Introduction
Foraging societies of South America reside in vastly differing environments, from the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin to the plains and coastal climates of Tierra del Fuego. Hunter-gatherers living in South America exhibit diverse cultures and economies; adapting unique responses to the varying environmental conditions of the continent. South American foraging societies vary in population size, ranging from 15 up to 600 individuals, level of complexity, and kinship patterns (Martin 1969).
Map from http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/maps/map/T048694A.gif
Groups
M. Kay Martin (1969:245) provides a list of 33 South American foraging societies.
Abipon, Alaculuf, Ashluslay, Chamacoco, Charrua, Chiricoa, Chono, Choroti, Guahibo, Guato, Guayaki (Ache), Hiwi, Kaskiha, Lengua, Lengua-Enimago, Lule-Vilelans, Maca, Mataco, Mbaya, Mocovi, Mura, Nambicuara, Ona (Selk'nam), Payagua, Puri-Coroado, Puelche, Querandi, Siriono, Tehuelche, Tupians, Warrau, Yahgan, Yaruro, Zamuco.
To illustrate the diversity in South American foragers, we will discuss the Ache, Hiwi, Selk'nam and Yahgan. This was not an in-depth study, but is mean to highlight the uniqueness of these cultures. The Ache are a part time foraging society, the Hiwi are full time foragers, and the Selk'nam and Yahgan are extinct foraging groups. These cultures show a portion the plethora of diversity in the area.
The Aché
The Aché are a group of hunter-gatherers who lived and foraged in the forests of eastern Paraguay but now can be found living in a number of settlements through out eastern Paraguay. The Aché are split into four groups depending on the region they once inhabited: Northern Aché (about 459 individuals according to a 1987 census), Yvytyruzu Aché (87 individuals), Ypety Aché (30 individuals), Nacunday Aché (38 individuals). The earliest recorded contact between the Aché and the outside world was in the 1600’s from contact with Jesuit missionaries which was followed by 20th century contact from historians and ethnographers in the 1960’s who referred to the Aché as the Guayaki. Today the Aché are one of the most well-known foraging societies in the scientific and anthropological world, with a mass of published articles about their behavior and ecology.
The Hiwi
The Hiwi are located in the modern countries of Columbia and Venezuela. The Hiwi inhabit the seasonal neotropical savannas contiguous to the Cinaruco River. This area is made up of mostly grasslands with a few belts of gallery forests. The neotropical savannas in which they live have two major seasons, the rainy season and the dry season. In the 1970s the population of Hiwi foragers was estimated at around 800 individuals. The Hiwi have long lasting monogamous marriages. Their resources are preferably shared within the nuclear family or between close kin groups. Meat consists of 68 percent of the diet and roots are 19 percent. Diseases and pathogens are most responsible for deaths of the young and old; however, violence and accidents were the most common deaths in children and young adults. The Hiwi show faster childhood growth rates and reach sexual maturity at an earlier age because of the high young mortality.
Peoples of Tierra del Fuego Islands - "Fuegians"
Termed the "Land of Fire" by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520 due to the plumes of smoke from signal fires set by inhabitants to warn of the Spaniard explorers presence. Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago on the southern-most tip of South America, separated from the continent by the Strait of Magellan and part of Patagonia. Tierra del Fuego is politically shared by Chile and Argentina, the western portion is part of the Magallanes y Antártica Chilena Region and the eastern portion is part of the Tierra del Fuego Province. Part of subpolar oceanic climate, the islands experience short summers and long winters. And the typography ranges from tundra, forest, steppe plains and semi-desert.
Humans are estimated to have migrated from the continent to Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (Great Island) around 11,000 BP. Such migration is believed to have been a gradual dispersion and not intentional. Initial peoples engaged in a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and became completely isolated due to the final inundulation of the Strait of Magellan by the sea around 8000 BP (Borrerro 1997:62). However, there is disagreement as to whether the original inhabitants are the ancestors of the Selk'nam, Yaghan, Aónikenk, and Kawéskar, or if the Fuegians were descendants from a later migration. Support for this second theory was posited due to the lack of archaeological sites from 9000 to 2500 BP. After 2500 BP evidence supports a second colonization of the island. Whenever the ancestors of the known peoples of Isla Grande migrated, their descendants engaged in a lifestyle that had adapted to exploit the resources of Tierra del Fuego over thousands of years.
Map from The Ona (Selk'nam) People by George Weber
The Selk'nam (Ona)
The "foot people" of Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego Islands who resided on the island for at least 1000 years until European contact decimated the population during the first half of the 20th Century. The last Selk'nam to have lived traditionally died in the 1967, while another Selk'nam woman who remembered the genealogical history and lives of the Selk'nam died in 1974. Both women worked extensively with anthropologist Anne MacKaye Chapman in the last years of their lives and provided much to the historical and ethnographic record of the now culturally extinct society.
The Yahgan
The 19th Century Yahgan occupied the southern coast of the Isla Grande from approximately the eastern end of Beagle Channel to Brecknock peninsula, encompassing the island south of this line to Cape Horn. The Yahgan or "canoe indians" of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego were the southernmost people in the world living at the south side of the island. Spending much of their time on the sea, the Yahgan resided and adapted to the rocky coastal and mountain environment.
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