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.
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