The Indigenous History of El Salvador

Early Brasil First Peoples Site is Linked to Sites in Chile

Lapa do Boquete is a Paleolithic site dating to about 10,070 BCE; one of the earlies in South America. It is located in eastern Brasil just off the São Francisco River, navigable year-round to the Atlantic Ocean. Lapa do Boquete is on the Peruaçu River, which drains into the São Francisco a few kilometers downstream from the site. There are canyons and caves along the Peruaçu. There are many rock paintings in the area. The area was occupied for several thousand years. The plant and animal remains and the cave paintings are well preserved within the dry caves.

The São Francisco River is navigable for about 300 km upstream from the Peruaçu. It is the longest river entirely in Brasil and the fourth longest river in South America. Its indigenous
name is Opara. It drains into the Atlantic about 100 kilometers northeast of Aracaju. The place names around the Lapa do Boquete site reveal that it is part of the Monte Verde, Chile, linguistic-cultural complex, like early sites in Taima-taima, Venezuela, Tocancipa, Colombia, and Taltal, northern Chile, as well as Bariloche, Argentina. In fact, the place names indicate a special connection with Taltal in particular. This connection makes it highly probable that the settlers of Lapa do Boquete left Taltal, journeyed south by boat along the Chile coast, around Cape Horn, and then northeast along the coasts of present-day Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. They finally arrived moving upstream along the São Francisco River.

Three place names will be looked at: Opara, the indigenous name for the São Francisco River; Itacarambi, a town along the Opara north of Lapa; and Jatobá, a town on the Opara south of Lapa.

In order to evaluate the meanings of these place names, I will use a modern Ch'orti' dictionary. Ch'orti' is the closest language to the root language of the Maya and still contains many of the basic cognates in common with the language brought over by boat from east Asia.

Opara - The indigenous name of the São Francisco River

O - No meaning. Probably added later
Parar - latticed

Opara likely means "latticed" or "woven" referring to its weaving through the Brazilian countryside.

Itacarambi - A town on the banks of the São Francisco River

Ihta'n - sibling, relative
K'ar - opening, fissure, throat
Aambi' - last year, a year ago

Meaning "relative from the opening a year ago". The key for this name is opening or fissure. This clearing is indicating the iron oxide mine at Taltal, Chile, a hand-dug open pit mine close to the Pacific Ocean. While aambi' might mean literally "a year ago" it could mean "in the not too distant past". While Itacarambi could be indicating a visit from Taltal it seems much more likely to indicate a recent move from Taltal, a move away from relatives.

Jatobá - a town south of the Lapa site on the São Francisco River

Hat - A splitting
Tohb - Anything shelled, pods
Buh - Legume, hardnut, berry
Bah - Deep yellow or brown

Meaning "split shelled nuts" or "splitting deep yellow pods". Both are similar meanings indicating some type of shell, pod or nut, perhaps yellow-brown in color, that was split here. Unlike Itacarambi, there are many Jatoba place-names in Brazil, which makes sense given its more common meaning.

The meanings of the three place names near the Lapa do Boquete site indicate that it was settled by the same cultural group that settled Monte Verde and Taima-taima and was very likely settled by a group from the site of Taltal in northern Chile. It is likely that later the Taltal group migrated to El Salvador to found the Mayan and Lenca peoples.

 

Arrival to Northern Chile and the Oldest Mine in the Americas

Taltal, Chile. First mine in the Americas. First red ochre. Rock, bone, body and face paint. Taltal is one of the most important historical sites in the Americas. An iron oxide mine or quarry was begun in 10,000 BCE and continued for 1,500 years. The next oldest mine in the Americas dates to about 2,500 BCE. The iron oxide or red ochre from Taltal was likely carried thousands of miles to California's Channel Islands, and possibly to Japan and Taiwan. Taltal may stand as much in the tradition of red ochre mines of Australia that date to ~40,000 BCE and of South Africa that date to ~90,000 BCE, as it does to later mines in the Americas. Red ochre was considered a life giving substance.

Red ochre is a well-known red dye used for the purpose of body and face painting, as well as rock painting. Red ochre mines dating to 40,000 to 60,000 years ago have been found in Australia. I believe that Taltal indicates a continuous cultural use of red ochre from Australia to East Asia to the Americas.

The Taltal mine was discovered in the last couple years. Examining the meaning of the place name of Taltal and surrounding place names it is clear that it fits within the cultural tradition of Monte Verde, 2000 km to the south in southern Chile, and sites we have examined in Bariloche, Argentina, Venezuela, and Colombia. Given the similarily between the place names at Taltal and the modern Ch'orti' Maya language it is very possible that it was the ancestors of the Maya who were at Taltal before they moved north to El Salvador in about 8800 BCE.

There are few indigenous place names around Taltal, Chile. But let's look at three local place names: Taltal, Huentelauquen Cove, and Choapa River, as well as Coquimbo, the administrative region were Taltal is located. Taltal today is small city of 10,000 on the Pacific coast of the desert north of Chile. It lies at the mouth of the Choapa River, which flows down from the Andes Mountains to the east. A small peninsula to the west of Taltal gives form to the Huentelauquen Cove. Taltal is located in Coquimbo Region. Let's take a look at the meaning of these names in one of the oldest languages in the Americas, Ch'orti' Maya.

Taltal - Small city in northern Chile and location of a red ochre mine dating to 10,000 BCE.

Tal: arrival (in Ch'orti' it would be tar but in archaic Ch'orti' the 'l' and 'r' would likely have been interchangeable)

Clearly Taltal means 'arrival', and being on the coast indicates a sea arrival. Whether the arrival was from the deap sea or up the coast from Monte Verde can't be determined, but given the language links with Monte Verde, that seems most likely.

Choapa - The name of the river that flows into the Pacific Ocean at Taltal.

Choh: growth of plants
Ah: one who
Pa': food

Or "one who gathers (or grows) food from plants". There is another possible meaning:

Cho': dye
P'aj: brown

The brown dye would refer to the reddish-brown dye of the iron oxide mine at Taltal.

Coquimbo - The administrative region in northern Chile that contains Taltal.

Kohk: cut or broken part of
Inbon: many, much, excessive, increasing
Po': deep spot, hole, well (the 'b' and 'p' were interchangeable in archaic Ch'orti')

Or "excessive, deep cut hole" which would refer to the historical red ochre mine or quarry at Taltal.

Huentelauquen - The cove at Taltal.

Weh: flesh, pulp
Te': plant
Lauh: large leaf
Kene': any variety of banana

Or large leaf, fleshy banana plant. While I won't say it's impossible for some variety of banana to have originated in South America, I think it's more likely that kene' was originally a word that referred to fleshy fruit generically, like banana or a palm. Taltal is in the region of the endangered Chilean Wine Palm. I think that Huentelauquen refers to this palm tree. 

The first peoples landed from Asia by boat at Monte Verde, Chile. They quickly spead out with settlements in Venezuela and Colombia. Local place names indicate that they are all linked by a common root language which is most closely linked to Ch'orti' Maya, among modern languages. By 10,000 BCE another settlement from Monte Verde was made at Taltal in northern Chile. From South America one group would migrate to Central America in about 8,800 BCE - the Maya/Lenca ancestors and the ancestors of most of the Central and North American indigenous.

The Monte Verde Culture Heads Inland in Colombia

Nearly as old as the Monte Verde site in southern Chile and equally old as the Taima Taima and related sites in Venezuela are a series of sites, El Abra-Tocancipá high in the Andes mostly northeast of Bogotá. Just as the Monte Verde culture sailed counter clockwise around South America from Chile around the Cape of Magellan past Brazil and the Amazon to Venezuela, they continued on to the Caribbean coast of Colombia, went up the Magdalena River, and then by foot arrived to the altiplano. Comparing the proto-Ch'orti' language of Monte Verde with the place names of the Colombian sites confirms that these were the same people.

Earlier I confirmed that the Monte Verde people arrived by sea from Asia to southern Chile and that they lived in a broad area that included Bariloche, Argentina. They circumnavigated South America, with a group settling in Venezuela. Later, in about 9,000 or 8,500 BCE one group of these proto-Ch'orti' speakers would travel to El Salvador and then settle in the islands of the Gulf of Fonseca, the beginning of the Maya and Lenca identity. (español)

The Colombian sites are all located on the Andean altiplano with most about 50 kilometers northeast and one site about 25 kilometers west of Bogota. The Abra site near Tibitó is a series of caves and rock shelters at an altitude of 2,570 meters. The first settlement has been dated to 12,400 BCE, within a few hundred years of Monte Verde. Bone fragments come from mastadons, the American horse, and deer. Perhaps it was in pursuit of the horse that the early MonteVerdeans arrived to Tibitó. The horse became extinct in the Americas by 6,000 BCE, if not earlier. By the way, the horse is originally an American animal and made it to Asia, it is speculated, by crossing the Bering Strait during the last Ice Age. Another cave near Tocanpicá has tools that date to 11,000 BCE.

To the south, a site near Tequendama, near the Bogotá suburb of Soacha, also has tools from the same time period. Many of these were brought from the Magdalena River valley, 50 kilometers west. This shows additional proof for a close relationship with the Magdalena River.

Like the sites of Monte Verde, Bariloche, and Taima Taima, many of the place names surrounding these sites are from a proto-Ch'orti' language, demonstrating that it was all the same people in the various South America sites and that the Ch'orti' Maya language is the closest relative of the base language of all the South American indigenous languages. It also means that Ch'orti', the language closest to the holy language used at the classic era Mayan sites, is the closest relative of the language spoken in Asian by the people who crossed the Pacific. Let's look at the meanings of the place names in Ch'orti':

Tibitó - A contemporary village and site of an ancient rock shelter about 50 kilometers north of Bogotá and 70 kilometers east of the Magdalena River valley

Ti: in, on, within
Bitor: any kind of rounded crest

Or "within a rounded crest" which likely describes the rock shelter. The 'or' at the end was replaced by 'ó'. This is the only occurence of Tibitó.

Cajica - A contemporary village near the Tibitó site, with a very old name.

Ka'h: remembrance
Ik'ar: wind, breeze

Or "remembering wind", perhaps a breeze that reminded the settlers of Taima Taima or Monte Verde. This is the only occurence of Cajica.

Tocancipá - A contemporary small city near the Tibitó site.

Tok' - Breaking off, chipping, flint stone
K'an - need, desire
Sihb(p) - increase, swelling
Pa' - food

Not such a clear meaning, but could mean, "Chipping stone tools for need to increase food." This is a more abstract meaning than typical. Another possible mearning using different cognates is "breaking yellow sticks". This is the only occurence of Tocancipá.

Siria - A village just northeast of Tocancipá.

Sir - raising or lifting
Siri - lift up
Ah - one who

"One who is lifted up" or "anointed". There are five occurences of Siria in Latin America, three of which in Colombia. While some may be a modern reference to the country of Syria, it is more likely that all are based on this Ch'orti' word reserved for special people, those who are enlightened, those who discovered agriculture, etc.

Tequendama - A rock shelter and waterfall 25 kilometers west of Bogotá with tools dating back to about 11,000 BCE.

Ta - (locative)
Ker - separating
Tama - in, within, at

Or "separating to the interior". This likely signifies a new community distant from the previous base settlements. Tequendama is about 40 kilometers southwest of the earlier sites of El Abra and Tibitó. There are five occurences of Tequendama in Colombia and nowhere else in the world and each could signify a new settlement distant from previous settlements. One alternative meaning for Tequendama is base on the syllable quen, the only other Ch'orti' word similar is kene', which means banana. There is a slight chance this name refers to a plant or fruit, where the name was later used for bananas when they were introduced to Central America.

Soacha - A city, suburb of Bogotá, close to the site of Tequendama.

Sohi - bend, curve
Ch'a' - horizontal, lying down
Cha' - two, second

"Horizontal curve" or "two curves/bends". Soacha is not an exact match so it is possible it is not proto-Ch'orti' in origin. This is the only occurence of Soacha.

Chusacá - A contemporary village close to Tequendama and Soacha.

Ch'u - anything hanging, hanging fruit
Chu' - breast, milk, milky sap
Saka - white seed

"Hanging white seed" or "Sappy white seed". These are consistent meanings. This could refer to the pitaya, pitahaya, chirimoya, or platonia. There were several white fruits in northern South America. This is the only occurence of Chusacá, but there is a Chusacay in Peru.

While other early settlements of the First Peoples are all coastal, the Colombian ones are in the interior. How did they get there? The common wisdom among anthropologists and archeologists is that they walked overland from the north across the Darien Strait from Central America. However, there are no other settlements for thousands of miles to the north from the same time period, placing this assumption in doubt.

I think that the arrival to the Abra Valley of Colombia was primarily by ocean, just like Taima-Taima in Venezuela. The Magdalena River (right) is key. It is navigable for hundreds of kilometers starting at Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast to the high altiplano in the south of the country. It is easily navigable to Honda, directly west of the Abra Valley. The first inhabitants traveled counterclockwise around South America, whether originating from Monte Verde or from Taima-Taima is not clear. They may have reached the Darien Strait and then turned backed to the first major river and went upstream. Likely from Honda they left the boats and climbed up straight east to the altiplano, settling in the desirable Abra Valley.

Like Taima-Taima and Monte Verde, the first peoples of Colombia spoke an archaic form of Ch'orti' Maya, based on the place names. Today many Macro-Carib speakers live in the altiplano, with some neighboring Chibchan speakers. The Chibchan arrived at a later time from Central America. It is clear that they were formed at about the same time as the Maya and Lenca in the Gulf of Fonseca. It is most likely that the Abra Valley is the source of the Macro-Carib languages. Earlier I had speculated that El Jobo, Venezuela, might be the source, but the Abra Valley seems much more likely.

Monte Verde Culture Meets the Mastadon: Venezuela

One of the most intriguing archeological sites in the Americas is Taima-taima and associated sites in northwest Venezuela. The site, discovered before Monte Verde, Chile, was the first definitive proof that the Clovis culture was not the first in the Americas. The Taima-taima site was dated to 12,000 BCE, two thousand years earlier than the Clovis culture, with human habitation continuing until about 8,000 BCE.

Taima-taima and other nearby sites included the activity of mastadon butchering. Based on skeletal remains, this was a place where many mastadons were killed. This is the southernmost find of mastadons. They were more commonly found in southern Northamerica and Central America. In fact no other mastadon fossils have been found between Honduras and Venezuela. Mastadons are about the same size as elephants or woolly mammoths but are not very closely related. The mastadon's tusks could be as long as five meters. The tusks curved up but not so much as the mammoth. When a mastadon reared its head the tusks would be pointing nearly straight out. Imagine how intimidating!

Based on an analysis of the meaning of the place name of Taima-taima and associated sites, we can now determine who settled here. It was likely not the same people who butchered mastadons in Northamerica and eventually developed the Clovis points.

The Taima-taima people are the same as the Monte Verde culture in southern Chile. In both cases the place names are proto-Ch'orti' words. Looking at the map to the left [click to enlarge], shows that the only feasible way for a group from Monte Verde to reach Taima-taima, nearly from one tip of the continent to the other, was by boat (sail-raft) around the continent. Both sites are a few miles from navigable ocean water.

This means that the Monte Verde culture sailed through the Magellan straits about 13,000 years before Magellan. Perhaps they should be renamed the Mapuche straits. They sailed up and around the Atlantic side of South America. Likely they also sailed up the Pacific side to Baja California and California's Channel Islands.

We will look at seven place names around Taima-taima. Four are within a few miles of Taima-taima while the other three are spread out somewhat but also have evidence of habitation at about the same time as Taima-taima or just later. El Jobo appears to date almost as early as Taima-taima, about 11,000 BCE. It is located about 120 kilometers southwest of Taima-taima. A famous projectile point has been named after El Jobo. The Jobo and nearby Pedregal valleys have many points and cherts which date from this period.

Cucuruchú is a site about 170 km south-southwest of Taima-taima. A fossil of the Panamerican Ground Sloth (Eremotherium), which went extinct in about 9,000 BCE, was found there. There are also man-made tools of the same period there.

To the northwest of Taima-taima about 75 kilometers is another important site of Cayude. It is located on the Paraguaná peninsula. Cayude appears to be from a slightly later period, about 9,000 to 8,000 BCE. It is unique among the sites in having some points that are similar to Northamerican Clovis points.

Around Taima-taima are three other related sites that all date from the same time: Mauco, Taratara, and Mataruca. All of the sites are located within three miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Mauco, like Taima-taima, is a site of mastadon remains. Taratara and Mataruca are current-day villages which have names that date back to the time of Taima-taima in 12,000 BCE.

Let's take a look at all of these seven site names and their meanings in Ch'orti', proto-Chorti was the ancient language of the First Peoples in the Americas.

 

Taima-taima - An early village and butchering site of mastadons within a mile of the Atlantic coast of Venezuela

    Ta': excretion or remains of plants or animals
    Mah: fault, false, evil

Or "remains of the evil animal", which would mean mastadon remains.

Mauco - Another village and early butchering site of mastadons, also about a mile of the Atlantic coast

    Mauh: evil, wicked, unsocial
    K'o': tooth

Or "evil tooth" (evil-toothed), which describes the mastadon.

Taratara - A village about two miles southeast of Taima-taima.

    Tar: arrival

Or "arrival arrival". Clearly this is the area of the coast where the First Peoples first landed. The name Taratara is essentially equivalent to Taltal in Chile. (The l's and r's were one sound to the First Peoples.)

Mataruca - A village about two miles southeast of Mauco.

    Mah: false, evil
    Ta': plant or animal remains
    Luki: hook

Or "remains of hooked evil one". This may refer to a speared mastadon rather than a hooked mastadon.

Jobo - A village in the Pedregal valley 120 km southwest of Taimataima.

Hop(b): jump, leap
Po': deep hole  (also could be spelled bo')

Or "jump in deep hole". This most likely refers to a deep hole that was made to trap mastadons. Note that the 'j' is the Spanish letter that would correspond to the ch'orti' 'h'. Also that the p and b are somewhat interchangeable for the ch'orti'.

Cucuruchú - A village about 170 km southeast of Taima-taima

Kurkur: pronged, pointed
Ruch: gourd, gourd container

Or "pronged gourd". In Spanish cucurucho means 'cone', no doubt coming from ch'orti'. Some other powerful words are embedded in Cucuruchú, including kuhr - vagina, kur - penis or pointed object, and uchur - spirit. This helps explain a Mexican slang for cucurucho of a couple that displays a lot of tenderness.

Cayude - A village 75 northwest of Taima-taima on the Paraguaná peninsula.

Kaih: begin
Ut: any round fruit or ute: tree

Or "begin fruit" or "begin tree", which appear to be a reference to the first use of a certain kind of fruit/fruit tree.

Cayude, with its Clovis-type points dating to 8,500 or 8,000 BCE, likely point to contact with Central American cultures. This contact was likely by a combination of boat and overland. The Central Americans also descended from the proto-Ch'orti' speakers and may have settled in Central America from Venezuela. However, it appears more likely that they move from Chile or Peru to Central America. These Central Americans may have learned the Clovis technique from the Xibalba culture which was already present before the proto-Ch'orti'-speaking culture arrived.

Finally, looking at the location of modern day indigenous languages we can gain a clue about which languages descended from the ch'orti' root present at Taima-taima and Jobo. Taima-taima, Cayude, and Cucuruchú all are in the Equatorial linguistic area. This includes the language sub-groups of Macro-Arawakan, Jibaro-Kandoshi, Kariri-tupi, and others. The Jobo area seems to correspond to the Macro-Carib linguistic area, which includes the language sub-groups Andoke, Bora-Uitoto, Carib, Kukura, and Yagua.

All of the languages of Central and South America can be traced back to these early migrations of proto-Ch'orti' speakers. From Venezuela we go next to Colombia. Eventually the proto-Ch'orti' speakers settled in El Salvador and their descendants became the great Maya and Lenca nations.

Bariloche: Part of the 12,000 BCE Monte Verde Culture

Bariloche, Argentina, is a charming city in the beautiful southern Andes, especially popular as winter sports destination. Bariloche is a very old destination, dating back about 14,000 years. Its roots are connected to Chile and the Pacific Ocean.

The First Peoples from Asia arrived along the coast of Chile in about 12,500 BCE and settled at a site now called Monte Verde. Based on a study of the place names around Monte Verde, as well as other early South American sites, I determined that the place names are in a proto-Ch’orti’ (Maya) language. The language that the First Peoples spoke in Asia before leaving for the Americas was proto-Ch’orti’. Later, one group of these proto-Ch’orti’ speakers arrived at present-day El Salvador and become trapped in the Gruta del Espíritu Santo before escaping and founding the Maya-Lenca nations.

Proto-Ch’orti’ was the language the First Peoples spoke when they visited and camped out at Bariloche. There is an obvious clue that this area was settled or visited by the same people who were at Monte Verde: the common presence of the word component “huapi”. The Monte Verde site is on the Chinchihuapi Creek and Bariloche is along Nahuel Huapi Lake. “Huapi”, spelled “wahpi” in the Wisdom Ch’orti’-English dictionary, means “continue” or “keep on” in Ch’orti’. [Click to enlarge map.]

I will examine Bariloche along with four place names around it: Nahuel Huapi Lake; Dina Huapi, a town along the lake several miles northeast of Bariloche; Con Con, a small place halfway between Bariloche and Dina Huapi; and Nirihau, a small place a few miles east of Bariloche. I’ll take a look at the meaning of each of these place names using Ch'orti' meanings.

Bariloche

Bar: weight, heaviness (also bares means “make heavy”)
Lochi: arc, bow, bend, flex, fold

Bariloche means something like “heavy fold” and probably refers to the mountain folds that form peninsulas and islands in Nahuel Huapi Lake.

Nahuel Huapi Lake

Na’: round bowl
   or naht – distant
Wehr – rip, tear (the ‘r’ and the ‘l’ were equivalent at that time)
   or wet – companion, neighbor
Wahpi – continue, keep on

The most likely meaning is “Continuous (long) rip in the bowl” which would be referring to the long tear that the lake seems to make in the mountains. An alternate meaning is “keep distant from companions” which would refer to the distance between companions at Monte Verde and the lake.

Dina Huapi

T’in – inner side of arch, concave bend
Wahpi – continue, keep on

This is not completely clear, but appears to be “continuous concave bend”, which could be a reference to the banks of the lake much of which are lined with high hills.

Con Con

Kohn – small stream

A double kohn would be a very small stream.

Nirihau (also spelled Nirihuau)

Niri – cure
Ha’ – water
Wa’ – being

The most likely meaning is “curing water”. Nirihau is located at the source of a stream that flows in to the lake. Thus, it would be referring to the quality of the water at the Nirihau spring. If, instead, the original place name is Nirihuau, then the meaning would be “being cured”, which is quite similar to former meaning.

There are more place names surrounding Bariloche to be explored but this small sample should make it clear that Bariloche was part of the Monte Verde cultural complex in the 12,500 to 10,500 BCE period. I know that many of the names in the area also might have significance in Mapudungun (Mapuche), but they may have adopted meanings to existing place names.

One branch of the Monte Verde culture might have remained in southern Chile and the Bariloche area of Argentina, but it is clear that the main settlement - the one that maintained the Ch'orti' language line, at least, moved in about 10,500 BCE. Next I’ll explore the various migrations of the Monte Verde First People, starting, surprisingly, with the far north of the continent.

Surf Arrival: Monte Verde, Chile: the story of the Americas

The Maya, in their ages-old oral history, the Popol Vuh, said that they were born out of the blood of the sea serpent and the blood of the tapir. The sea serpent represents the Mayan ancestors who were sea-farers. The tapir represents the Xibalbans (Xibahkhans) who were land dwellers and ruled the Xibalba cave that is described in the Popol Vuh. The Popol Vuh mentions an early Maya leader, One Hunapuh, marrying a tapir woman Xib’aqiyalo. This would be the mixing of the blood of the sea serpent and the tapir, as mentioned in the Popol Vuh.

Earlier I had described that the tapir people captured the sea serpent people and held them captive in the Xibalba cave, the Gruta del Espíritu Santo in northeastern El Salvador. The sea serpent people escaped along the Torola River and eventually lived for several hundred years on Isla Tigre and other islands in the Golfo de Fonseca. The capture and escape of the sea serpent people occurred in about 8,850 BCE, based on the dating code used in the Popol Vuh, “1 Tapir 7 Tapir” (translated as 1 Death 7 Death in Tedlock). 7 Tapir is the date reference in the phrase and the corresponding date is found in the Mars retrograde long-count calendar. It is likely that the sea serpent people arrived to El Salvador at about this same time and were soon captured by the tapir people who were patrolling the region.

I am now ready to describe where the tapir people came from and where the sea serpent people came from. This story will describe much of the peopling of the American hemisphere. It will be easier to start with the sea serpent people. I will start by going to one of the earliest sites anywhere in the Americas, Monte Verde, Chile.

Monte Verde is an ancient site of living space with remains of various tools, equipment, living structures, and edible plants. The oldest layer of remains has been dated to about 12,500 BCE. The site appears to have been lived at for much of 2,000 years. One very interesting things about the site is that there are remains of over 50 different edible plants which were gathered from up to 150 miles away. The social organization and the testing and categorizing of plants shows a level of scientific and social sophistication and is a precursor to the people who would initiate agriculture several thousand years later.

The discovery and dating of Monte Verde ended once and for all the theory that the first people to enter the western hemisphere were the Clovis people between 10,000 and 9,000 BCE. Several Northamerican sites provide evidence of being even older than Monte Verde. Now the predominant theory goes that one group of these early northamericans quickly migrated to the southern tip of South America. This theory has too major problems: no intermediate sites have been identified and the quick pace of that migration over such a large and difficult distance in the short time of several hundred years or even a couple thousand years would be unprecedented.

Contrary to that theory, this blog will show conclusively that:

• the Monte Verdians arrived by sea from Asia rather than by land
• the Monte Verdians spoke a language very similar to one still alive today and
• that language is the root language of most Native American languages
• that language has been deliberately preserved relatively unchanged for more than 14,000 years
• the place names around Monte Verde and other early South American sites have been preserved for more than 12,000 years.

Working with Ch’orti’ Maya over the last two years I have had a sense it was a very old language from the way that words are built with older one-syllable cognates. In addition it is common for other cognates to be built from the root cognates by slightly varying the sound, while the meaning is complimentary but distinct. But when I heard the report of the discovery of the oldest mine in the Americas – at least 12,000 years old and located at the coastal city of Taltal, Chile, I began to realize just how old. Taltal means ‘arrival’ in Ch’orti’ Maya. (Actually arrival is ‘tar’ in Ch’orti’ but it is likely that at an earlier time the ‘l’ and ‘r’ sounds where equivalent, similar to some east Asian languages like Japanese. Looking at the place names surrounding Monte Verde confirmed that in fact proto-Ch’orti’ was the language spoken by these First People.

Monte Verde is just a few miles north of the Reloncaví Sound in southern Chile. It is on a creek called Chinchihuapi which flows out of the Llanquihue Lake to the Maullin River. Two prominent volcanoes, Osorno and Calbuco, are located across the lake from Monte Verde.

Let’s take a look at the various place names in the area and see what they mean in the ancient language, that is, proto-Ch’orti’ Maya:

Chinchihuapi – the creek where Monte Verde is located. A creek with continuous flow and many rapids.

Chin: throb, vibrate, rustle
Ch’i : smallness
Wahpi: continue, keep on

Or “small rustles continue”, i.e. a small river with continuous rapids.

Chinquio – a small village on the tidal Reloncavi Sound close to Monte Verde.

Chin: throb, vibrate, rustle
K’ot: arrival

Or “surf arrival”. Chin makes sense as surf, a continuous vibration. Curiously this would make Chinchihuapi “continuous little surf”. I recognize that K’ot is a little far from quio, but it is plausible. It may have been Chinko before being changed to Chinquio in the Spanish era. And the 't' could have been dropped from the end previously. Another possible meaning for the last half of the name is similar: ki’ (heart) + och (entrance), but is more abstract than most names used. I understand that 14,500 years ago the ocean level would have been about 100 feet lower and Chinquio would not have been on the shore. However, I believe that Chinquio represents the place on the shore at that time where the “surf arrival” occurred.

Llanquihue – This the beautiful lake to the east of Monte Verde with the two volcanoes on the far shore.

Yam: round, circular
Kihb: anything raised
Weh: fleshy, pulpy

“Raised round flesh”. Specifically a breast, which would describe Osorno, the volcano behind Lake Llanquihue. Instead of kihb, it could be ki’ (heart) or “round heart flesh” which has nearly the same meaning. And instead of yam it could be yan (unequal) or “unequal raised flesh” which would accurately describe the two volcanoes together, since they have quite different shapes.

Osorno – This is the large volcano cone on the far shore of Lake Llanquihue.

Os: fit; fitting into
Or: head, important
Noh: great, enlargement

Or “enlargement fits (over) head" or "enlargement fitted over main base". The Osorno volcano is a more recent volcano which formed on top of an older volcano with a mostly buried 6 kilometer wide caldera. This meaning of Osorno demonstrates a keen eye and a scientific sophistication among the First People.

Calbuco – Refers to the large irregularly shaped volcano south of the Osorno volcano. But it also refers to an island and town south of Monte Verde off of Reloncaví.

Kar: edible leaves and shoots (the ‘r’ and ‘l’ were interchangeable)
Buk’: reed, cane

Or “edible shoots/cane”. This is probably the most interesting place name around Monte Verde because there are two occurrences of it separated by over 20 kilometers. They were clearly trying to mark the locations of a certain kind of edible plant so that they would be remembered.

Colegual – This is a village on the shore of Reloncaví Sound, east of Puerto Montt

K’or: carrying, transport
Wahr: fanning, fan (the ‘w’ sound became a ‘gu’ in some derivative languages)

Or “fan transport”. This one is not so clear but I believe that ‘fan’ here may refer to sail and this may be a place where the sail rafts were maintained and where they debarked from when traveling out on the ocean.

Lenca – This is a village on the east shore of Reloncaví Sound, many kilometers from Monte Verde.

This is not a Ch’orti’ word but, obviously, a Lenca word. Since the Lenca language did not start evolving until about 8,500 BCE in El Salvador, this place name could only have come from a visit or a migration by a group of Lenca sometime much later. This seems to indicate a continued awareness by the Ch’orti’ and Lenca when they were in El Salvador of their place of origin in the hemisphere. No doubt that place was revered.

Monte Verde

Monte and verde are obviously Spanish words, but let’s take a look at monte. It is curious for showing up so often in Mesoamerican sites, including Montecristo (El Salvador), Monte Alto (Guatemala), and Monte Alban (Mexico). I believe that the Spaniards may have been replacing a similar Ch’orti’ word. In Ch’orti’ no’n is “we” and perhaps in an earlier time “our” as well. Te’eh means “trees” or “forest”, so one can see that no’nte’eh could mean “our forest” which sounds very much like “monte” or woods in Spanish. It also may explain why monte is more likely to mean mountain in Spain Spanish and woods in Latin American Spanish.

The first inhabitants of South America, arriving by surf to Monte Verde, lived alongside a stream that constantly rippled, like a little surf. They saw a beautiful volcano formed over an older volcano that reminded them of a woman’s breast. They found edible plants, over 50 varieties, a practice that they were already accustomed to in Asia where they came from.

And they traveled overland to Argentina and by sail raft to northern and far south Chile, to Peru, and to Venezuela. In the next few weeks we will explore these places that they traveled to, which will make it even more clear that these first inhabitants spoke a language similar to modern day Ch’orti’, and that ancient language was what they spoke in Asia before they set sail for the Americas.