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Indigenous peoples of South America

Total population
approx. 18 million
Regions with significant populations
Peru	5.9 million (2017)
Bolivia	4.1 million (2012)
Chile	2.4 million (2017)
Brazil	1.7 million (2022)
Colombia	1.9 million (2018)
Argentina	1.3 million (2022)
Ecuador	1.3 million (2023)
Venezuela	724,592 (2011)
Paraguay	117,150 (2012)
Guyana	78,492 (2012)
Uruguay	76,452 (2021)
Suriname	20,344 (2012)
French Guiana	approx. 19,000
Languages
Indigenous languages of the Americas, including Quechua, Aymara, Guarani, Mapuche
Religion
Native American religions Christianity Others

In South America, Indigenous peoples comprise the Pre-Columbian peoples and their descendants, as contrasted with people of European ancestry and those of African descent. In Spanish, indigenous peoples are referred to as pueblos indígenas (lit. 'indigenous peoples'), or pueblos nativos (lit. 'native peoples'). The term aborigen (lit. 'aborigine') is used in Argentina, and pueblos aborígenes (lit. 'aboriginal peoples') is commonly used in Colombia. The English term Amerindian (short for "Indians of the Americas") is often used in the Guianas. Latin Americans of mixed European and Indigenous descent are usually referred to as mestizos (Spanish) and mestiços (Portuguese), while those of mixed African and Indigenous ancestry are referred to as zambos.

It is believed that the first human populations of South America either arrived from Asia into North America via the Bering Land Bridge and migrated southwards or alternatively from Polynesia across the Pacific. The earliest generally accepted archaeological evidence for human habitation in South America dates to 14,000 years ago, and is located at the Monte Verde site in southern Chile. The descendants of these first inhabitants would become the indigenous populations of South America.

Before the Spanish colonization of the Americas, many of the indigenous peoples of South America were hunter-gatherers and indeed many still are, especially in the Amazon rainforest. Others, especially the Andean cultures, practised sophisticated agriculture, utilized advanced irrigation and kept domesticated livestock, such as llamas and alpacas.

The only South American country that presently has a majority-Indigenous population is Bolivia, with 62% of Bolivians identifying as a member of an Indigenous group.

South American indigenous peoples include:

• Indigenous peoples in Argentina
• Indigenous peoples in Bolivia
• Indigenous peoples in Brazil
• Indigenous peoples in Chile
• Indigenous peoples in Colombia
• Indigenous peoples in Ecuador
• Indigenous peoples in French Guiana
• Indigenous peoples in Guyana
• Indigenous peoples in Paraguay
• Indigenous peoples in Peru
• Indigenous peoples in Suriname
• Indigenous peoples in Uruguay
• Indigenous peoples in Venezuela

See also

• Indigenous peoples of North America
• Native American religions
• Wars involving indigenous peoples of South America
• List of indigenous peoples
• Ceramics of indigenous peoples of the Americas

References

1. "Perú: Perfil Sociodemográfico" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. p. 214. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
2. "Características de la Población – Censo 2012" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística. p. 103. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
3. "Síntesis de Resultados Censo 2017" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
4. "Censo Demográfico 2022: Identificação étnico-racial da população, por sexo e idade" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
5. "Población Indígena de Colombia" (PDF) (in Spanish). Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
6. "Censo Nacional de Población, Hogares y Viviendas 2022: Población indígena o descendiente de pueblos indígenas u originarios" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INDEC). Retrieved 2024-03-07.
7. "Presentación de Resultados Nacionales" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
8. "Resultados Población Indígena" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
9. "Tierra y territorio, fundamentos de vida de los pueblos indígenas, 2012" (PDF) (in Spanish). Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censos. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
10. "Final 2012 Census Compendium 2" (PDF). Bureau of Statistics. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
11. "Población por sexo y principal ascendencia étnico racial, según departamento". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Archived from the original (XLS) on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
12. "Demografische en Sociale Karakteristieken en Migratie" (PDF) (in Dutch). Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek. p. 46. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
13. Aupetit, Mathilde. "Les populations indigènes de la Guyane française: une mémoire environnementale essentielle à protéger" (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-03.
14. Zerries, Otto (1987). "South American Indian Religions: An Overview". In Mircea Eliade (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 13. Translated by John Maressa. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-909840-8 – via Encyclopedia.com.
15. "Study confirms Bering land bridge flooded later than previously believed". cyberwest.com. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
16. Gongora, J.; et al. (July 28, 2008). "Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (30): 10308–10313. doi:10.1073/pnas.0801991105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2492461. PMID 18663216.
17. "Journal of the Polynesian Society: Notes And Queries, P 255-258". www.jps.auckland.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
18. Hey, Jody (2005-05-24). "On the Number of New World Founders: A Population Genetic Portrait of the Peopling of the Americas". PLOS Biology. 3 (6): e193. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030193. ISSN 1545-7885. PMC 1131883. PMID 15898833.
19. Earls, John. "The Character of Inca and Andean Agriculture" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
20. "4.1 Raised beds and waru waru cultivation". www.oas.org. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
21. Pinedo, Javier Blossiers. "AGRICULTURA DE LADERAS A TRAVÉS DE ANDENES, PERÚ" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
22. "Bolivia". The CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2017-02-24.

External links

• ATLILLA – Association for Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America

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