The indigenous Gran Chaco people consist of approximately thirty-five tribal groups in the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Gro ...

of South America. Because, like the Great Plains of North America, the terrain lent itself to a

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic lifestyle, there is little to no archaeological evidence of their prehistoric occupation. Contributing to this near-absence of archaeological data is the lack of suitable raw material for stone tools or permanent construction and soil conditions that are not conducive to the preservation of organic material.

Geography

The actual cultural area of the Gran Chaco peoples differs from that of the geographic Gran Chaco. The northwestern boundary of the cultural area is the Parapetí River and the marshes of the Bañados de Izozog depression, beyond which were the lands of the cultural unrelated Chané and

Chiriguano The Ava Guaraní are an Indigenous peoples formerly known as Chiriguanos or Chiriguano Indians who speak the Ava Guarani and Eastern Bolivian Guaraní languages. Noted for their warlike character, the Chiriguanos retained their lands in the Ande ...

. The cultural boundaries have not been static, even during historical times. In the late 17th century the area expanded to the east across the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...

, when the

Mbayá The Mbayá or ''Mbyá'' are an indigenous people of South America which formerly ranged on both sides of the Paraguay River, on the north and northwestern Paraguay frontier, eastern Bolivia, and in the adjacent province of Mato Grosso do Sul, Braz ...

invaded the lands between the

Apa River The Apa River (Spanish: Río Apa, Portuguese: Rio Apa) is a river of Paraguay and Brazil. It is a tributary of the Paraguay River, which in turn is a tributary of the Paraná River. It starts in the Amambai Mountains of the Brazilian state of Ma ...

and the

Miranda River The Miranda River (Portuguese, Rio Miranda, variant name Rio Mondego) is a river of Mato Grosso do Sul state in southwestern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Paraguay River. The river flows north and south, and forms the border between Brazil and ...

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

province in Brazil.

Languages

The tribal groups of the Gran Chaco fall into six language families: #

Matacoan languages Matacoan (also ''Mataguayan, Matákoan, Mataguayo, Mataco–Mataguayo, Matacoano, Matacoana'') is a language family of northern Argentina, western Paraguay, and southeastern Bolivia. Family division Matacoan consists of four clusters of languag ...

or Mataco-maká (

Wichí languages The Wichí languages are an indigenous language family spoken by the Wichí in northwestern Argentina and far-southeastern Bolivia, part of the Matacoan languages, Matacoan family. They are also known as Mataco, Wichi, Wichí Lhamtés, Weenhayek, ...

Chorote languages The Chorote languages form a small group of indigenous language varieties spoken primarily in northwestern Argentina, and also in Paraguay and far-southeastern Bolivia. The languages are part of the Matacoan family, and are most closely related to ...

Nivaclé language Nivaclé is a Matacoan language spoken in Paraguay and in Argentina by the Nivaclé. It is also known as Chulupí and Ashluslay, and in older sources has been called Ashluslé, Suhin, Sujín, Chunupí, Churupí, Choropí, and other variant spe ...

s and the

Maká language Maká is a Matacoan language spoken in Paraguay by the Maká people. Its 1,500 speakers live primarily in Presidente Hayes Department near the Río Negro, as well as in and around Asunción. Phonology Velar consonants alternate with palatal ...

) # Guaicuruan languages #

Lule–Vilela languages The two Lule–Vilela languages constitute a small, distantly related language family of northern Argentina. Kaufman found the relationship likely and with general agreement among the major classifiers of South American languages. Viegas Barros pu ...

Mascoian languages The Mascoian also known as Enlhet–Enenlhet, Lengua–Mascoy, or Chaco languages are a small, closely related language family of Paraguay. Languages The languages are:Unruh, Ernesto; Kalisch, Hannes. 2003. "Enlhet-Enenlhet. Una familia lingüí ...

# Zamucoan languages #

Tupi–Guarani languages Tupi–Guarani () is the most widely distributed subfamily of the Tupian languages of South America. It consists of about fifty languages, including Guarani and Old Tupi. The words ''petunia, jaguar, piranha, ipecac, tapioca, jacaranda, anhing ...

Many of the languages are part of a '' Chaco'' linguistic area. Common Chaco areal features include SVO word order and active-stative verb

alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Structu ...

. (See also

Mataco–Guaicuru languages Mataguayo–Guaicuru, Mataco–Guaicuru or Macro-Waikurúan is a proposed language family consisting of the Mataguayan and Guaicuruan languages. Pedro Viegas Barros claims to have demonstrated it. These languages are spoken in Argentina, Brazil ...

References

Bibliography

* *

Geography

Languages

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading