Abstract

Investigating droving is a way of understanding the economic-social dynamics of a territory in its internal and external connections. This is particularly true for the period before to the incorporation of modern means of transportation, but it remains so far, although in a more restricted way and for specific cases. We investigate the development of droving in the current region of Antofagasta between 18th and 20th centuries using ethnographic, documentary and archaeological sources. In this article, we show how the articulation of sources allows filling gaps, complementing each other and inspiring hypotheses through concrete examples. From our perspective, analyzing the region of Antofagasta as a vital space of local, regional and transnational articulation contributes to the discussion of the persistent imaginary that inscribes it in the notion of Despoblado de Atacama.