Archeology in the inland sea of ​​Última Esperanza (Magallanes, Chile)

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These indigenous populations are, in addition, one of the few human groups that maintained until recent times a hunter-fisher-gatherer way of life focused on the resources of the sea, characterized by high mobility on their canoes. This earned them the name “canoeers” , or more poetically, “nomads of the sea” . Today, these communities are recognized ethnically and linguistically as Kawésqar , in the western archipelagos of Fuego-Patagonia, and Yagán , in the southeastern sector of Tierra del Fuego.

In 2018 we began an archaeological project in the so-called “inland sea of ​​Última Esperanza” (Magallanes region, Chile). The project started from a collaboration between Chilean-Catalan researchers BTC Users Number Data from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Magallanes-GAIA Antarctic Research Center (GAIA-UMAG), later joined by other international institutions, such as the Austral Research Center Scientific (Ushuaia, Argentina) or the HERCULES Laboratory-University of Évora (Portugal). The project has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation-Archaeological Excavations Abroad, the PALARQ Foundation (Spain) and the Prisma Austral Foundation (Chile). It is worth highlighting the collaboration of the Kawésqar community of Puerto Edén (Magallanes, Chile). This has resulted both in the participation of its members in archaeological work and in the carrying out of educational and dissemination activities in Puerto Edén by the research team.



The first archaeological works in Fuego-Patagonia date back to 1930. In recent decades, research has developed considerably, although focused on certain areas, often the most accessible, such as the central area of ​​the Strait of Magellan or the northern coast of the Beagle Channel. . Only occasionally have explorations or excavations been carried out on islands and channels outside these areas, mainly due to the costs involved in material terms by requiring a suitable vessel.

Thus, our project arose with a double motivation. On the one hand, the archaeological study of practically unknown areas such as the inland sea of ​​Última Esperanza allows us to reconstruct the ancient history of canoe communities and understand the different social and economic strategies developed by hunter-gatherer groups for thousands of years.