south america by tatyana
TRANSCRIPT
South America has an area of 17,840,000 square
kilometers. South America ranks fourth in total
area and fifth in world population.
It includes twelve independent countries:
o Argentina
o Bolivia
o Brazil
o Chile
o Colombia
o Ecuador
o Guyana
o Paraguay
o Peru
o Suriname
o Uruguay
o Venezuela
—as well as French Guiana, which is an overseas
region of France and the Falkland Islands of the UK.
Indigenous peoples of South America The indigenous peoples of South America are found from the Isthmus of Panama to
Tierra del Fuego.
An estimated 30 million people were living there when the Europeans arrived.
In the Andean region extensive remains show developed cultures at Chavín de
Huántar and among the Paracas in Peru;
the *Mochica, *Chimu, and Nazca in Peru;
the Chibcha and Aymara of the Andes;
and the Araucanos and Mapuche of Chile had socially complex pre-Columbian cultures,
surpassed only by the Inca.
Descendants of these peoples live today in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northwestern
Argentina, and Chile.
Quechua, spoken by the Inca, is the most widely spoken language in South America.
Since the Spanish conquest indigenous peoples have been used as laborers, poorly
paid and lacking political representation these conditions of semiservitude are
changing slowly.
Some, notably the Inca, play a significant role in the national culture; but many live
in small, peripheral groups.
A few descendants of the Arawaks and Caribs live in Venezuela, the Guianas, and
Northern Brazil. The Guaraní in Brazil are few and scattered, but in Paraguay their
language is widely spoken and, like Quechua in Bolivia, is the official language of the
country.
Among tropical forest groups are the Jívaro of Ecuador and Yanomami of Brazil and
Venezuela. The Colorados of Western Ecuador and the Puelches and Tehuelches,
hunters of Patagonia, are virtually extinct. A dwindling number of Fuegians, so
called for their campsites at Tierra del Fuego, live by hunting and fishing.
Sadly, the indigenous peoples of South America continue to be assimilated into
white-dominated national cultures as their traditional ways of life and homelands
are being destroyed by over-population growth and industrial development.
The cultural and historical development
Over the course of thousands of years, American indigenous
peoples domesticated, bred and cultivated a large array of
plant species. These species now constitute 50–60% of all
crops in cultivation worldwide.
The South American highlands were a center of early
agriculture. Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars
and wild species suggests that the potato has a single origin
in the area of southern Peru, from a species in the Solanum
brevicaule complex.
Over 99% of all modern cultivated potatoes worldwide are
descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central
Chile, Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum, where it was
cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.
George Raudzens: "It is clear that in pre-Columbian times some groups struggled to
survive and often suffered food shortages and famines, while others enjoyed a varied
and substantial diet."
*Quechua woman cooking up a vat of potatoes at a community event
Chibchas (or "Muiscas" or "Muyscas") and the Tairona, of Colombia;
the Cañaris of Ecuador;
the Quechuas of Peru;
the Aymaras of Bolivia.
*In the last two thousand years there may have been contact with Polynesians across
the South Pacific Ocean, as shown by the spread of the sweet potato through some
areas of the Pacific, but there is no genetic legacy of human contact.
The 3 most important sedentary Indian groups
in South America:
Chibchas /Muiscas/ of Colombia
Chibcha, also called Muisca, South American Indians who at the
time of the Spanish conquest occupied the high valleys surrounding
the modern cities of Bogotá and Tunja in Colombia. With a
population of more than 500,000, they were notable for being more
centralized politically than any other South American people
outside the Inca empire.
Numerous small districts, each with its own chief, had been
consolidated through conquest and alliance into two major states
and several lesser ones, each headed by a hereditary ruler.
Although these states were not very stable, it seems clear that the
arrival of the Spanish cut short the development of even larger
political units.
Their political structure was crushed in the 16th century. In the
18th century their language ceased to be spoken, and the Chibcha
became assimilated with the rest of the population.
Settlement of Muiscas
The Muisca Culture
The Muisca were an agrarian and ceramic society of the Andes of the north of
South America. Their political and administrative organization enabled them to
form a compact cultural unity with great discipline.
The contributions of the Muisca culture to the national Colombian identity have
been many.
Ruins of an ancient Muisca temple
at El Infiernito (the little hell) near Villa de Leyva
The Muisca Culture had certain sports
which were part of their rituals. The
turmequé game, also known as tejo,
has survived. Also important were
matches of wrestling. The winner
received a finely woven cotton blanket
from the chief and was qualified as a
güeche (warrior)
Solar cult
Although they did not have a precise calendar, the Muisca
knew exactly the timing of the Solstice (June 21). It was
then the Day of Sue, the Sun-god. The Sue temple was in
Sogamoso, the sacred city of the Sun-god and the seat of
the Iraca (priest). The Muisca name of the city, Suamox or
Sugamuxi, means The City of the Sun. On the solstice, the
Zaque went to Suamox for a major festival. Ritual
offerings were made. It was the only day of the year when
the Zaque showed his face, as he was considered a
descendant of the Sun-god.
The statue of the Goddess of Water was carved in stone
by Bogotan sculptor María Teresa Zerda.
The Water Goddess -Sie is identified with Bachué.
Monument to Bochica in the town of Cuitiva (Boyacá).
Indigenous peoples in PeruQuechuas (also Runakuna, Kichwas, and Ingas) is the collective term
for several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, belonging to
several ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru, Ecuador,
Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina
During the pre-Columbian period, the three main linguistic groups that
dominated the territory now known as Peru were the: Quechua (who
are the majority in the Coastal and Andean regions) Jivaro, and the
Pano.
They possessed different organizational structures and distinct
languages and cultures.
Some historic Quechua peoples include:
Inca; Tawantinsuyu Empire (largest Pre-Columbian Empire)
Chancas (in Huancavelica, Ayacucho, and Apurímac, Peru);
Huancas (in Junín, Peru; spoke Quechua before the Incas did); and
Cañaris (in Ecuador; adopted the Quechua language from the Inca).
Regions :
Argentina; Bolivia; Chile;
Colombia; Peru; Bolivia; Ecuador
Languages:
Quechua languages, Spanish
Religion:
Roman Catholicism, traditional
Andean religion
Related ethnic groups: Aymaras
The Quechuas of Ecuador call themselves as well as
their language Kichwa–Kichwas or Quichuas.
Material cultureThe various Quechua ethnic groups have numerous cultural characteristics in
common. They also share many of these with the Aymara, or other
indigenous peoples of the central Andes.
Traditionally, Quechua identity is locally oriented and inseparably linked in
each case with the established economic system. It is based on agriculture
in the lower altitude regions, and on pastoral farming in the higher regions
of the Puna.
Quechua woman with llamas
(Cusco Department, Peru)
The Quechuas came to terms with their repeated historical experience of
genocide in the form of various myths:
figure of Nak'aq or Pishtaco (“butcher”);
the white murderer who sucks out the fat from the bodies of the
indigenous peoples he kills;
a song about a bloody river.
Of the myths still alive today, the Inkarrí myth common in southern Peru is especially interesting; it
forms a cultural element linking the Quechua Indians throughout the region from Ayacucho to Cusco.
Quechua woman with children
Traditional clothing
Many indigenous women wear the colorful traditional costume, complete with
bowler style hat. The hat has been worn by Quechua and Aymara women since
the 1920s, when it was brought to the country by British railway workers. They
are still commonly worn today.
The traditional dress worn by Quechua women today is a mixture of styles
from Pre-Spanish days and Spanish Colonial peasant dress.
In certain regions, women also generally wear Western-style clothing.
A woven belt called a chumpi is also worn which
provides protection to the lower back when
working in the fields. Men's fine dress includes a
woollen waistcoat, similar to a sleeveless juyuna
as worn by the women but referred to as a
chaleco. Chalecos can be richly decorated.
Older men still wear dark wool
knee-length handwoven bayeta
pants.
Younger Quechua men
generally wear Western-style
clothing, the most popular being
synthetic football shirts and
tracksuit pants.
CañarisThe Cañari were a group or confederacy of united tribes who formed a people; they inhabited the area from the limits of Azuay
to Saraguro, from the Gualaquiza mountains to the Narajal beaches and the coasts of the Jambelí canal. Within the Cañari
territory, the most important areas were Cañaribamba, Cojitambo, Chobshi, Shabalula, Molleturo, Coyoctor, Culebrillas,
Yacubiñay, Guapondelig and Hatun Cañar. After the Inca Conquest, the newcomers renamed the last two Tumebamba and
Ingapirca, respectively. Located in the present-day provinces of Azuay, Cañar, and El Oro in what is modern Ecuador, ruins and
archeological remains of Cañari and Inca cultured influence are left in many of those locations.
The Cañari people were supposed to have had a federative monarchy.
Each leader had hegemony over their individual tribe, however in certain cases the confederacy, would unite and choose a
single leader, in cases of disasters or wars.
Some held a matriarchal society. This was one of the principal reasons the Inca were able to use marriage to subjugate
them. By marrying a female leader, the Inca gained de facto power over certain Cañari.
The Cañari used a lunar calendar and built temples in circular or moon-like shapes. At Ingapirca, examples of round Cañari
buildings can be seen juxtaposed against rectangular Inca buildings.
As many as ten Cañari dialects may have survived into the current century. Any surviving speakers are
few and far between, and almost no information seems to be available about the languages or how to
speak them. Most indigenous people in Ecuador claim to speak Kichwa or Spanish.
During the Inca conquest, the Canaris learned Quechua (Kichwa), but, as always, the language of the
conquering people was enriched with many vernacular words taken from the language of the conquered
people, so the names of certain objects or places such as rivers, mountains, etc. . today hold no synonym
sense in Quechua. In this aspect we find names in many rivers, mountains and towns that have no
meaning in Quechua / Kichwa.
During Spanish colonialism a catechism was ordered to
be made in cañari language, given the need to
evangelize this population. However, no copy of it has
reached our days. With the passage of time evangelism
in the language of each people was very difficult, so it
was decreed that vernacular speaking Cañaris learn
Kichwa, propelling the language into disuse, and
obsolescence. The lack of documentation makes very
little known about this language.
Aymara people of BoliviaThe Aymara or Aimara, people are an
indigenous nation in the Andes and Altiplano
regions of South America; about 2 million live
in Bolivia, Peru and Chile.
Their ancestors lived in the region for many
centuries before becoming a subject people
of the Inca in the late 15th or early 16th
century, and later of the Spanish in the 16th
century.
With the Spanish American Wars of
Independence (1810–25), the Aymaras
became subjects of the new nations of
Bolivia and Peru.
After the War of the Pacific (1879–83), Chile
acquired territory occupied by the Aymaras.
Aymaras themselves make significant
distinctions between Bolivian and Chilean
Aymaras
Total population: 2million
Regions: Bolivia; Peru; Chile
Languages:
Aymara, Andean Spanish
Religion: Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups:
Quechuas, Urus
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Culture of Aymara
Most of contemporary Aymaran urban culture was developed in the working-
class Aymara neighborhoods of La Paz, such as Chijini and others.
Both Quechua and Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia took up the style of
wearing bowler hats since the 1920s.
*According to legend, a shipment of bowler hats was sent from Europe to
Bolivia via Peru for use by Europeans working on railroad construction.
When the hats were found to be too small, they were given to the indigenous
peoples.
The luxurious, elegant and cosmopolitan Aymara Chola dress, which is an
icon of Bolivia (bowler hat, aguayo, heavy pollera, skirts, boots, jewelry, etc.)
began and evolved in La Paz. It is an urban tradition of dress. This style of
dress has become part of ethnic identification by Aymara women.
Aymara women smile during the Miss Cholita 2013
beauty pageant in La Paz, Bolivia
The Aymaras have grown and chewed coca plants for centuries, using its
leaves in traditional medicine as well as in ritual offerings to the father
god Inti (Sun) and the mother goddess Pachamama (Earth).
During the last century, there has been conflict with state authorities over
this plant during drug wars
the officials have carried out coca eradication to prevent the
extraction and isolation of the drug cocaine.
But, the ritual use of coca has a central role in the indigenous religions of
both the Aymaras and the Quechuas. Coca is used in the ritual curing
ceremonies of the yatiri. Since the late 20th century, its ritual use has
become a symbol of cultural identity.
Argentina Argentina has 35 indigenous groups or Argentine
Amerindians or Native Argentines
(according to the Complementary Survey of the Indigenous Peoples of 2004 y.)
By the year 1500, many different indigenous communities
lived in what is now modern Argentina.
They were not a unified group but many independent ones,
with distinct languages, societies, and relations with each
other.
As a result, they did not face the arrival of the Spanish
colonization as a single block and had varied reactions
toward the Europeans.
The Spanish people looked greatly down to the indigenous
population, to the point that they held in doubt whether
they had souls, following the general thought in Europe.
For this reason, they kept very little historical information
about them.
The regions and people of Argentina
The Cuyo Area - The culture of Huarpes occupied the present provinces of
San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. They farmed, grew corn and hunted guanacos
and nandus. They worked ceramics and believed in a supreme being.
Pampa and Patagonia Region - In Pampa and Patagonia there was a large
amount of communities such as the Querandís and the Araucanians coming from
Chile, apart from the Tehuelches and the Onas in the south and the Pampas in the
center. They had common characteristics. They hunted hares, foxes, nandus and
also fished. They lived in groups led by one cacique.
The Neuquén Area - The Pehuenche culture was settled down in Neuquén,
living by hunting and gathering and they were grouped in bands made up by
families and they believed in a supreme being who dwelt beyond the sea.
The Chaco Area - In Chaco there were the Tobas, Mocovíes and Abipones.
They basically hunted and gathered. They were integrated into a system of bands
led by one cacique. The families were monogamous but polygamy was allowed to
chiefs.
The Littoral and Mesopotamian Region - The Guarani culture prevailed
in this area. They were sedentary and farming people, who lived in large houses
accommodating several families. They believed in a lost paradise where they would
return some day.
Rush Canoe. Huarpes
Pampas peoples
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Mocovíes driving horses, F. PauckePottery, Guarani
Conclusion
Indigenous people have inhabited parts of South America for at least 12,000 years, and prior to
European colonization was home to several highly sophisticated civilizations. Today, there are hundreds
of indigenous groups struggling for survival in South America, from the Yanomami of Venezuela and
Brazil to the Mapuche of Chile and Argentina to the Achuar of Ecuador and Peru. Combined, it is
estimated that there are over 21 million indigenous people from over 400 broadly defined indigenous
groups. Like their indigenous brothers and sisters, they face a number of common struggles:
sovereignty, the right to self-determination, preservation of language and heritage, rights to land and
natural resources, impacts from climate change and environmental damage, and recognition within
local, federal, and international governments and laws.
Culture and History of the Indians of South America is incredibly rich and multifaceted.
In fact, you can explore it forever.