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Argentina: Cuyo - La Rioja
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a Rioja, the barren abundance.
In the northeast of the country, on the foot of the Mountain range, the Rioja is one of the most barren provinces and less populated with the country. "In the Rioja the tracks of two ancient histories are conjugated: The one of the planet and of the humanity. It makes tens of millions of years, great part of this colored earth was covered by the sea: Submarine fossils of plants and animals are the testimony. Also strong foldings, with plates whose edges rose until being almost verticals. A sample of it is the Provincial Park Talampaya that contains huge farallones of earth bermeja of the geologic layer of Paganzo. In this zone important archaeological rest of primitive art exist made by the natives prehistoric, who began to populate this region does about 10 thousand years. Then rains were abundant, the rich fauna and the flora and the life of the hunters and recolectores relatively bearable. Of it the petroglifos speak that in the rustic one rocosidad of these places today perpetuates what probably they were important ritual centers ".
The Diaguitas which they inhabited the northwest of Argentina, belonged to the group of the Cacanos, formed by the calchaquíes, Diaguitas and Pulares. First they were to the south of Salta and some parts of Catamarca and Tucumán, the seconds mainly in Catamarca and the Rioja, and the Pulares lived in Salta.
The name of Diaguitas - that in quechua it means "serranos" - was imposed by Incas, with whom they were very related culturally, although its language was cacá or cacana. The cacique distributed earth and organized the construction and the care of the terraces of slope culture of the mountain. They worked the Earth in common and part kept of the harvest in the communal deposits. They cultivated zapallos, porotos, red peppers, maize and collected wild fruits like the carob bean. Also they raised flames and alpacas, mainly in the high zones and you cold.
The Diaguitas made wonders with the ceramics. Each family made her pots, pitchers and vasijas. In addition, there were specialized craftsmen who made true works of art, like the funeral ballot boxes, where they buried to his deads. Some of these ballot boxes were decorated to all color.
The metallurgy also was excellent since they not only knew to use the different metals but that also they created mixtures of these. The copper and the bronze were used but also they used gold and the silver.
They lived in villages, throughout valleys and broken of the region, forming parcialidades with particular names. They raised its small villages in little accessible sites of valleys. The form of the houses was rectangular and the walls were constructed without mortar.
They were of regulating stature. Men and women used like clothes a species of long shirt with or without sleeves. They wore ojotas and they made use of the hairband with which they held on the forehead pens of birds. Their personal adornments consisted of pens, bracelets, pectoral of silver and sometimes diademas of silver and gold.
They used the long hair that braided and gathered in form of moños or buns. Their arms military were the arc and the arrow.
Near the 1000 DC., the societies of the northwest they are characterized by a strong population increase and the appearance of mighty societies that had controlled territories affluent and defended.
When the Spaniards entered the territory of present Argentina they made contact with enemy with native groups that had diverse degrees of development, among them in the zone the northwest with the diaguitas.
Soon of the discovery of America in 1492 one began the conquest and colonization of these territories, being its fundamental objective, to obtain precious metals and to expand the catholic faith.
In spite of being inferior in number, the Spaniards achieveed a full success thanks to their firearms, the horses and armors.
Other factors that contributed to the Spanish victory were the surprise that caused between the natives who took them by Gods.
The 20 of May of 1591, Juan Ramirez de Velazco, with the purpose of settling down a seat strategic to fight the natives, founds All the Saints of the New Rioja (present the Rioja).
This name was put in tribute to the old Spanish region of the same name.
When the founder drew up the grid of the city, he reserved some spaces for the religious orders: franciscanos, mercedarios, Dominican and jesuitas, and destined a lot in front of the greater seat for the First Church dedicated to San Pedro Martyr.
Given its proximity to the mining deposits of Famatina, the city became, during the time of the Colony, one of most important for the socioeconomic movement.
The abundant existing indigenous population in the zone was distributed by the founder in charges. The natives distributed in different regions from the country were near 11,000.
With the voice quechua Tinkunaco, (that means encounter, fusion or mixes) the La Rioja they reviven annually, the events happened in the Passover of 1593, when the Diaguitas not supporting plus badly the treatment of the Spaniards, solved to attack the city. The arms bet in the fort of the Padercitas were insufficient to resist attack of around 9,000 Indians lead by 45 caciques of other so many towns.
Before this situation the Spaniards resorted to the offices of San Francisco Solano, who managed to restore La Paz.
In1632 and the 1636 great rise of the Chelemín cacique against the conquerors spoiled the inicipiente development of the province. The Spaniards lost most of their cattle and to the entrusted Indians, he bases of his economy.
The foundation of Catamarca facilitated to the Las Riojan the communication with Tucumán, but the water shortage limited the expansion of its cotton fields and vineyards.
In second half of century XVIII it took Chilecito importance, organized community around the Property Santa Rita and who a century later would surpass to the own capital in population.
The greater population growth of the province took place during century XIX.  |
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