El dominio del Inka, identidad local y complejidad social en las tierras altas del desierto de Atacama, Norte Grande de Chile (1450-1541 d.C.)

Abstract

The Inka’s Dominion, Local Identity and Social Complexity in the Highland of Atacama’s Desert, Chile´s Norte Grande (1450-1541 AD)

This paper presents our approach to the Tawantinsuyo expansionism in the highlands of Atacama Desert (Northern Chile), in which we suggest an alternative view to the traditional idea of a weak or indirect Inka presence in the Atacamenian territory. Therefore, we show the evidence and arguments that represent the politics, economic and ethnic complexity development when the empire had contact with the populations from the chilean desert. We concentrate in the case of San Pedro de Atacama, because it had been a point of reference to the archaeological understanding of groups that lived in its highlands, but the history is poorly known. In particular the convergence of the study of Atacamenian and Inca people in San Pedro, like in others parts of this space, allows to appreciate best the elements that characterize the social complexity of this local development.