Definition and context of the Changos The culture originated in the 8,000-year-old
Chinchorro tradition. Due to a combination of conquest and
integration into other cultures and ethnicities, the Chango culture is now considered extinct. However, in Chile they are legally recognized as an original indigenous people since 2020, and about 4,725 people self-declare that they belong to this ethnic group. Chango culture developed adjacent to neighbouring cultures such as the
Atacameños. Chango culture is part of the
Chinchorro tradition. The Chinchorro were
hunter-fisher-gatherers with a particular reliance on the sea, who lived along the
Atacama Desert coast from at least the 8th century BC. They are of special interest to modern anthropologists due to their practice of mummifying the dead. Some older works starting with
Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna (1869) claim the Changos people extended once as far south as
Valparaíso (33° S), but clear evidence for this is lacking. One early Spanish source mention the color of the Chango's skin as red and it is possible that 16th century Changos covered their skin using red iron pigments.
Chango economy s in the Chilean port of
Huasco in the 1850s|left Chango communities were organised into either
nomadic or
sedentary groups based on nuclear family units. Each group was independent of the others, providing food and other resources for itself. The Changos were experts at exploiting the resources of the sea. Each group specialised in a particular type of fish, including
tuna,
conger eels,
mullet,
mackerel and
octopus. Rafts used for fishing developed from primitive reed constructions to craft made from three wooden planks, and later to
seal skins fastened to wooden frames. Fish were caught using nets, hooks and
harpoons. The capture of seals was of crucial importance to the Chango way of life, with every part of the animal having its uses. The meat, fat and bones were used for food and tools, the skins were used to make rafts and the intestines to make fishing equipment. As well as seal skins, the Changos used
vicuña wool, feathers, bird skins, shells and the bones and teeth of sea creatures as materials to make practical and decorative items such as clothing, blankets, tools, cutlery and jewellery. They also made and painted ceramic utensils. Despite their geographical isolation, the Changos traded with inland tribes, exchanging shellfish, dried fish, animal hide, guano, fat and shells for wool, fruit, maize and coca. Chango cave paintings include images of men hunting and fishing and sea creatures such as seals, turtles and whales. By 1835 it was reported by
Alcide d'Orbigny that Changos living next to
Cobija engaged in smuggling of
Bolivian silver using their rafts to reach anchored ships. == Language ==