Abstract

A set of dates, from a summary of excavations and of analyses of associated material from the upper basin of the Azapa valley, around the Tignamar River (2,800 and 3,800 masl), allows us to discuss the occurrence of socio-cultural processes, between cal. 1,500 BC-650 AD, in the Precordillera (foothills) of the far north of Chile. Defined in general based on references from other developmental nuclei, such as the coastal valleys or the high plateau, the local Formative is evaluated and discussed in light of the data obtained from three archaeological locations: Pampa El Muerto, Pampa Oxaya and Mullipungo. We suggest the continuity of mobile groups with a hunting-gathering way of life, who would have progressively incorporated ceramics and the management of animal resources, as evidenced by rock art. Consequently, the existence of a particular local historical trajectory during the Formative times is proposed for the Precordillera of Arica, in the South-Central Andes.