocean is a world filled with diverse and remote islands, which are the home to some truly unique natives. Many of these islands were discovered comparatively recently in our history, and...
Robinson Crusoe Island is being searched by Dutch treasure hunter.  Source: JeremyRichards / Adobe Stock

Treasure Hunter Given Go Ahead to Dig for $10 Billion Inca Hoard

A Dutch treasure hunter has clashed with a Chilean politician over the legendary treasure of Robinson Crusoe Island. Robinson Crusoe Island is a remote Chilean island and protected as a Unesco World...
Incas sacrificed little girls and displayed their skulls. Source: dk_patt / Adobe Stock.

Inca Elites Displayed Young Women's Skulls To Gain Power

The Inca Empire was the largest and most extensive ancient society that ever lived in the Americas. However, government of such a vast community is not without its issues. A new report examines...
La Quintrala serial killer evades capture Source: kharchenkoirina / Adobe Stock

La Quintrala: Flaming Redhead Serial Killer Evaded Capture

In the world’s history of aristocracy, abuse of power was always a distinct possibility, and quite a few female landowners built up a macabre reputation based on torture, imprisonment, and abuse. In...

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