This paper presents a chronological sequence of human occupation from the end of the Pleistocene to the present day in the Atacama Desert, one of the most barren territories of the New World. The occupational sequence covers a period of 11,000 years of prehistory, in which distinct patterns of resource use are examined such as hunting, fishing and gathering techniques, animal domestication, agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, commerce and trade. The study also incorporates innovations based on industrial scale mining developments in colonial times, the 19 th century industrial period and the present day (extractive mega projects). A variety of cultural, technological and productive developments are discussed in relation to continuity and shifts in human occupations and their impact on the spatial distribution of the population in different locations from the Andes to the Pacific. A marked imbalance can be observed between traditional natural resource production and extractive mining activities that lead to extreme ecological fragility due to the indiscriminate use of water resources. The paper suggests that sustainable development is being jeopardised by the lack of research and alternative models, coupled with a lack of coherence among political, scientific and ethical discourses.Key words: Atacama Desert, prehistoric and historic human occupations, natural resource use, productive innovations.
Se presenta una secuencia cronológica de las ocupaciones humanas del Desierto de Atacama y los distintos patrones de explotación de recursos desde fines del Pleistoceno hasta la actualidad, en uno de los territorios más estériles del Nuevo Mundo. Esta secuencia ocupacional comprende un lapso temporal de 11.000 años, en la cual se examinan las distintas modalidades del manejo de recursos naturales a través de prácticas de caza, pesca, recolección, domesticación de animales, actividades agrarias, pecuarias, mineras, intercambio y comercio. Además, se incorporan las innovaciones basadas en la explotación minera a escala industrial durante el periodo colonial e industrial del siglo XIX hasta la actualidad (megaproyectos extractivos). Se discuten las diversas respuestas culturales, tecnológicas y productivas en términos de continuidad y cambio en las ocupaciones humanas