Fuegians

The name "Tierra del Fuego" may refer to the fact that both Selkʼnam and Yahgan had their fires burn in front of their huts (or in the hut). In Magellan's time Fuegians were more numerous, and the light and smoke of their fires presented an impressive sight if seen from a ship or another island. Yahgan also used fire to send messages by smoke signals, for instance if a whale drifted ashore. The large amount of meat required notification of many people, so that it would not decay. They might also have used smoke signals on other occasions, but it is possible that Magellan saw the smokes or lights of natural phenomena. == History ==

Origin Alongside the Pericúes of Baja California, the Fuegians and Patagonians show the strongest evidence of partial descent from the Paleoamerican lineage, a proposed early wave of migration to the Americas derived from an Australo-Melanesian population, as opposed to the main Amerind peopling of the Americas of Siberian (admixed Ancient North Eurasian and Paleo-East Asian) descent. Further credibility is lent to this idea by research suggesting the existence of an ethnically distinct population elsewhere in South America. According to archaeologist Ricardo E. Latcham the sea-faring nomads of Patagonia (Chono, Kawésqar, Yahgan) may be remnants from more widespread indigenous groups that were pushed south by "successive invasions" from more northern nations. Alternative origin speculations However these previous claims were refuted by multiple genetic and anthropologic studies, such as one study published in Nature in 2018 which concluded that all Native Americans descended from a single founding population which initially split from East Asians BC, with geneflow between Ancestral Native Americans and Siberians persisting until BC, before becoming isolated in the Americas at BC. Northern and Southern Native American subpopulations split from each other at BC. There is also some evidence for a back-migration from the Americas into Siberia after BC. Another study published in Nature in 2021, which analysed a large amount of ancient genomes, similarly concluded that all Native Americans descended from the movement of people from Northeast Asia into the Americas. These Ancestral Americans, once south of the continental ice sheets, spread and expanded rapidly, and branched into multiple groups, which later gave rise to the major subgroups of Native American populations. The study also dismissed the existence of an hypothetical distinct non-Native American population (suggested to have been related to Indigenous Australians and Papuans), sometimes called "Paleoamerican". The authors explained that these previous claims were based on a misinterpreted genetic echo, which was revealed to represent early East-Eurasian geneflow (close but distinct to the 40,000 BC old Tianyuan lineage) into Aboriginal Australians and Papuans. with a killed Selkʼnam. In the late 19th century some estancieros and gold prospectors launched a campaign of extermination against the indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego. European contact When Chileans and Argentines of European descent studied, invaded and settled on the islands in the mid-19th century, they brought with them diseases such as measles and smallpox for which the Fuegians had no immunity. The Fuegian population was devastated by the diseases, and their numbers were reduced from several thousand in the 19th century to hundreds in the 20th century. In 1876 a serious smallpox epidemic decimated the Fuegians. Between 1881 and 1883 the Yahgan population dropped from perhaps 3,000 to only 1,000 due to measles and smallpox. As early as 1878 Europeans in Punta Arenas seeking additional sheep pastures negotiated to acquire large tracts of land on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from the Chilean government just prior to Argentina's and Chile's sovereignty there. The United States Exploring Expedition came in contact with the Fuegians in 1839. One member of the expedition called the Fuegians the "greatest mimics I ever saw." Selkʼnam genocide The Selkʼnam genocide was authorized and conducted by the estancieros that between 1884 and 1900 murdered many of the indigenous population . and probably made more vulnerable to disease by the crash of their main meat supplies (whales and seals) due to the actions of European and American fleets. == Culture ==

The principal differences in language, habitat, and adaptation techniques did not promote contacts, although eastern Yahgan groups had exchange contacts with the Selkʼnam. Although the Fuegians were all hunter-gatherers, their material culture was not homogeneous: the big island and the archipelago made two different adaptations possible. Some of the cultures were coast-dwelling, while others were land-oriented. Neither was restricted to Tierra del Fuego: • The coast provided fish, sea birds, otters, seals, and sometimes also whales. Yahgan got their sustenance this way. Kawésqar (living in the Strait of Magellan and some islands), and Chono (living further to the north, on Chilean coasts and archipelagos) were similar. • Selkʼnam lived on the inland plain of the big island of Tierra del Fuego, communally hunting herds of guanaco. All Fuegian nations had a nomadic lifestyle, and did not need permanent shelters. The guanaco-hunting Selkʼnam made their huts out of stakes, dry sticks, and leather. They broke camp and carried their things with them, and wandered following the hunting and gathering possibilities. The coastal Yahgan and Kawésqar also changed their camping places, traveling by birchbark canoes. Gender There is a belief in both the Selkʼnam and Yahgan nations that women used to rule over men in ancient times, The patrilineal Selkʼnam and the composite band society Yahgan reacted very differently to the Europeans and it has been suggested that this was due to these facets of their cultural structure. Mythology There are some correspondences or putative borrowings between the Yahgan and Selkʼnam mythology. The hummingbird was an animal revered by the Yahgan, and in the Taiyin creation myth explaining the creation of the archipelago's water system, the culture hero "Taiyin" is portrayed in the guise of a hummingbird. A Yahgan myth, "The egoist fox", features a hummingbird as a helper and has some similarities to the Taiyin-myth of the Selkʼnam. Similar remarks apply to the myth about the big albatross: it shares identical variants for both nations. Some examples of myths having shared or similar versions in both nations are: • the myth about a sea lion and his [human] wife; • the myth about the origin of death. At least three Fuegian nations had myths about culture heroes. Yahgan have dualistic myths about the two yoalox-brothers (). They act as culture heroes, and sometimes stand in an antagonistic relation to each other, introducing opposite laws. Their figures can be compared to the Selkʼnam Kwanyip-brothers. In general, the presence of dualistic myths in two compared cultures does not necessarily imply relatedness or diffusion. Some myths also feature shaman-like figures with similarities in the Yahgan and Selkʼnam nations. The abundant and nutritious Patagonian blennie (Eleginops maclovinus) was apparently not consumed and rock art suggests it may have had some religious significance. Shamanism Both Selkʼnam and Yahgan had persons filling in shaman-like roles. The Selkʼnam believed their xon () to have supernatural capabilities, e.g. to control weather and to heal. The figure of xon appeared in myths, too. The Yahgan yekamush () corresponds to the Selkʼnam xon. For example, the body of the Selkʼnam xon lay undisturbed while it was believed that he travelled and achieved wonderful deeds (e.g. taking revenge on a whole group of peoples). == See also ==