Marcela Sepúlveda

Capacocha was a key Inca state rite that intertwined pilgrimage, sacrifice, and imperial incorporation across the Andes. We present a multianalytical investigation into two Capacocha cases from the western slope of the Andes: Cerro Esmeralda, located in the coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile, and Cerro El Plomo, in the high mountains of central Chile. Stable isotope analysis reveals commensality practices during the pilgrimage, integrating local communities into the imperial order. Furthermore, computed tomography, dermatoscopy, and skin histology provide new evidence regarding the causes and mechanisms of death, identifying violent acts associated with sacrifice. Last, we present a pair of radiocarbon dates to discuss the chronology of both Capacocha contexts. In sum, these practices specify the materialization of Inca statecraft and contribute to characterizing the complexity and diversity of Capacocha ritual as an extension of the Inca biopolitical conquest.

El artículo presenta los resultados del estudio de las pinturas rupestres de estilo Santa Bárbara II (950-1550 DC) en el sitio Santa Bárbara-110 (Alto Loa) desde la perspectiva de la tecnología del color. Se ofrecen los datos obtenidos in situ a partir del análisis colorimétrico y fisicoquímico elemental, realizado con un equipo portátil de fluorescencia de rayos X (FRX), y en laboratorio, a través de la caracterización molecular mediante espectroscopía Raman y microscópica con un microscopio electrónico de barrido acoplado a un sistema de detección por dispersión de rayos X (MEB-EDX) sobre micromuestras. Junto con presentar la primera datación por radiocarbono C14-AMS del interior del desierto de Atacama y la información visual y contextual, se discuten las implicancias de dos tecnologías del color como formas y expresiones de encuentro en el sitio Santa Bárbara-110 durante los tiempos prehispánicos tardíos (1350-1550 DC).

Photographed over more than two decades, alterations to the Alto Caramucho geoglyphs in the Atacama Desert show the unfolding of a heritage disaster. This article presents research that integrates new digital technologies (photogrammetry and artificial intelligence) for the evaluation and documentation of the deterioration of the geoglyphs.

80 years of Chilean rock art research, from its early descriptive stages in the 1940s to the present-day integration of relational ontologies, archaeometric techniques, and interdisciplinary perspectives, is reviewed. 562 publications are analysed, covering four major regions: the Arid North, Semi-Arid North, South-Central, and Southernmost Chile. Drawing from a systematically constructed corpus, we trace the evolution of research questions, theoretical orientations, and methodologies over time, with attention to regional trends and institutional dynamics. Results reveal a gradual shift from typological classification toward more complex approaches addressing mobility, landscape, coloniality, visual agency, and human/non-human relationships. The Arid North emerges as the primary centre of innovation, while southern regions remain in exploratory stages despite recent advances. Comparison with global research trajectories shows how Chile’s situated approaches—marked by decentralisation, theoretical pluralism, and critical reflection—contribute to decolonial and southern perspectives in rock art studies. Rather than reproducing hegemonic models, Chilean scholarship offers alternative epistemologies rooted in context-specific materiality and historical processes. The review highlights the potential of Chilean rock art research to expand the theoretical and methodological horizons of the discipline, positioning it as a fertile field for dialogue with contemporary archaeology and global visual studies.

A multi-instrumental and non-destructive approach was used to integrally analyze four archaeological textiles from the Pre-Columbian Playa Miller-3 funerary site (1100–1450 AD) located on the coast of the Atacama Desert. The protocol included a fiber washing process with a dilute Triton X100 surfactant to remove the excess metallic components and impurities adhered to the surface of the dyed fibers. The use of animal fibers was confirmed via optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and comparing the elemental profiles of washed and unwashed textile fibers with those of soils from the archaeological site, we obtained elemental information related to potential mordants used in the dyeing process and detected the presence of bromine in some textile samples. Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) using gold nanostructures identified the use of carminic acid and suggested a dye mixture composed of cochineal (carminic acid) and shellfish purple (dibromoindigo), which has not been previously reported for the Atacama Desert. This work provides new insights into pre-Columbian ancestral knowledge involved in the textile technology of the coastal population from this southern Andean region.

The participation of women archaeologists in the FONDECYT Regular, Initiation, and Postdoctoral programs is reviewed and evaluated as the primary source of financing for basic sciences in Chile. Originating 40 years ago, the program has been strengthened over the years by creating programs that have contributed to financing projects of young researchers in the last 20 years. Data collected from the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) has been analyzed quantitatively, with additional qualitative insights gathered from interviews with women archaeology researchers. In summary, it is evident that women’s participation in the field remains relatively low. However, their presence has been consistent over the last 40 years and is observed across the entire country. In recent decades, it has been recognized that women tend to choose a longer path into research, including postdoctoral and initiation stages, compared to men. Although it is not possible to evaluate the impact of specific gender policies in science in Chile, it is observed that the creation of programs aimed at supporting the research of young archaeologists has had a positive effect.

Resumen: La agricultura fue una actividad fundamental de las comunidades aldeanas de las tierras altas de Arica en los Andes centro sur, durante el período Intermedio tardío (1100-1450 dC), hasta convertirse en uno de los principales propósitos de la expansión inca en la región en los siglos quince y dieciséis. Este trabajo presenta el hallazgo, en la cuenca alta del Valle de Azapa, de maquetas o infraestructuras agrícolas grabadas en miniatura. Caracterizamos sus formas y soportes, examinamos su distribución en los territorios tardíos de la región y las contrastamos a macroescala regional con evidencias similares. Finalmente, discutimos su vínculo con el flujo de conocimientos y experiencias relativos al manejo del agua y la topografía, junto con la ritualización del paisaje agrícola en tiempos incas.

The article explores advanced image processing techniques for pigment discrimination in rock art paintings, emphasizing color separation using RGB (red, green, blue) and LHC_Uv (Luminance, Hue, Chroma) imagery. It highlights the use of dimensionality reduction methods such as Principal Components Analisys PCA and Independent Component Analysis (ICA), with a focus on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) for probabilistic classification of image elements. This approach, applied to the Chomache archaeological site on the northernmost coast of the Atacama Desert in Chile, reveals previously undetected motifs and details, offering a nuanced perspective in rock art documentation and analysis. This proposal reinforces the value of rock art panel not only as a finished product but as a process.

We present the results of the excavations and analyses of the diverse and exceptional archaeological assemblage of Taguatagua 3, a new late Pleistocene site located in the ancient Tagua Tagua lake in Central Chile (34°S). The anthropogenic context is constrained in a coherently dated stratigraphic deposit which adds new information about the mobility, subsistence strategies, and settlement of the early hunter-gatherers of southern South America. The age model constructed, as well as radiocarbon dates obtained directly from a combustion structure, indicate that the human occupation occurred over a brief time span around 12,440–12,550 cal yr BP. Considering taphonomic, geoarchaeological, lithic, archaeobotanical, and zooarchaeological evidence, as well as the spatial distribution combined with ethnographic data, we interpret Taguatagua 3 as a logistic and temporary camp associated mainly with gomphothere hunting and butchering. Nevertheless, several other activities were carried out here as well, such as hide and/or bone preparation, small vertebrate and plant processing and consumption, and red ochre grinding. Botanical and eggshell remains suggest that the anthropic occupation occurred during the dry season. Considering the contemporaneous sites recorded in the basin, we conclude that the ancient Tagua Tagua lake was a key location along the region’s early hunter-gatherer mobility circuits. In this context, it acted as a recurrent hunting/scavenging place during the Late Pleistocene due to its abundant, diverse, and predictable resources.