Caucahue is an ethonym used by Chonos and the

Huilliche The Huilliche , Huiliche or Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the Mapuche macroethnic group of Chile. Located in the Zona Sur, they inhabit both Futahuillimapu ("great land of the south") and, as the Cunco subgroup, the north hal ...

and Spanish of Chiloé for a group of canoe-faring people that inhabited the archipelagoes south of the

Gulf of Penas The Gulf of Penas (''Golfo de Penas'' in Spanish, meaning "gulf of distress") is a body of water located south of the Taitao Peninsula, Chile. Geography It is open to the westerly storms of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the la ...

. The term is one of the various ethnonyms recorded by the Spanish in the 18th century in the fjords and channels of Patagonia. The Caucahue spoke a language different from the one of the Chono. Archaeologist Ricardo Alvarez posits that the Caucahue and other groups appeared relatively late in colonial records because this was the time when contact became more common. Alvarez also posits the Caucahue disappeared from the historical record by merging into the

Kawésqar The Kawésqar, also known as the Alacalufe, Kaweskar, Alacaluf or Halakwulup, are an indigenous people of South America, indigenous people who live in Chilean Patagonia, specifically in the Brunswick Peninsula, and Wellington Island, Wellington, ...

to the south and the people of Chiloé to the north. According to historian Ximena Urbina and co-workers the Caucahue are essentially ancient Kawésqar. "Caucahues" described in sources as "gigantic" may have been

Tehuelches The Tehuelche people, also called the Aónikenk, are an indigenous people from eastern Patagonia in South America. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Tehuelche were influenced by Mapuche people, and many adopted a horseriding lifestyle. Once a ...

References

{{reflist Ethnonyms History of Aysén Region History of Magallanes Region Kawésqar Indigenous peoples of the Southern Cone Ethnic groups in Chile Indigenous peoples in Chile Hunter-gatherers of South America Nomadic groups in the Americas Sea nomads

See also

References