Chinchorro culture

Chinchorro culture appears on the timeline as a people or culture of Southern Cone (South America) from c. 3200 to 1500 BCE, a span of more than 1,700 years. Its people spoke Unknown or undeciphered languages (Indus, Minoan, Moche, Nazca, Chavin, Jomon and other unattested languages).

Fishers of the Atacama coast of northern Chile and southern Peru who began making artificial mummies around 5000 BCE, about two thousand years before the Egyptians.

See Chinchorro culture on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates: c. 3200 to 1500 BCE
Duration: more than 1,700 years
Type: People or culture
Region: Southern Cone, South America
Language family: Unknown or undeciphered

Events in South America during its time

3300 BCE Earliest known use of cacao
2600 BCE Caral builds the first cities of the Americas

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

Minoan civilization c. 3100 to 1450 BCE, Europe
Shang dynasty c. 1600 to 1046 BCE, East Asia
Old Kingdom of Egypt c. 2686 to 2181 BCE, North and West Africa
New Kingdom of Egypt c. 1550 to 1069 BCE, North and West Africa
Old Babylonian Empire 1894 to 1595 BCE, Middle East
Akkadian Empire c. 2334 to 2154 BCE, Middle East

Questions

When did Chinchorro culture exist?

c. 3200 to 1500 BCE, about more than 1,700 years. These dates are approximate, because the evidence for its beginning or end is uncertain.

Where was Chinchorro culture?

Southern Cone, in South America.

What language did Chinchorro culture speak?

Unknown or undeciphered. This family includes Indus, Minoan, Moche, Nazca, Chavin, Jomon and other unattested languages.