The Tonocotés or Tonokotés are an aboriginal people inhabiting the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Tucumán in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The Spaniards called the tonocotés and other peoples of the former Tucumán as ''Juríes'', deformation of the Quechua word ''xuri'' that means Rhea, because of the kind of

loincloth A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or ...

feathers of this bird that the natives wore and that they moved into real flocks. In 1574 the name of ''tonocoté'' appears on a document and eventually supplanted the earlier denomination. They belong to brasílido type: height and nose are median and have broad face. They received a strong influence of Andean cultures, being sedentary and practicing

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

gathering Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to: Anthropology and sociology * Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods *Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a s ...

. In ancient times inhabited the south-central plains of Santiago del Estero and the current city. Limited to the north by the lules, south by the sanavirones, west to the diaguitas and east by the Salado River. The houses were built on artificial mounds forming elevation, were round and made with slightly durable material and thatch. Enclosed their villages with palisades. The annual flooding of the Dulce and Salado rivers were used to irrigate their crops of corn, quinoa, beans and squash. Raised llamas and ostriches. They also practiced collecting ''algarroba'', chañar, opuntia and wild honey. They stand out in

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

making large funeral urns and , with elaborate motifs. They also developed the loom, feather ornaments and basketry. Their main god was ''Cacanchic'', the protector of crops. From its original language only are preserved two words: ''Gasta'' and ''Gualamba'', assumed mean ''people'' and ''large'' respectively. This was studied by Father Alonso de Bárzana. By 1480 the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

occupied northwestern Argentina, incorporating part of the tonocotés. Current tonocotés are known as ''suritas''. They are partially mestizos descended from the ancient tonocotés and speak their own dialect derived from Santiago del Estero's quichua. They are distributed in 19 rural communities with about 6,000 residents in the departments of San Martín, Figueroa and Avellaneda from Santiago del Estero. (According to the 2010 national census, the tonocotés village had 4,853 inhabitants)

Communities

; In the

Alberdi Department Alberdi Department is a department of Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina in the region of the Chaco Santiagueño. It is bordered on the north by Copo Department, on the east by Chaco Province, on the south by Moreno Department and Figueroa D ...

* Aboriginal Community Mistolito ; In the Avellaneda Department * Indigenous community tonokoté Mailín Ñaupa (from Villa Maulín) * Indigenous community tonokoté Breáyoj * Indigenous community tonokoté Taqo Sombreana (from San Antonio de Copo) * Paso Grande * Pozo Mosoj * San Roque * Tala Atun ; In San Martín Department * Aboriginal Community Linton * La Blanca ; In the Figueroa Department * Aboriginal Community Canteros

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toconote Indigenous peoples in Argentina Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco