Óxidos de manganeso en el extremo norte de Chile: Abastecimiento, producción y movilidad del color negro durante el periodo arcaico

Abstract

Evidence of the use of manganese oxides in the northernmost area of Chile has been dated as early as the Archaic Period (ca. 11,500-4,000 cal. BP). In the lowland coastal zone and valleys, this material is usually associated with the hunting, gathering and fishing Chinchorro groups that used this substance in the processes of artificial mummification as well as for naturally mummifies corpses. In the highlands, manganese oxide has been identified in rock shelters occupied by highland hunter-gatherer and used in rock art painting, attributed to this period. Additionally, the geology of the region indicates that manganese oxides would have come from the highlands. Given this set of information, and the results of the elemental analyses of pigments and paints from archaeological context, we discuss about the production or "chaîne opératoire" of black color from manganese ore, the cryptomelane. Also, different alternatives of procurement and mobility of manganese oxides developed by archaic societies from this region are proposed.