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PRIMITIVE
INHABITANTS
The first inhabitants of Patagonia were the Chonik, whose imposing physical contexture led others to call them Patagones. Currently, they are identified according to ethnic groups, being the "Tehuelches" the most well known. The Tehuelches were nomads who based their economy on gathering fruits and hunting guanacoes and nandues. The first appearance of the white man in the lands of the Chubut area was in 1536 when Simón de Alcazabal obtained the rights over the Province of Nueva León. Near the end of the 17th century, the San José Fort was built in Península Valdés, with the objective of solidifying Spanish dominance over these lands, but the fort was destroyed 30 years later. The archaeological discoveries (The Caves of the Painted Hands, the La María area) have proven that this section of southern Patagonia was populated approximately 13,000 years ago by the Tehuelche Indians and their ancestral tribes. These lands were discovered in 1520 by an expedition lead by Don Hernando de Magallanes, while searching for a route around the world. This expedition named the region with the name of the Patagones due to the type of foot-wear used by these natives which left enormous tracks and which were increased even more in size by the effects of the snow and the wind. The Tehuelches all spoke the same language but with different dialects. The three main subgroups were the Aonikenk, in Santa Cruz, the Gunun-a-Kena which inhabited the center of Chubut and Tandil, and the Chehuache-Kenk, who inhabited areas close to the mountains. They were mainly hunters, but also lived from fishing and gathering food, although their basic food source was the guanaco and the nandu. Their clothing consisted of guanco skins and their adornment consisted of feathers and paint. They had a rich mythology and the witch doctors were divine intermediaries. They had a good relation with the white conquerors, although the arrival of these led the Indians to a slow extinction. EXPEDITIONS 1520: The expedition of Don Hernando de Magallanes which leads them, for the first time, around the world. They discover Patagonian territories, sighting land in the coasts of Puerto Deseado. 1576: The privateer Francis Drake lands in the Patagonian coasts and manages, after a troublesome trip, to cross Magellan's Strait with his flagship, Golden Hind.
1745 /7: The Spanish ship San Antonio navigates through the region with the Jesuits, José Quiroga, Matías Strobel and José Cardiel on board, who were looking for adecuate places to establish Christian missions.
1834: Under the direction of the capitan of the Beagle, Roberto Fitz Roy, there was an exploration of the Santa Cruz River, finding in the mountain range Cerro Chaltén, later named Fitz Roy in honor of this great sea-man. In this exploration, Charles Darwin formed a part of the crew. 1867: Capitan Luis Piedra Buena organized an expedition to find a pass in order to get to the Pacific, which led to the discovery of Lake Argentino. 1876-1877: Carlos Moyano and Francisco Moreno made the first exploratory trip through the Santa Cruz River. Moreno baptized the lake, as Lake Argentino, which gives origin to the river. This expedition allowed them to obtain more information about Lake Argentino. 1879: The glacier Perito Moreno is seen for the first time by the capitan of the Chilean navy, Juan Tomás Rogers, who named it "Francisco Gormaz". Later, it would be called Bismark in honor of the Prussian Chancellor. In 1899, it received its definitive name, in honor of Perito Moreno. 1928: Gunter Pluschow makes the first mail air-flight to Ushuaia. At the request of the Argentine Cartography Institute, he also made exploratory trips over the Patagonian mountain range. |
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Email:
patagonia@aonikenk.com.ar |