The Years B.C. (Before Columbus)

Having learned something of Chile's recent past, we attempted to delve into its history before European discovery and settlement with a visit to the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art (museo de arte precolombino).

Bodily adornment

The museum is replete with astonishingly well preserved and presented artefacts of functional, decorative, religious, and musical purposes. Their origins come from the earliest known settlements in the areas now known as Central and South America, through the rule of the powerful Incas and Mayans, up until the ancestors of the modern Quecha and Mapuche people.

Funerary stirrup spout

Coca leaves were very important to many races in the Andean region. Coqueros (cultivators of coca) were often depicted with a lump in one cheek, formed by chewing the leaves into a ball. The lump is present even in death masks and in figures of high social status, who are recognisable from their seated position. In fact, there is an Andean tradition of sitting and authority, which even extends to the Incan gods, who had to remain motionless, lest they stand up and destroy the universe.

"Can't stand up. World will end. Can't stand up..."

The Mapuche, who were slaughtered, subjugated and dispossessed of their land by the colonising Spanish, took readily to the horses introduced by the conquistadores. Caballos were integrated with great fervour into Mapuche culture, becoming a symbol of status and prestige, and used in trade and war (often in laying siege to Spanish settlements). Horsemeat was often eaten in preference to beef and at a funeral, the deceased's best steed would be slaughtered for the feast and the remains interred with its owner. Charqui (horsemeat jerky) is still found in today's cuisine.

Figures from Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Fortunately there was no horsemeat for us today, but there was plenty of other meat at the school-organised evening asado (barbecue). Taking place on the school roof terrace, this gave us the chance to meet some of the other students at the school before starting lessons proper next week. Mercifully, the cohort included several English-speaking people who, after a week of intensive all-Spanish lessons, were gasping to speak in anything other than the language they were learning. We noshed on grilled peppers stuffed with cheese, salad, rice and salsa, while learning what lay in store for us next week.