Читать книгу Torres del Paine. Chile's Premier National Park and Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park онлайн

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Excavations in Chile’s Cueva del Milodón and surrounding caves, just south of Torres del Paine national park, have unearthed arrowheads indicating human settlement in the area from around 10,000BC. Over the border in Argentina, Cueva de las Manos, near Los Glaciares national park, contains paintings dating back some 9500–13,000 years, including hunting scenes with humans and animals and, later, numerous hands, both imprinted directly onto the cave wall and ‘sprayed’ in negative, probably from a blow pipe.

House near Lago Toro, Torres del Paine national park (Walks 1 and 4)

Inca Empire and Spanish conquest

During the 15th century the Inca Empire expanded its territory dramatically from Peru, exacting tribute from the tribes of northern Chile, but met with fierce resistance from the Mapuche, one the most powerful tribes in central Chile, and the border between Inca and Mapuche lands was fixed on the Río Maule, approximately 250km south of Santiago.

Christopher Columbus’ ‘discovery’ of the Americas in 1492 and Ferdinand Magellan’s successful navigation of the Straits of Magellan in 1520 were followed by the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca civilizations in Mexico and Peru (in 1521 and 1532 respectively), the latter under the command of Francisco Pizzaro and Diego de Almagro. Almargo continued south in search of further gold and riches, but finding none turned back at the Aconcagua valley.