Abstract

The purpose of this work is to briefly reconstruct the extractive history of the main benthic resources present in the Chilean seas since prehistoric times to the present, highlighting the economic and cultural transformations associated with the installation of the market economy in the territory. A qualitative methodology is used, where archaeological, documentary and ethnographic sources are crossed. For this analysis we have taken into consideration the historical zones of artisanal exploitation of these resources, such as the archipelagos of Calbuco and Chiloé, in the south, and the cove of Los Vilos, in the central-northern zone.