AN IMPORTANT FINDING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHARACTER IN THE WEST AREA OF CALAMA

AN IMPORTANT FINDING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHARACTER IN THE WEST AREA OF CALAMA

Personnel in charge belonging to the Natural and Cultural History Museum of the Atacama Desert made an important finding of an ax from Argentinian Northwest cultures.

Prior authorization from the National Monuments Council, Natural and Cultural History Museum of the Atacama Desert was instructed on the need to rescue archaeological remains appearing at the Chunchuri sector, located in the western of Calama. In the place some human remains were found, as well as a distinctive ceremonial ax, which is currently being analyzed by experts from the museum.

Regarding the context of the finding, Osvaldo Rojas, director of the Natural and Cultural History Museum of the Atacama Desert, said that “approximately 1000 – 800 years ago, different nomadic cultures left here material evidence of its presence, for example the case of the varied clothes that we find in Topater with elements from other tribes, such as parrot feathers, Andean hairy armadillos shells and skins of some Amazonian felines, which evidences a fairly frequent exchange among communities from the coast, in the intermediate zone, in the Altiplano and in the Amazon area of the continent ”.

Relating this, Rojas explains that, ” the cultural and technological exchange was very powerful within the current Argentine northwest strengthening this area around metal smelting frequently.”

“As for the ax, we can state it is a unique cultural expression. This ax is made of copper and tin, corroborated with analyses carried out at the laboratories of the Catholic University of the North, the results show the presence of some iconographic elements of the “Santamarian culture”, a human group that made great advances around metal handling and which was developed mainly in the current province of Salta, Argentina,” said Rojas.

The found ax represents the figure of a feline verified in the shape of the element, in which the eyes, snout, teeth, fangs and ears of the animal are clearly reflected. Moreover, since the tool is not sharpened, it is understood that it was intended exclusively for ritual uses.

With regard to the manufacture of the ax, the shape was manufactured due to an existing mold, in which molten metal was poured, thus generating the shape of the feline.

With this finding, it can be ensured that traditions and customs of various enclaves of Argentinean northwestern were present in our area, through intense exchange networks generated by groups of caravans. These vestiges are a clear example of the important cultural development in prehistory which reached the area of our city, Calama.

THE FROGLET OF LOA: AMBASSADOR OF THE CHILEAN FAUNA IN 2020

THE FROGLET OF LOA: AMBASSADOR OF THE CHILEAN FAUNA IN 2020

For the first time, the illustrative species of Chilean fauna have a new representative on its list, an amphibian which has been selected with the clear objective of raising awareness and educating about the imperative need to conserve and protect our native species.

Since 2014, the contest is organized by the Jane Goodall Institute, as part of Wildlife Day in Chile in order to spotilght our delicate fauna status. This year, the froglet of Loa contested with the Fin Whale, the Guiña (or Red Cat), Acanthinodera, Duck Cuttoff and the Matuasto Chillón lizard (Alicahue fat lizard). This little frog will represent our fauna, as the Huemul (The south Andean deer), Darwin Fox, Andean mountain Cat, Quirquincho de la Puna (Andean hairy armadillo), Stag beetle and the Humboldt Penguin did before.

During 2019, the human intervention of the habitat where the froglet of Loa lives almost become this amphibious extinct. Thankfully, a convenient intervention was performed and the last specimens were rescued. Most of them are in the National Zoo of Santiago in an ex situ conservation program, expecting they can be reintroduced into their habitat in the future.

In this context, The Natural and Cultural History Museum of Atacama Desert, a unit of Culture and Tourism Corporation of Calama, leads the project “Actions for Conservation and Environmental Education in Telmatobius dankoi, the Frog in Danger of the Loa: Crisis of extinction and future actions ”, where overall with the Environmental Management and Biodiversity Center of the Faculty of Veterinary and Cattle Sciences of the University of Chile, Municipality of Calama and CODELCO North, seek to raise awareness about the importance of conserving and protecting one of the most threatened vertebrates in Chile. The Museum assignment adds to the studies aimed at the conservation of the froglet of Loa, by the Environment Ministry, National Zoo and researchers of the University of Chile and Andrés Bello University.

Currently in Chile, 60 species of frogs and native toads are recognized, where 61.7% are unique in Chile and 73.3% are threatened.

Undoubtedly, we celebrate this milestone for our native amphibians, with our dear ambassador.

PALEONTOLOGISTS FIND VESTIGES OF A PLIOSAUR IN CALAMA

PALEONTOLOGISTS FIND VESTIGES OF A PLIOSAUR IN CALAMA

The discovery of fossil remains in Cerritos Bayos, proves the existence of the most lethal marine predator of the Jurassic era.

in December 2018, when a group of researchers from the Ring Network of the University of Chile and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History of the Atacama Desert, a unit dependent on the Corporation of Culture and Tourism of Calama, began a cadastre to determine the presence of large fossil marine vertebrates in the sector called “Cerros Bayos”, south of the city of Calama, The maximum existing registry of marine reptiles and other species that lived more than 150 million years ago.

As a result of these surveys, it was possible to determine the presence of a Pliosaur which cannot yet be specified piece by piece. However, it is possible to determine a fin and part of the skull that have already been confirmed. The researchers are optimistic in a process that should culminate in the extraction and transfer to the MUHNCAL deposit for study, cleaning, and subsequent exhibition. “The contribution of this finding, both at the scientific level and for the community is unique, since each of the species found provides new information to reconstruct the past of our commune and understand how the species evolve,” says the paleontology specialist at Muhncal Jennyfer Rojas Museum.

In reconstruction, Calama has gained prominence in recent times, after it was found that far from being a desert area as it is known today, it was formerly covered by sea and, therefore, was the habitat of a series of amazing species. But although these features have changed, due to the elevation of the Andes, it allows the appearance of remains of prehistoric fauna that remained hidden due to erosion, and that today make it one of the richest areas for paleontological research in Chile.

Determined the presence of the fin and skull of this significant species, it can be deduced that it could have reached up to 10 meters in length, which inhabited the jurassic seas, and its categorization as corresponding to a pliosaur, by initial taxonomic studies, it can be deduced that it could have reached up to 10 meters in length, and given its characteristics as supradeprador, of food chain scheme.

Given the heritage value of the pieces found, the extraction process involves completely removing the fragile rock and then transporting it to extract the fossil bones in the laboratory. Special attention is given to this finding, as there are no records of pliosaurs for this area and the result of this exhaustive work carried out by renowned national and foreign researchers, indicates the existence of unknown fauna for the territory, presenting once again Calama city as one of the most important fossil vertebrate fauna registration area in South America.

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AMERICAN ACTOR AND ACTIVIST LEONARDO DICAPRIO JOIN THE CAUSE TO SAVE THE FROGS OF THE LOA

AMERICAN ACTOR AND ACTIVIST LEONARDO DICAPRIO JOIN THE CAUSE TO SAVE THE FROGS OF THE LOA

A great announcement was the statement quoted by the renowned actor in social networks, Researchers evaluated with optimism and satisfaction the message, as it greatly contributes to the awareness of the urgent care required by the species.

The rescue of the last specimens of the Telmatobius dankoi was published recently. These species known as “frogs of the Loa”, were found in precarious conditions, after an intervention in their habitat, that kept the slope which fed them dry.

Therefore, in a quick operation, researchers from the Museum of Natural History and Culture of the Atacama Desert in Calama, University of Chile, and Ministry of Environment, went to the place to protect the species that survived. Subsequently, they were taken to the National Amphibian Reproduction Center of the National Zoo, with the objective of keeping them safe, while restoring the conditions to reinsert them in the Loa wetlands.

One of the most significant part of the message left by the actor stated, “The Chilean Government and a team of conservationists have done an incredible job responding quickly to try to rescue the frog from the Loa from extinction,”. Leonardo published the comment on Thursday and it was seconded by an infographic with suggested measures to citizenship.

From the MUHNCAL, the palaeontology specialist Jennyfer Rojas who participated in the operation, looks forward to the intervention to be successful, since raising awareness about the rescues can avoid such drastic situations, as the one that had an endemic species on the verge of extinction. “His comments are pretty normal to us, since he has had a trajectory dedicated to the care of the environment, investing resources in it. In the same way it makes us very happy as a team that our work is praised, more than by the actor, by the environmentalist, and all people, ”says the researcher, inviting the community to join the crusade promoted by DiCaprio in social networks, under the hashtag #SaveTheLoaFrog “, or #SalvemosalaRanadelLoa.

The actor’s message considered the following actions to support the rescue, prohibiting the illegal extraction of water from the habitat by restoring and protecting it and declaring the area as protected zona, and conserving all the other species of frogs in Chile.”

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“THE VISIT YOUR SCHOOL MUSEUM” PROGRAM ARRIVED AT PLANETA TIERRA KINDERGARDEN

“THE VISIT YOUR SCHOOL MUSEUM” PROGRAM ARRIVED AT PLANETA TIERRA KINDERGARDEN

Remaining these visits to educational institution and organizations of Calama and Alto Loa, the Museum of Natural and Cultural History of the Atacama Desert arrived for the first time a nursery school.

The program in charge of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History of the Atacama Desert (Muhncal), called “The Museum visits your School” arrived at the Planet Earth garden with the exhibition “Dinosaurs of the Northern Chile ” which goal is exposing the geological past of our province exhibiting replicas of some species of these large reptiles that inhabited our region.

“The Museum visits your School Program” aims to educate the community about the knowledge and conservation of local heritage, seeks to motivate the knowledge of the Mesosoic dinosaurs and reptiles of the past through questions and didactic introductions, thereby achieving children acquire knowledge about our past in a fun way

Regarding the exhibition, Osvaldo Rojas, director of the Muhncal, stated that “ There are children who dominate the topic of dinosaurs quite well, even in some cases exceeding in many aspects the knowledge of our specialists since it is a very striking subject, hence the models that we use in this exhibition are large. Our goal is to seek children feel part of the sample, take photographs and have fun by playing and sharing this information, that sometimes can be very dense.

This program, which began in May of this year, has already visited 12 educational institutions, in addition to social organizations in Calama and Alto Loa, with more visits expected during the current year. “Recently we were at the Teletón Institute since we are looking for inclusion in learning, and we have also visited Chiuchiu, the Caspana Valley and Lasana. On the other hand, we have plans to go down to the coastal region, which we have already done in previous years, but we are currently focusing on visiting children in preschool education,” added Osvaldo Rojas.

“The Museum visits your School” program and the Muhncal constantly receives delegations from communal schools and high schools for guided tours. Here, museum specialists explain the latest researched subjects and recent discoveries, with the aim of a better understanding of the importance and value of their territory. These guided tours are held every Thursday and Friday and can be requested to the museum.

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