University of Exeter archaeologist uncovers ancient hunting traps high in Chile’s Andes

Satellite imagery has revealed a vast network of ancient stone hunting traps high in the Andes, in a discovery led by a University of Exeter archaeologist that could reshape understanding of early life in Northern Chile.

Dr Adrián Oyaneder, from Exeter’s Department of Archaeology and History, identified 76 funnel-shaped stone structures known as ‘chacus’ (some stretching hundreds of metres) that were likely built to capture ‘vicuña’, a wild relative of the alpaca. 

The research, published in the journal Antiquity, suggests that these complex traps may predate those used by the Inkas, providing new insight into how ancient hunter-gatherer and pastoralist communities interacted with their environment.

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Dr Oyaneder said: “My reaction when I saw the first chacu was to double and even triple check it. Initially, I thought it was a unique find, but as the survey progressed, I realised they were everywhere in the highlands and in a quantity never previously recorded in the Andes.”

 Dr Oyaneder examined 4,600 square kilometres of the Camarones River Basin using publicly available satellite data, focusing on upland areas that had received little previous archaeological attention. Within four months, he had identified hundreds of new sites, including settlements, outposts, and the distinctive stone traps

Most of the chacus are V-shaped, formed by two stone walls about 1.5 metres high and 150 metres long, narrowing into an enclosure roughly 95 square metres in size and two metres deep, enough to trap animals driven into them by hunters. Many were built on steep slopes at altitudes where vicuña typically roam, using natural features to complete the funnel-like structures.

Alongside the hunting traps, Dr Oyaneder recorded nearly 800 small-scale settlements ranging from single-room buildings to clusters of up to nine structures. Using GIS mapping, he found these were often located close to chacus, suggesting the area supported a network of short-term and seasonal camps for hunting and pastoral activity.

Dr Oyaneder explained: “The picture that emerges is of a landscape occupied by a range of human groups from at least 6000 B.C. to the 18th century. These groups moved strategically across the highlands, tethered primarily to hunting resources, particularly vicuña. The evidence indicates overlapping lifestyles combining foraging, herding, and early agriculture.”

The findings challenge long-held assumptions that hunting and gathering declined significantly after 2000 B.C. in this part of South America, when domesticated crops and animals became more widespread.

Dr Oyaneder’s work also highlights discrepancies between archaeological and historical records, including colonial-era Spanish tax documents that describe foraging populations known as “Uru” or “Uro” still living in the region centuries later.

The study, “A tethered hunting and mobility landscape in the Andean highlands of the Western Valleys, northern Chile”, was supported by the Becas Chile-ANID doctoral scholarships programme and a FONDECYT project led by Dr Daniela Valenzuela of Universidad de Tarapacá.

Dr Oyaneder is now continuing research to date the sites and determine whether these chacus represent the earliest known examples of such hunting systems in the Andes.