Historical Archaeology Northen of Chile

Historical Archaeology in Abandoned Nitrate "Oficinas" in Northern Chile: A Preliminary
Report
Author(s): Bente Bittmann and Gerda Alcaide
Source: Historical Archaeology, Vol. 18, No. 1 (1984), pp. 52-75
Published by: Society for Historical Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25615474
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BENTE BITTMANN to those used in prehistory have not been made
GERDA ALCAIDE until quite recently. Interest in the abandoned ni
trate settlements was raised, partly because their
ruins form an important part of the desert land
Historical Archaeology in scape, difficult to ignore by anybody interested in
the archaeology of the historic past, and partly be
Abandoned Nitrate "Oficinas" in cause the results of exploratory archaeological
Northern Chile: work togetherwith a survey of published historical
records suggested that archaeological research
A Preliminary
Report would supplement much of our knowledge gained
from the history books on the people who lived
there. Furthermore, itwas expected thatarchaeolo
gy would provide informationnot available in the
Introduction written sources. Another incentive to initiate
systematic investigations was the discovery that
The present report forms part of a general program many former residents of themining settlements
of interdisciplinary research conducted by an are still alive, and thata great amount of unstudied
thropologists of the Department of History and archival material exists.
Archaeology, Universidad del Norte, Antofagasta The project has the multiple objectives of: 1)
(Chile), concerned with man's relationship to the incoporating the abandoned mining settlements in
desert environment from as farback as possible up to the archaeological records; 2) attempting to
to the present. demonstrate that archaeology can effectively en
Scattered across thedesert landscape of northern large and enrich our knowledge of differentaspects
Chile are a series of archaeological phenomena or of life of the people who lived there, and 3) com
ruins known as the abandoned nitrate oficinas bining the results of archaeological research with
(refineries, settlements, "towns"). Historians, evidence obtained from historic records, ethnogra
private collectors of "treasure," and those in phy, interviews and correspondence with former
terested in the purchase and sale of scrapmetal and residents. For purposes of comparison the authors
used building materials ingeneral have paid them a also aim to conduct a "living archaeology" study
great amount of attention, but theirpotential value in one of the only two nitrate settlements still
for study through archaeology has been neglected. functioning.
The reasons for this might be, partly that these As present interests are largely oriented toward
oficinas reflect the very recent past of our own the non-technologically-related aspects of be
culture, and partly the idea thatproblems pertain haviour, ithas been preferred to use the term"his
ing to the nitrate industry, and the people who torical archaeology" rather than "industrial
were involved in thework, can best be studied on archaeology."
the basis of documentary sources. As a matter of The principal goals of this paper are: (1) first to
fact, considerable formal history has been written present a summary of the preliminary results of a
dealing with different aspects of the rise, boom, multi-stage project of investigation related to the
and decline of the nitrate industry innorthernChile abandoned nitrate oficinas situated in the II
(for an extensive bibliography, see Bermudez Region-Antofagasta (formerly Antofagasta prov
1963). ince), and (2) attempt to evaluate the effectiveness
InChile, thepractice of historical archaeology is of archaeological techniques in conjunction with
still largely associated with the reconstruction and evidence from other disciplines as a means of
restoration of monuments, and efforts to attack the recovering data pertinent to these settlements and
historical past by archaeological techniques similar their inhabitants.
ABANDONED NITRATE "OFICINAS" INNORTHERN CHILE 53
The Community Defined and location of the "community" to be studied

was affected by some rather obvious yet basic
Despite the assumed existence of "communi points. Among thesewere the criteria related to the
ties," one survey of the large literatureusing this types of problems to be studied and also the
concept concluded that "all the definitions deal availability of personnel, time and money. Other
with people. Beyond this common basis, there is criteria included the quality of archival records
no agreement" (Bell and Newby 1971: 27, citing which would be easily available as well as former
Hillary). However, this definition may be criti residents who would be interviewed. Con
cized too, since there are, for instance "communi sequently, the research has been concentrated in
ty studies" of plants and animals. Ohter minimal the Antofagasta region, in the canton formerly
definitions of "community" are concerned with known as "Bolivia" or "Central" (Figure 1), and
sentiments of "belongingness" or "having some within this zone in a group of oficinas which had
thing in common." Some definitions merge the worked on the basis of a high percentage of British
social and spatial aspects of community studies, capital (those of the "Compafna de Salitres de An
while others argue that a community may be geo tofagasta," which were taken over by the
graphically based or itmay not (Glass in Frank "Lautaro Nitrate Co., Ltda." at the beginning of
enberg 1966: 201; Stacey 1969: 135; Bell and the 1920s). It was then decided to center the in
Newby 1971: 19) or that different "levels" of vestigation on a number of selected oficinas of the
communitymust be considered (Redfield 1965). In lattergroup, studying each one as a potential "past
recent years, some objections to the concept of community." In the archaeological sense, each
"community" have been raised too. Within the oficina was to be considered not as a single site but
discipline of anthropology, Arensberg (1961:248), as a locality of many sites with more or less
for example, defines "community" as the "basic sharply-defined boundaries (dwelling units, trash
unit of organization and transmissionwithin a soci middens, plaza, company store, technological
ety and its culture," thus stressing relationships or activity areas, and so on). It was assumed that
networks and organization rather than "face-to most of the former residents were in daily "face
face" association" or spatial consideration in the to-face association." Through oral testimony it
sense ofMurdock (Murdock et al. 1961: 89; Mur was also learned that former residents are particu
dock 1949: 79; Adams 1973: 337, 1977). larly linked emotionally to their "oficinas." This
The nitrate settlements arose as a direct conse evidence may be furthercorroborated by the "pil
quence of the discovery of nitrate deposits and grimages" paid to abandoned cemeteries and ofici
came to form the centers of an economic activity nas (Figure 2) or to the structuresof the plaza of a
which constituted a far-ranging network of great recently closed settlementwhich were transferred
regional, national, and international significance. to the town of Antofagasta. A furtherexample of
These settlements can be viewed as separate com "sentiments of belongingness" is the insistence on
munities or as a community, namely the nitrate remaining togetherdemonstrated by thepopulation
community. First itwas assumed that the second of yet another oficina, when the plant was closed
alternative was true, or in other words that the and the residents were to be moved to one of the
nitrate oficinas were "part-communities," that all settlements stillworking. Today thisgroup of peo
shared a well defined pattern of settlement and ple constitutes a "barrio" or separate entitywithin
activity sets (with changes occurring through time) theirnew "home town," still highly conscious of
which placed them apart from other contemporary their common origin."
communities. While theremight be sufficient rea
sons to justify the existence of a single "nitrate The Geographical and Historical Framework
community" (or perhaps better a "sub-society" Within the zone known as theNorte Grande of
with a "sub-culture") the decision as to the size Chile, situated between 67?W and 70?30'W, the II
54 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 18
70?
I
//
/
<?
? 23?- x / ^otc ^Lj/\ r\*
1/ ^^kSdOcS
FIGURE 1. Location map of nitrate oficinas, Canton Bolivia (II Region-Antofagasta, Chile). After J. Valenzuela Olivos
1926.
ABANDONED NITRATE "OFICINAS" INNORTHERN CHILE
FIGURE 2. Nitrate workers in 1909 (Canton Bolivia).
Region-Antofagasta covers an area of 125,300 plants. With increasing altitude the severe desert
km2 stretching between 21?S and 26?S. Like the conditions diminish and plant and animal life
restof northernChile, Antofagasta region is char gradually increase. As a result of these conditions,
acterized by three principal morphological fea permanent human settlement in this area in the
tures: theCoastal Range (Cordillera de la Costa), pre-Columbian period was generally confined to
the central pampa or desert, and the Andes. the inter-Andean valleys between altitudes of some
Stretching inland from the Coastal Range to the 2500 and 4000 m above sea level, where there is
puna lies the Atacama Desert, one of the dryest evidence of hunter-gatherers from about 12,000
areas in theworld. The outstanding features of the B.P., the river valleys where agriculture with con
climate are the low humidity (less than 50%), the trolled animal breeding became the basic means of
almost complete lack of precipitation, the nearly subsistence from about 2,800 B.P., and the coastal
cloudless sun, and themarked differences between stripwhere a marine-based economy is thought to
temperaturesof day and night. Mean annual tem have started about 10,000 B.P.
perature is about 28?C, lowest mean about 5?C. When the Spaniards first arrived in northern
Part of this desert is also known as the pampa Chile inwhat is known today as theTarapaca and
salitrera. Only a single river system, the Loa, Antofagasta regions, respectively (the expeditions
empties into the Pacific Ocean. The remainder of led by Diego de Almagro in 1535, and Pedro de
the rivers and streams do not reach the sea. From Valdivia in 1540), they found this area settled by
about 1000 to 2200 m above sea level there is farmers and pastoralists in the zones where natural
practically no vegetation except a few xerophytic conditions would allow for the pursuit of such ac
tivities, while the coastal region was inhabited coastal ports fromwhere the finished product was
largely by fishermen, hunters of marine mammals, shipped. From the late 19thcentury onward, a net
and gatherers of shellfish. However, less than a work of railroads was established together with
century earlier, theAtacama Desert had been con systems of tramways which transported themate
quered and partly settled by the Inca for purposes rial within themines.
which are still subject to debate but which presum JohnBlake (1843: 7), in thefirsthalf of the 19th
ably included a desire to protect and improve com century, stated:
munication with themore fertile southern regions,
and also to gain access to the important sources of The nitrate of soda of Tarapaca affords employment for a
semi-precious stones and metals, especially large part of the inhabitants of the province. In 1837 one
hundred and fifty thousand quintals were shipped from the
copper.
Under Spanish administration, theAudiencia of port of Iquique ... Its recent introduction as a manure will
probably greatly increase the demand for it in foreign

Lima included Tarapaca, while the Provincia de
countries.
Atacama (today Antofagasta region) formed part The process of refining, through which the crude salt
of theAudiencia of Charcas. With the creation of passes before it is transported to the ports for exportation, is
the republics of Peru and Bolivia, respectively, in rude and simple. The operation is conducted generally by
the firstquarter of the 19th century, Tarapaca fell Indians, under the direction of a Spanish major-domo. Each
oficina (sic) or working place, consists of a few rude huts,
to Peru, and most of Antofagasta to Bolivia. As a
thewalls of which are constructed of cakes of salt, cemented
result of the Pacific War (1879-82), both areas
together with the mixed marl and salt obtained from the
were taken over by Chile. While colonial mining kettles in use for refining, the roofs being formed of mats,
enterprises (silver, forexample) had existed, large supported by rafters of cactus. All the work of refining is
conducted in the open air. The apparatus consists of a few
scale exploitation of the nitrate fields, first in the
copper kettles, of the capacity of fifty gallons each, set
Pampa of Tamarugal in Tarapaca, had been in within walls formed of cakes of salt, and shallow oblong
itiated only from about 1830. These activities
square vats for crystallizing. The salt, as blasted from the
eventually made Chile one of the world's most bed, which is always near to the oficina, is carried in bags on
importantproducers of natural nitrate.

the backs of laborers near to the kettles, where women and
children are employed in breaking it into fragments of the
Sodium nitrate {salitre or Chile salt peter) is
size of hen's eggs. About two thirds of each kettle being
extracted from caliche or gravels cemented by this
filled with the broken salt, and water added, a strong fire is
as well as other salts, deposited predominantly in maintained until the water becomes saturated, then it is
zones located between 19?30'S and 26?S. Caliche dipped into tubs to settle, and from thence transferredwhile
is found in layers between 0.90 to 2.00 m thick, hot to the crystallizers. The undissolved portion which re
consisting principally of chloride of sodium and

rarely inoutcrops but hidden below the surface and mainsv
earthly matter, is thrown aside as worthless, although fre
blasted loose by explosives. Although high-grade
quently not more than one half of the nitrate has been sepa
caliche might have been used as a fertilizer in the rated, the same relative proportion of crude salt being at all
early colonial period (or perhaps even in pre times used, without regard to its quality.
Columbian times), from the beginning of the 18th Aside from thewant of economy displayed in the refining
process, the affairs of the officinas are well conducted. Each

century, it had been used mainly for the man
branch of the operation, from the breaking the salt from the
ufacture of gunpowder. Itwas the development of
bed up to the time when it is placed on board vessels for
the system of paradas by Thaedeus Haenke at the
exportation, is conducted by a distinct class of laborers, who
beginning of the 19th century, and later the receive for their work a fixed sum on each quintal of the
Shank's system invented by James Shanks in the refined salt produced.
second half of the same century,which allowed for

the eventual large-scale production of nitrate. At It was the nitrate fields or the presence of
first, thousands of mules were imported from sodium nitratewhich firstbrought attention to the
Argentina to be used in the nitrate zone for Desert of Atacama as a zone of economic im
transportingalong thedesert trails the rawmaterial portance. The firstdiscovery of importantnitrate

from themines to the refineries, and then to the deposits inAntofagasta has been variously attrib
uted to two Frenchmen in the 1850s or to a perhaps become rich in the nitratemines. In the
prominent miner from the port of Cobija in the mining settlements, the Chileans were joined not
1860s. Be this as itmay, the firstoficina operating only bymigrants from the neighboring countries of
in this region was "Salar del Carmen," situated Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, but also frommore
some 10 km from the port of Antofagasta, then distant regions, even Europe. Although no
known as La Chimba cove. Work started in 1869, systematic study exists on this aspect of life, evi
and closed in 1884 when the nitrate deposits had dence of informants suggests that the process of
been exhausted. In 1872, theCompama de Salitres adaptation to thepampa must have been slow and
y Ferrocarril de Antofagasta (previously known as quite painful, not only because of thebarrenness of
Sociedad Melbourne, Clark and Co.) was formed the desert, its blazing sun during the day, and icy
as a Chilean company largelywith English capital cold nights, but also the harsh conditions of work,
and with an English manager. The firstpart of the the long hours, and theneed to learn theuse of new
futureAntofagasta and Bolivia Railway reached tools and machinery (Figure 3). Other aspects to
Salar del Carmen in 1873. From the close of the which the individuals and their families would
Pacific War, nitrate production boomed in theAta have to adapt must have been themiserable stan
cama Desert, and Chile salt peter used as a fertiliz dard of housing in the "camps" (laborers' dwell
er and for themanufacture of dynamite, became ing area), the strict regimen imposed by many
the main source of the country's revenue, attract managers with respect to social structure (based
ing large amounts of foreign capital, particularly upon the official classification of the work in
English and German, but also Italian, Spanish, which the individual was employed), and having to
French and North American (Bermudez 1963: learn to live with people of differentcultural back
373). grounds. Some forms of amusement and recreation
At the beginning of the present century, 170 would be arranged in the oficinas, particularly for
oficinas were listed, 67 of which were in An the "upper levels" of the community, such as con
tofagasta. certs, balls, and dinners where the men would
In Antofagasta the oficinas were distributed in dress in dinner jackets, and inwhich themanager
five cantones (administrative units). As noted, this and his family would join. The amusement of the
study is concerned with oficinas inCanton Bolivia workers would be of a differentkind, hard drink
or Central, most of which are situated at a short ing, for example, carried out inPampa Union, now
distance from the Antofagasta-Bolivia Railway, another "ghost town" in the desert, but formerly
between km 122 and km 170 (Figure 1). an importantcommercial center, especially famous
Simultaneously with the development of new for its restaurants and its prostitutes.
oficinas in Antofagasta, the nitrate ports such as By the turnof the century, living and working
Tocopilla, Mejillones, Antofagasta, and Taltal conditions in the nitratemines, although far from
grew tremendously as urban settlements and ideal, had undoubtedly improved with respect to
"boom towns" on thebarren coast of theAtacama those described by Blake in 1837. Semper and
Desert. Most famous of these was Antofagasta, Michels (1908: 100-04) make the following state
known for its theatre visited by the famous per ments:
formersof the era, itsplaza covered with grass and
In the pampa one works from sunrise to sunset ... At the
trees, and the high consumption of French cham hour of most heat?from 11 to 1?the laborers return to the
pagne of its residents and the visitors who would oficina, and generally around 4 in the afternoon, they take a
come in from thepampa. second period of rest corresponding to the hour of the onces
The "Golden Age" of the nitrates resulted in a (Chilean afternoon meal).
The workers must strictly observe their hours in the ofici
vigorous migration to itscenters of people from the
nas, as all phases of elaboration are intimately related
Norte Chico, and also some southern parts of . . .Most of the laborers work in turns of 12 hours. The
Chile, farmers and others oftenwith theirfamilies, period of rest at midday for the workers operating the ma
who came in the hope of making a better life, and chine is from one to one and a half hours.
FIGURE 3. Nitrateoficina "Jose Francisco Vergara" closed in the 1970s (Canton Longitudinal).Photo Courtesv of
Carlos Padilla.
have gone up during these last years . . .There is The housing offered by the oldest oficinas were miserable
Wages
no work for women . . . huts, made from used sacks, fragments of corrugated iron or
No legal dispositions exist concerning laborers' contracts, with walls of salt.
particularly relating to the notice which a laborer must give The more recent oficinas have true camps with wide
in order to leave the plant. There have been rebellions in the streets and extensive dwellings, made with corrugated iron,
pampa against the European managers and the office em or with peices of cakes of salt.
ployees because of their harsh and violent treatment of the Married workers are given two rooms, while single men
laborers. generally live several together in one room.
... In all the oficinas wages are paid in money to the The interior arrangement is generally neglected and
laborers only once a month, corresponding to the amount . . .
dirty
due to them from the previous month. However, daily they The food of the Chilean is much better and more
may obtain fichas (similar to round pocker chips, with their nutritious than thatwhich a German worker permits himself.
values indicated on the surface) corresponding in value to At midday as well as in the afternoon, the common laborer,
the amount due to them. The fichas, a sort of money, used apart from beans and vegetables, asks for at least a plate of
formaking transactions in the company store, are of metal or meat. Many laborers eat meat for a third time at the hour of
bakelite. onces. Tea, sugar, canned fruit, fish and meat are consumed
Onthe other hand, this system of paying wages has been in large quantities . . .
the cause of some oficinas having unscrupulously exploited The company stores have a large assortment of domestic
the workers . . . articles, clothing, and even luxury articles for the wives of
In the nitrate industry, nearly all wages are fixed in such a the workers. (Translation ours).
manner that they allow the laborers who are sober and eco
nomical sufficient means for leading a comfortable life
. . .Drunkenness has developed to an alarming extent in World War I temporarily increased the produc
spite of the laws passed to suppress it
. . . tion and consumption of nitrates for explosives and
fertilizers, but Chile lacked sufficientmeans to the most expensive to the cheapest"); b) dry goods (flour,
ship itsproducts toEurope. The sale of needed raw sugar, etc.) and articles for sewing; c) fruits and vegetables;
d) meat ("well kept and hygenic"); e) coal, charcoal, etc.;
materials such as oil was restricted by theAllies,
0 wine, beer, and gaseous drinks ("consumption is re
and the British were able to liquidate theGerman stricted and controlled by the Social Wellfare Service of the
owned mines. During this period, Fritz Haber dis oficina"); g) bread?with a bakery section ("clean"), and
covered the process of producing "synthetic ni also h) a taylor shop. Other facilities offered were a theater,
trate" (the fixation of nitrogen from the air). After a philarmonic orchestra, a public library, a school, a hotel, a
football ground, a cinema functioning three times a week, a
thewar, prices fell. This togetherwith thepost war
police force, a permanent doctor, his assistant, and a mid
depression and the results of theHaber discovery, wife. Medical visits and medicines were free of charge to the
which meant that nitrate could be produced as workers.
cheaply or cheaper in the United States and Eu

rope, were theprincipal factors in theprocess lead Out of the 170 nitrate plants said to have existed
ing to the close of the boom era of the nitrates of at the beginning of the present century, in
northernChile (Couyoumdjian 1974-75). The ofi Tarapaca region none is operating today. In An
cinas of Tarapaca and Antofagasta began to close, tofagasta, two plants remain using new systems of
and the railway and tramlines fell intodisuse. As a recovery (theGuggenheim process modified by the
result of the cessation of employment, large num use of solar evaporation) which permit the ex
bers of people either driftedback to theiregions of ploitation of low-grade caliche: 1) Maria Elena,
origin or sought other work in the north, particu situated in the northern part of theRegion, about
larly in the copper industrywhich took over ni 72 km inland from the port of Tocopilla. Produc
trate's position in Chile's economy during the tion began in 1927. It has a total population of
1920s, and has remained the principal activity in some 9,400. 2) Pedro de Valdivia, situated 30 km
theAtacama Desert since that time. to the south of Maria Elena. This plant began op
Information on living conditions in the 1920s in erating in 1931. Today it has more than 10,000
the canton Bolivia may be gained from de inhabitants. Drinking water is supplied in pipe
scriptions of oficinas contained in a work by Val lines from the highlands to the east, but many
enzuela (1926). The oficina Filomena, for ex laborers' dwellings still have no running water.
ample, owned by the Lautaro Nitrate Co., Ltd., Industrial water is provided by the Loa river or
and located at km 151 on theAntofagasta-Bolivia fromwells. Considering the great variety of activi
railway employed 1500 laborers and had a total ties in which the inhabitants of these oficinas are
population of 4000 including the population living engaged, and the facilities which exist?apart from
in two camps situated at some distance from the the obvious ones relating to the extraction and pro
main settlement (Valenzuela, 98-99). duction of nitrate and its by-products?it may be
A summary of Valenzuela's information is pre said that they represent trueurban settlements, arti
sented in the following: ficially imposed on a natural environment, which
must be regarded as unfavourable to large-scale,
The majority of the houses for married laborers were
permanent occupation. Supplies must necessarily
made of corrugated iron, a few were of adobe. They had two be provided from outside. As far as settlementpat
or three rooms. The houses containing rooms for single men
tern is concerned, these towns share the general
were of corrugated iron too. These houses possessed no
bathrooms nor running water. On the other hand, the house lay-out of the oficinas of the past. While it is not
of the administration (for the manager and some highly the purpose of this study to analyze these subjects,
placed employees) was composed of 43 bathrooms, had two a description of some of themain structural fea
large dining halls, and a garden with a tennis court. The tures of these towns is useful to put the present
construction was of wood with interior walls covered with
effort in context. The towns are laid out in a pat
reeds and clay. The houses of themarried employees had a
bathroom, five or six rooms, and a patio. This oficina also
tern reflecting a model of ridgid class structure.
possessed a pulperia (company store) with departments for Streets containing nearly identical houses for the
the sale of: a) clothing and textiles ("ranging in price from laborers and their families, as well as the special
houses used by single workers, are placed apart paper flowers in good condition and the in
from those reserved for office personnel, those of scriptions on their tombs perfectly legible.
the lattergroup being larger and bettermade than
the houses of the former.Well away from the The Research Program: Stage I
abodes of the workers are the large and comfort
able houses of the professional-administrative As Stage I of the research program was explora
staff, the largest and most expensive with respect tory in nature aimed largely at recognizing data
to constructionmaterials and general conveniences and methodologies which would make further
being reserved for the administrator of the oficina study and analysis easier, itwas begun with the
and his family. Industrial structures of different following hypotheses to test:
kinds are placed at the outskirts of the town as are
the dumps for trashpertaining to household as well 1 Because of the unique situation of preservation in the
as industrial activities, the lattermainly being con desert, survey and excavation in middens, structures, and
other features should reveal a large variety of artifacts re
centrated as the large artificial hills known as re
lated to a large variety of activities (apart from those related
tortas, a feature characteristic of the entirepampa to technology).
salitrera. 2 A research strategy combining the techniques and
The non-industrial activities of the towns are methods of different disciplines (archaeology, documentary
symbolized by elements such as the church, history, ethnography, oral history, and correspondence)
should permit not only to illuminate evidence obtained from
schools, the company store as well as different
written records but also to gain knowlege pertaining to dif
kinds of commercial establishments which supply ferent aspects of the lifeway of the former occupants of the
the daily necessities of the population, a library, a nitrate oficinas.
cinema, a hospital, laboratories for research con 3 Historical documentation demonstrate that the oficinas
nected with themining activities, casinos or res were occupied within a limited period of time. Therefore
dateable artifacts should tend to reflect this period.
taurants (graded according to the social status of
4 If artifacts recovered from different oficinas could be
theirusers), guest houses (likewise graded accord in a manner suitable for establishing
analysed activity/
ing to the importance of theirrespective visitors), a behavior groups similar to those developed by historical
post office, a police station, quarters for the fire archaeologists in the United States, then on the basis of an
brigade, a private radio station, a museum, and adequately designed research it should be possible to define
a "pattern" characteristic of the occupation sites of the ni
grounds for engaging in different kinds of sports trate industry.
(tennis, football, basketball, etc.), and a swim 5 Oral evidence suggests that domestic refuse was gener
ming pool. ally discarded away from its location of use ("secondary
Apart from these two oficinas and themining refuse" as defined by Schiffer 1977), and oral evidence and
activities taking place around them, the Chilean historic sources tend to place a great importance on the use
of products of foreign origin (wines, canned food, ceramics,
pampa salitrera is characterized today by ghost record should
cigarettes, etc.). Therefore the archaeological
towns (dismantled and/or sacked in different de reveal a high proportion of imported goods.
grees) with their surfaces litteredwith fragmentsof 6 Oral evidence suggests that strict differences in status
household articles, remains of clothing, food, were characteristic of the cultural system. Therefore the arti
facts recovered from different sites (or part of sites) should
paper, broken glass, and many other items used by
reflect these differences.
their former inhabitants. The arid climate allows
for optimum preservation of organic material.
Consequently artifacts and animal and plant re
mains can be recovered in amounts which may Documentary Research
usually be considered suitable for a quantitative
evaluation. Other interesting evidence of former With regard to the general ranges of documen
life in the pampa is constituted by the cemeteries, tary sources found to be of assistance (or potential
no more in use, and sometimes sacked but which assistance) to the present research, the following
inmany instances conserve theirmonuments and main categories can be established.
1 Published materials. As no previous archaeology nitrate oficinas. However, the amount of time, effort, and
had been undertaken in nitrate oficinas, Stage I of the project personnel required for tabulation and analysis mean that
was partly dedicated to the search for general background their usefulness at this time remains potential.
material including the assessment of the potential utility of In view of the excellent preservation of artifacts in the
published works available such as the results of historic, desert environment, it is expected that at least a large pro
economic, hydrological and geological research. Although portion of the data which remain to be gained from the study
there exists a relative abundance of literature particularly of archival records will be reflected in the archaeological
dealing with historical, economic, technological, and po context.
litical aspects of the nitrate industry, only a limited part of 3 A third type of collection consists of maps, plans,
this seemed useful to the purposes of the present investiga photographs, private letters,fichas, and other materials. In
tion. On the other hand, different types of published evi Antofagasta, for example, theMunicipal Archives possess a
dence were also consulted, including maps, "albums" con valuable collection of plans and maps relating to the nitrate
taining photographs from the period (people, machinery, industry, that?at the present time?has been partly cata
housing, etc.), and life in general in different oficinas (num loged but not used in any systematic study relating to the
ber of inhabitants, number of houses of different types, mitrate communities.
facilities in terms of amusement, recreation, education, etc.)
which were published yearly during the first quarter of this
century, as well as newspapers from the period (see, for Oral Information
example, Valenzuela 1926; SilvaNarro 1909-1919; ElMer
curio de Antofagasta, 1900-1930). Advertisements for Oral evidence or personal recollections obtained
many different products and news items found in newspap
from former residents of the nitrate plants have
ers as well as in the "albums" and "guidebooks" proved to
be fruitful sources for gaining information on artifacts per proved to be promising sources of information,
taining to the archaeological part of the research. A limited
which not only serve to illuminate official records
amount of fiction such as a recently published novel based but also provide a mass of informationwhich is not
on historic research also proved to be of interest (Cortes
present in the official data.
1977).
The search for informantswas initiated through
2 Archival materials. A second category of docu
letters to the local and national press inwhich the
ments that constitutes a potential source of information of
great value is to be found in regional and national archives, purpose of the research was explained. This re
and also abroad, especially inEngland. These materials may sulted in a series of lettersfrom former residents of
be divided into the following classes: a) parish and civil the oficinas which were of special interest to this
registers recording baptisms, marriages, and burials. In the research, as well as from others who had lived in
end these sources will yield substantial information on
nitrate plants elsewhere. Many of these letters
migration to the nitrate centers, as well as much other data
on vital characteristics (relating to studies on aspects of already contained personal recollections on the
demography, family reconstitution, etc.). It should also be general living, working conditions in the plants,
possible to relate the study of these materials to that of and information on life in specific oficinas. This
recording the data on the monuments in the abandoned informationand other subjects of particular interest
cemeteries in the nitrate zone, b) "Company Books," con
to the research then served as a basis for the
stituted by thousands of papers, isolated or contained in the
"archives" of individual oficinas or groups of oficinas. elaboration of a questionnaire which was sent to
These types of documents can also still be recovered each of the individuals who had answered the
archaeologically in the closed oficinas. They often contain
original letters.With some of these informantsan
detailed information on an abundance of subjects; such as extensive correspondence was es
eventually
administration, economy, technology, health, accidents, tablished which proved to be highly fruitful.Some
origin of laborers and employees, wages and salaries, educa
of the informants sent newspaper clippings and
tion, state of repair of housing, religion, crime and conflict,
social and trade networks, subsistence, nationality of work other material which they thoughtwould be of in
ers, and statistics of all sorts. The study of these types of terest.One person also became so interested in the
data should be of fundamental interest tomany disciplines,
project that he made a special journey to see the
but so far they have either not been analyzed or, ifused, they
excavated materials. With his cooperation itwas
have not been related to community studies. A preliminary
assessment of these sources indicates that?like the church possible to interpret
many of the objects which had
and civil records, and in conjunction with these, they will presented problems, to correct erroneous in
yield important information on many aspects of life in the terpretations,as well as gain new insights intohow
objects were used and valued by the residents. The hand, like to talk at great length about the
interviews held with this informantabout the dis availability of imported cigarettes, French wines
carded artifacts, food residues, bits of minerals, and champagne, concerts, balls, and "graceful liv
etc. also introduced new topics for discussion ing" in general.
which consequently proved to be of great value for Further work in the collecting of oral evidence
the research. will be oriented specifically toward obtaining
Later, contacts were established with informants memory data related to objects ofmaterial culture.
still living in the nitrate zone, especially in the two The ethnographic ("living archaeology") part
surviving plants, some of whom are old enough to of the study is still at its initial and exploratory
remember "when people would live in tents or stage, but systematic research is being planned in
huts made from old sacking and scrap." These one of themining towns mentioned above for the
interviews now include the use of a tape recorder. purpose of gaining comparative evidence.
In sum, oral history research and correspon
dence has resulted in the recovery of information The Archaeological Evidence
on many subjects including the general quality of
life, leisure time activities, indulgences, patterns The initial part of the project was devoted to
of refuse disposal, domestic life, origin of workers surveying a number of closed oficinas and to pro
and employees, clothing, working conditions, vide a surface collection which could be used for
household possessions, education, the presence of establishing a classificatory scheme, at least in a
domestic animals and pets (cats, dogs, guinea preliminarymanner. On the basis of the surveys, it
pigs, chickens, ducks, pigs and goats were men was decided to start excavation in the oficina
tioned), food consumption, social, economic and known as Jose Santos Ossa.
ethnic discrimination, and also data relating to Jose Santos Ossa is situated at 1360 m above sea
specific oficinas in terms of location and function level, at km 132 along the Antofagasta-Bolivia
of ruins, location of trashmiddens, and other fea railroad. The railway station bearing the same
tures. name served for the loading and unloading of
The great majority of the informantsapparently goods and materials. Its total surface including the
look at the past with objectivity. Most individuals nitrate fields was 12,240,000 m2. The plant began
tend to remember a great amount of detail about operating in 1910. Up to 1923, it had produced
the routine of theirworking, social and domestic 5,873,821 quintals of salitre. In 1911 (Silva Narro
life; they also remember events which broke the 1911: 280-81), apart from the technological equip
everyday routine. Preconditions needed to be met ment including a place for the exploitation of
for individuals to remember included that he/she iodine, an electricity plant and two wells, this ofi
understood the subject and that itwas found to be cina had a school, a hotel, a medical doctor, a
interesting or relevant. In general the interviews pharmacist, a musical band, and a slaughterhouse
and the correspondence display internal con which supplied all the oficinas belonging to the
sistency, and apparent inconsistencies may often "Compania de Salitres de Antofagasta." About
be explained in termsof the type of work inwhich 1924, it had 22 km of tram and railway line to
the informant was engaged or his/hers position transportthe caliche, and five locomotives with 75
within the local hierarchy. Former laborers, for cars. The living quarters of the laborers were lo
example, tend to be critical of the working con cated in the northern part of the settlement and
ditions, thepoor housing standards, overcrowding, consisted of six streets formed by four blocks of
the sharing of outside water taps and bathrooms houses. The settlement is reported to have had 368
with cold water only, the system of payment in dwellings for families and 102 rooms for single
fichas, and so on. Office employees or others hav men (Figure 4). Other facilities included a theatre,
ing held a more privileged position as far as social a house for the fire brigade, and a maternity clinic
and economic status is concerned, on the other (Valenzuela 1926: 91). In 1926, apart from the
SCALE 1 : 10.000
- Road
?_ Ra ilway line
FIGURE 4. Plan of Jose Santos Ossa. (After "Piano topografico de oficinas de The Lautaro Nitrate Co. Ltd.?1926",
CEDOC, Universidad del Norte, Antofagasta). 1, Site 1, large trash midden; 2, laborers' "camp"; 3, midden; 4,
slaughterhouse; 5, animal pen; 6, large house ruin; 7, retorta; 8, technological activity area; 9, road; 10, Antofagasta
Bolivia railway; 11, wells; 12, gunpowder magazine.
machinery and other technological equipment, the oficina had between 600 and 700 workers. As a
existence of a library is also mentioned (El Mer result of the general crisis affecting the nitrate in
curio, December 1926). A map from 1926 (Figure dustry, the plant was closed in 1926. Today the
4) shows some of these features and others. This structures which remain are in ruins, and some
have been dismantled to the extent that only the and particularly fichas and papers of various kinds are ob
foundations exist. jects in great demand by collectors. In this connection it is

interesting to repeat?what was mentioned above?that the
entire contents of the plaza of a recently closed and dis
Site Formation mantled oficina has been transferred to the campus of the
Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, and that a car
With respect to the cultural and natural activities riage, a tram car, and a locomotive, from another oficina
now adorn the campus of the Universidad del Norte, in
responsible for the general formation of the
Antofagasta. As far as the archaeological project is con
archaeological record of Jose Santos Ossa, on the
cerned, an attempt will be made to conserve and protect
evidence of informantsand estimates made during
"key objects."
the research, the following processes can be
assumed to have operated (see Schiffer 1972,
The majority of the finds discussed in this paper
1977; South 1979):
would have resulted from discard and could be
defined as material discarded away from the place
1 "Secondary refuse" formation symbolized by the exis
tence of more or less extended dumps or middens (some
it was in use, or "secondary refuse" (Schiffer
times deposited in pits dug for industrial purposes), particu 1972, 1977; South 1979).
larly of a domestic nature, situated at some distance from the
places the materials they contain were in use. "Adjacent Analysis of Excavated Material
secondary refuse" includes: (a) the retorta consisting of
industrial waste, and (b) the remains of bones and other parts
of animals left in an area close to the ruins of a structure
The locality of Jose Santos Ossa was first di
which seems to have been used for butchering. Jose Santos vided by means of a grid system into four large
Ossa had no cemetery, but as noted mortuary behavior is units. During the initial surveying, tests had been
evidenced in the cemeteries of other nitrate plants. made in various parts of the locality, and it had
2 A planned and gradual process of abandonment is
been decided to start excavation in a large trash
known to have been partly responsible for the formation of
the sites. Oral evidence suggests that few still usable, port
midden (Site 1) with a total surface of 180 x
able objects were abandoned. 80 m. Its southern edge was located 100 m to the
3 The types of processes which Schiffer (1977) terms north of the workers' dwellings (Site 2), which
"secondary use," "recycling," and "lateral use," largely were easily identified on the basis of documentary
connected with the organized sale (as well as sacking) of
records (Figure 4). The midden was litteredwith
materials in connection with abandonment, including par
broken artifacts which indicated its domestic na
ticularly the dismantling of roofs (corrugated iron), wooden
materials (door and window frames, floors, etc.), window ture, and itwas therefore assumed that itwould
glass, and occasionally adobe bricks. These activities are contain the trash pertaining to the before men
probably also largely responsible for the great amount of tioned workers' houses and that thiswould reveal
surface littercharacteristic of the oficina outside the original
much about the cultural material which had been
refuse areas. It is interesting to note that former industrial
waste is being re-used today as a consequence of improved
available to their occupants.
The present reportwill center on the preliminary
technology involving the use of low-grade caliche. With
respect to heavy industrial equipment, the majority (tram results of the analysis of material from one of the
lines, railway lines, machinery, and so on) has been re cuts (Cut 2) carried out in themidden. Cut 2 meas
moved and sold and consequently subjected to one or more
ured 2 x 1m. Excavation was by 10 cm arbitrary
of the processes mentioned here.
4 The destructive effects on the deposits of the actions of
levels reaching a maximum depth of 1,90 m. Part
human feet and the traffic of vehicles. of the trashhad been deposited in a trench located
5 Natural activities responsible for the alteration or along the eastern edge of themidden, which?as
redeposition of materials would include: (a) earthquakes, (b) was later learned from an informant?had been
erosion, and (c) the wind displacing light objects. excavated for industrial purposes. The only "nat
6 As far as "conservatory processes" are concerned, little
ural stratification" observed consisted of a layer of
public action has been taken, although the future establish
ment of a "Nitrate Museum" is occasionally mentioned in straw. All the excavated material was weighed in
the press. Some materials are kept by private institutions, the field, and then sifted through a 0.5 cm mesh
screen. The material which went through the not satisfactory.Whether toweigh or count or both
screen was consequently discarded. Although the presented and still presents a problem. The follow
material recovered was initially analyzed by ing procedures were finally adopted. Everything
levels, no significant separation according to this was weighed and many itemswere counted. Then
criterion could be found. Firmly dated materials, everything recovered?apart from the sediments,
especially newspapers indicated that although the etc. which had disappeared through the screen?
deposits do not appear to have been disturbed? was sorted in terms of material (wood, glass,
except possibly by domestic animals when the leather,metal, paper, rubber, stone, shell, bone,
midden was in use?some mixture had taken place ceramics, and so on). It was also decided to in
to the extent thatnewspapers and other documents clude groups designated "food residue" and
pertaining to the years between 1921 and 1925 "non-artifact/non-subsistence flora" and "fauna"
were distributed indiscriminately inboth upper and (animal fur, coprolites, feathers, straw, etc.), and
lower levels. Itwas consequently decided to com others (Table 2). Another breakdown was then
bine Cut 2 into a single analytic unit. made in termsof artifacts and non/artifacts.35,712
A total of 385,353 kg of material was recovered kg (9.27%) of thematerial yielded were artifacts,
from Cut 2, including a wide range of artifacts. and 57,130 kg (14.83%), for example, were re
Out of this, 125,400 kg (32.54%) went through the mains of food including animal bone (61.87%),
0.5 cm mesh screen (Table 1). shellfish (2.91%), and fish bone (1.87%).
The classification and description of this great 15,154 artifacts (or fragments of artifacts) dis
quantity and variety of material have presented tributedas shown inTable 3 were identified. Paper
many problems. One aim of the project was to and cardboard, for instance, amounted to 5,053
develop a classificatory scheme which reflected as items (33.00% of total quantity of artifacts)weigh
much as possible cultural reality and the different ing 2,822 kg (10.04% of total artifact weight).
kinds of activities represented by the artifacts and This material included newspapers, books, labels,
othermaterials recovered, and which, at the same cigarette packs, personal and business letters,
time, would permit the use of all the evidence medical prescriptions, playing cards, photographs,
available (archaeological, documentary and oral) fireworks, envelopes, luggage tickets, and so on.
in the interpretationof these data. A classificatory The next breakdown was made within the artifact
scheme based on material or the formal attributes groupings based on "material" in termsof criteria
used in prehistoric archaeology, for example, was such as form, function, color, method of man
ufacture, or a combination of these or other attri
butes which seemed useful. The categories
TABLE 1 established for "glass", for example, included
COMPOSITIONANDWEIGHTOF MATERIALS window glass, bottles (further subdivided as to
RECOVERED INCUT 2
Composition Weight (grams) %

TABLE 2
Artifacts 28,112 7.30 COMPOSITIONANDWEIGHTOF MATERIALS
Adobe 7,600 1.97 RECOVERED INCUT 2?SIMPLIFIED
Food residues 57,130 14.83
Flora (non-artif./non-subsist.) 1.79
6,885 Composition %
Weight (grams)
Fauna (non-artif./non-subsist.) 3.55
13,675
Fuel 40,980 10.63 Artifacts00 9.27
35,712
Miscel. minerals 5,675 1.47 Food residues 14.83
57,130
Miscel. inorganic materials 99,896 25.92 Other292,511 75.90
Sifted material 125,400 32.54
TOTAL385,353 100.00
TOTAL385,353 100.00 (a)including adobe
form, color, function, method of manufacture, TABLE3

contents, and marks), jars, miscellaneous table FREQUENCIES AND WEIGHT OF ARTIFACTS
ware (wine glass, tumbler, etc.), and so on. Paper ACCORDINGTO MATERIAL
and cardboard labels, on theother hand, were sub
Weight
divided into "food" and "non food," and later Material Count % (grams) %
sorted in terms of type of product represented,
brand or any other significant attribute.Metal was Textile and cordage 2,083 13.75 3,329 11.84
Metal 2,890 19.07 13,936 49.57
first subdivided into iron and steel, lead, copper,
Paper and cardboard 5,053 33.34 2,811 10.04
brass, and unidentified scrap. Iron and steel Ceramics 248 1.64 1,059 3.77
formed themost importantcategory with respect to Glass 1,850 12.20 5,920 21.27
weight and quantity of objects, including buckles, Wood 2,349 15.50 508 1.81
buttons, hooks, knives, wire, nails, cans, and so Leather 594 3.91 240 0.84
on. Nails (wire and machine cut) were the highest Miscellaneous^ 87 0.05 238 0.85
Adobe(b) X ? ?
(7,600)
percentage (72.03%).
As one of the goals of our classificatory scheme TOTAL 15,154 28,112 99.99
was to lend cultural significance to the material
(a)
recovered in the sense of relating it to human be writing chalk, rubber, cork, plaster, shell, bone, bakelite.
(b)X denotes
havior and eventually to establish "patterns" presence.
along the lines developed by Stanley South (1977),

the next step was tomake a functional division of
this assemblage. As a result, a total of 13 TABLE 4
"Activity/Behavior Groups" based on counts GROUPFREQUENCIESFOR
ACTIVITY/BEHAVIOR
were established. For purposes of description and CUT 2
statistics, these in turnwere broken into classes, Count %

Group
categories, varieties, and subvarieties. A syn
thesized version of this scheme is presented in 1. Household 23,438 75.05
Table 4. It should be noted that the groupings 2. Architecture 2,493 7.98

3. Communication/Education 1,545 4.95
listed present a first approximation which can be
4. Clothing 1,240 3.97
in the future when necessary. For ex
reorganized 5. Company Administration/Commerce 1,166 3.73
a "Activities has not 6. Technology/Transport 550 1.76
ample, separate Group,"
been defined?as is current in North American 7. Recreation 395 1.26
309 0.99
classificatory schemes. As percentages are based
8. Tobacco
9. Personal Hygiene/Cosmetics 58 0.19
on counts, it has obviously been necessary to ex
10. Personal 17 0.05
clude thosematerials which were not counted but 11. Health 10 0.03
only weighed (bits of minerals, cattle bone, copro 12. Ideology/Religion 6 0.02
lites, and other items). It is also important to point 13. Military 3 0.01
out that themajority of the objects recovered from

TOTAL 31,230 99.99
Cut 2 were in a broken state and that the quantita
tive analysis presented here has been performed by
counting these fragments. So far, no attempt to
determine estimates of whole artifacts or other
items once present has been made. Consequently, Beyond the data collected fromCut 2 (Site 1),
the data presented are not really comparable (total test pits were also made in theworkers' dwellings
quantity of crown caps, for example, has been (Site 2), located to the south of themidden (Figure
given a value equal to total number of bottle frag 1). In spite of having been dismantled with respect
ments, total number of pieces of newspaper, total to roofs, door and window frames, window glass,
number of whole nails, and so on). etc., these houses are relativelywell preserved (ex
cept for one row which has been entirely razed), mics (Figure 5). The materials recovered from
and the number and size of rooms and the general these sites have not yet been analyzed in detail.
layout could be studied. The finds from the sample
excavations, however, seem to be objects depos
ited when the houses were dismantled. On the Chronology
other hand, specialized distribution of artifacts
were found in a test square excavated in a midden The exploratory excavation made in a domestic
located to the south east of Site 2. The nearly ex midden, Site 1, Cut 2, at the oficina Jose Santos
clusive contents of manure, bones, hooves, fur, Ossa provided some sharp time markers. These
horns, etc. pertaining to cattle, sheep, goat, and consisted of fragments of newspapers, different
pig indicated that thisdump (Site 3) had functioned types of forms, receipts, and other dated items.
as a place where the unusable parts of butchered The years shown on these documents are 1921,
animals were discarded. This midden was located 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, and "192 ." The re
adjacent to the ruins of a relatively large square mainder of thematerial recovered cannot be dated
structurewhich apparently had functioned as the with the same degree of precision. So far, no reply
slaughterhouse (Site 4). Remains of walls enclos has been received from the various manufacturers
ing a rectangular area located close to the assumed consulted about the dating of theirproducts. Many
slaughterhouse and characterized by large quanti of the objects found are not being produced today
ties of manure suggested that thiswould have been (cigarettes, candles, matches, gaseous drinks, for
the corral or pen (Site 5) where the animals were example), while others continue although indiffer
kept before being butchered. Test pits were also ent kinds of packs, cans, etc. On the other hand, it
dug within a large house ruin (Site 6) placed in the has been possible to confirm the occurrence of
southern part of the locality. This house was quite many of theproducts at theperiod indicated, partly
differentfrom theworkers' dwellings with respect through advertisements in newspapers and maga
to size, general layout, conveniences, and the zines, and partly through the evidence of in
quality of thematerials used in the construction of formants. As mentioned above, however, the
it.
firmly dated items do not allow us to establish a
Artifacts recovered included medical equip fine chronology for the objects with which they
ment, medicine bottles, vaccination forms, and were associated, as some mixture of deposits had
application forms for laborers seeking employ obviously taken place. On the other hand, no ob
ment. The only dated material consisted of unused jects appeared that could be securely dated to post
printed forms indicating the year "192 ."It was 1925. On the evidence at hand, forCut 2, then, it
first thought that thismight be thematernity clinic can be suggested that thematerials recovered date
referred to inwritten sources, but if thiswere the to the last years of the occupation period of the
case, the clinic must have offered other services settlement.Confirmation, however, is obviously a
too. The retorta (Site 7) is located in thewestern matter for the future.
portion of the area forming a mountain of in
dustrial waste. To the north, east, and west of this
feature can be seen themarks of the railway and Discussion
tramlineswhich had been used to transportmateri
als to this and other sites of the oficina. A brief Above has been presented a list of "Activity/
examination was also made of some domestic mid Behavior Groups" which can be established in a
dens situated to the east and west respectively of preliminary manner on the basis of the material
the zone characterized by structures and the re excavated inCut 2. Following some of this evi
torta. These deposits had a surface much less ex dence will be discussed in termsof what itmay tell
tensive that that of Site 1, but surface debris con about the lives of the people who lived at Jose
sisted of a relatively large amount of foreign cera Santos Ossa.
si
wood &*50nS iTS
CW<iLAUb
scale:
Cms.
_i
FIGURE 5. Miscellaneous artifacts (a-f, Site 1, Cut 2; g-i, surface of unexcavated trash midden), a, b, cigarette packs;
c, d, pens (c, marked "R. ESTERBROOK & COS. OVAL POINT"; d, marked "PERRY & CO. LONDON. J. MASON
B'HAM. EX FINE"); e, toy soldier; f, part of lottery board; g-i, potters' marks.
The Household where products such as these were specifically

offered to the oficinas salitreras, but archaeology
The highest percentage is thedomestic or house provided littleevidence of theirpresence. Most of
hold group, and the largest class is represented by the canned foods were made in Chile.
"food residues" (19,880 items or 84.81% of the Archaeologically little imported packed food
total) (Table 5). As noted, cattle bone was not was identified.The most likely explanation for this
counted, but as far as weight is concerned this is that the laborers preferredother types of food, an
category constitutes 59.50% of the totalweight of idea which is supported by evidence provided by
food remains (Tables 2 and 5). Apart from the informants, and to some extent by documentary
evidence on food and drink consumption (cans, sources. For themain meal of the day, the laborer
packs, labels, bottles, etc.), the "Household appears to have consumed dishes such as the typi
Group" also includes other classes of evidence of cal Chilean "cazuela," a kind of soup prepared
domestic life, such as artifactsof food preparation, with differentvegetables and relatively cheap cuts
service, and consumption; matches (9.95% of the of meat like the types used for stews. The animal
total) represented by boxes, matchsticks, and bones, especially of cattle, show evidence of the
paper wrappings; candles (0.05% of the total) rep use of these kinds of cuts. According to in
resented by paper wrappings and fuel (burnt coal formants, beef was generally abundant, the cattle
and charcoal). being brought either from southernChile by sea to
According to some of the informants,many im Antofagasta, fromwhere it travelled by train to the
ported canned food products were available includ oficinas, or by land from Salta inArgentina. With
ing: pork and frankfurtersfromGermany, English respect to this, archaeological evidence yielded a
sausages, Swiss evaporated milk, Canadian sal receipt addressed to the "Chief of the Pulperia"
mon, Spanish anchovies, Portuguese sardines, and relating to the purchase and sale of cattle from
even Russian caviar. The general availability of Salta. Noodles (pasta), split peas, lentils, and dried
these foods is also indicated by lists of products beans were also consumed in large quantities
which arrived at the oficina, and by the advertise according to informants, and residues of these
ments which appeared in the press of the epoch, foods appeared in the archaeological record (Table
5). "Mote" or wheat kernels were also found and
would surely have formed part of thedishes boiled
with dried beans and vegetables. The consumption
TABLE5 of "mote" with "huesillos," a sweetened drink
FOOD RESIDUE FREQUENCIES prepared from wheat kernels boiled with dried
apricots is also indicated by the archaeological evi
Item Count %
dence (Table 6), thus suggesting a southern origin
19.56
of part of the community. This drink is still very
Vegetables (fresh) 3,888
Vegetables (dried) 4,229 21.27 popular in southern Chile, but scarcely known in
Fruit 4,745 23.87 the north. Informants also referred to the availabil
Cereals 19.63
ity of fish and shellfish, statements which were
3,903
Bread 840 4.23
Noodles 306 1.54
supported by the archaeological record too (Table
(pasta)
Eggs 194 0.98 5).
Condiments (salt, spice) 12 0.06 As shown inTable 6, a considerable variety of
Fish (bone) 796 4.00 fresh fruitswere also consumed.
Poultry (bone) 549 2.76 With respect to drink, informants told us that
Shellfish 414 2.08
coffee was commonly drunk in themornings, but
Viscera 4 0.02
Bone X Cut 2 yielded only evidence of tea. Tea repre
(cattle, etc.)
sented 78.46% of all packed foods, and 59.00% of
TOTAL 19,880 100.00 canned foods. The preferred brand was evidently
TABLE6 TABLE 7
COMPARISONOF FRUITAND NUT FREQUENCYOF CERAMICFORM
FREQUENCIES
Form Count %
Item Count %
PLATE
Olive 946 19.94 Flat 13 25.49
Raisin 909 19.16 Deep 13 25.49
Apricot (dried) 598
12.60 Saucer 14 27.45
Orange 581 12.24 CUP 11 21.57
Prune 397 8.37
Peach 396 8.35 TOTAL 51 100.00
Peanut 229 4.83
Cherimoyer 3.08 145

Walnut 95
2.00
Pomegranate 811.71
Cherry 76 1.60
Watermelon 611.29 eating house." However, no objects of this type
Lemon 58 1.22 were found except for a kettle for boiling water.
Coconut 0.80 38
Banana 31 0.65
Indulgences
Mango 25 0.53
TOTAL 100.00
As far as indulgences were concerned, Cut 2
4,745
only provided evidence of the use of alcohol and
cigarettes. No distilled beverage was identified,
and no evidence of imported spirits appeared even
though informantsfrequently refer to the consump
tion of French and Italian wines ("Chianti,"
"HORNIMAN'S." The labels bear the following "Marsala"), champagne ("Veuve Clicquot,"
text: "Cheap tea existing since 1826. It is imported "Cordon Rouge"), liqueurs ("Benedictine,"
and is produced in cans and packs." (Translation "Cointreau"), whiskey (Scotch, Canadian, and
ours). American), brandy ("Martell," "Napoleon"),
Ceramics used in the setting of the table English gin, and portwine from Portugal. These
amounted to 100 fragments, nearly half of which products were also advertised for sale in newspap
(49 pieces) could not be identified as to form. The ers from the epoch in question. The lack of im
remainder was distributed as shown in Table 7. ported drink, however, may be explained if?as
Only 16 fragmentsof the total (16.00%) belong has been assumed?the midden excavated
ing to different sets had some decoration, the re represents thewaste from the workers' dwellings
mainder was plain white. Little floral decoration located nearby. Informants leave no doubt that
appears, and narrow bands at the rim are dis hard drinking and drunkenness were common
tinctive decorative elements. No marks were practices among the nitrate workers. Bolivian
found. laborers, for example, are said to have man
To judge from thematerial yielded by Cut 2, ufactured their own chicha. Cheaper Chilean
only objects of relatively cheap earthenware were wines are said to have come inbarrels. Perhaps not
used. Informants said that although "every one much was drunk at home. Only beer and wine
could buy imported tableware or any other im were for sale to the laborers in the company store,
ported product," many laborers' families would and even the sale of these was restricted. It was
prefer using metal utensils (cups, plates, bowls) illegal to bring alcohol into the "camps."
with enamelled surfaces "similar to those inwhich Archaeological evidence of thiswas actually found
the 3rd class meals would be served in the local in a booklet, which contains the rules of the
"Compama de Salitre de Antofagasta Oficina Jose TABLE8

Santos Ossa," stating the following: POPULARITY OF IDENTIFIED CIGARETTE
BRANDS
As a guarantee for the tools which the plant supplies all the
Brand Count %
laborers must deposit $16, which will be paid back on
...
returning the tools. It is strictly prohibited to introduce
1. Faro 41 50.62
alcohol. Persons contravening this order or giving aid to
2. America 10 12.35
others will be immediately expelled from the Company.
3. Kiss-me 8 9.88
(Translation ours).
4. Misterio 4 4.94
5. Torre Eiffel 4 4.94
Legal drinking, apart from beer and wine, was 6. Carmen 4 4.94
reserved for thosewho occupied theupper levels in 7. Kosmos 2 2.47
the local hierachy. To judge from the archaeo 8. Cairol 2 2.47
9. Reina Victoria 1.23
logical evidence, the only alcohol consumed was 1.23
10. Taxi
wine and beer, and the only brands identified are
11. Asia 1.23
Chilean. Fragments of beer bottles, wine bottles, 12. Ja-Ja 1.23
labels, corks, and crown caps provide the evi 13. Santo 1.23
dence. The consumption of wine apparently ex 14. Derby 1.23
ceeded that of beer. To judge from themarks on

TOTAL 81 99.99
the crown caps that sealed the beer bottles, most of
the beer came from the town of Antofagasta
(marked "CCU"). According to informants,beer
and wine bottles were generally returned to the these were recognized. The large majority of the
dealers. brands listed in Table 8 were of Chilean man
Smoking cigarettes was themost popular form ufacture and mostly represent the cheaper and
of tobacco according to the archeological evi more popular brands. Exceptions to this seem to be
dence, which includes butts, packs, and seals. In "DERBY," which according to the textwritten on
fact, no other evidence of use of tobacco was re thepack had a "golden mouthpiece," and "KISS
covered, although informants mentioned cigar ME," manufactured by the "CUBA AMERICAN
smoking (Habana cigars such as "Partagas"). The TOBACCO Co., NEW YORK."
evidence on cigarettes consisted of a total of 309
pieces, 170 of which were butts, 46 seals, and 93 Sickness
packs or fragments of packs (Fig. 5). Out of the
packs, 81 could be identifiedas to brand (Table 8). As regards sickness, to judge from the
Of the butts, 13 (7.65%) had a mouthpiece. Fur archaeological record, themedicines used by the
thermore, four butts showed evidence of brand, community of Jose Santos Ossa were products
namely "FARO," "DERBY," "STEREO," and which promised to relieve headaches or were for
"BUEN TONO," respectively. Two of these "raquitis and general weakness," "the grippe and
brands were not represented among the packs. intoxication," "tuberculosis and inflammation,"
With one exception, none of the brands listed in and "irritation of the chest, bronchitis." Cut 2 also
Table 8 are being manufactured today. The excep yielded a plaster of the brand "ALCOCKS," used
tion is "DERBY", manufacture of which was be for "muscular pains." According to one in
gun again during 1980. formant, this had been a very popular remedy, and
With respect to the cigarette brands identified, it most effective. We also found "MENTHOLA
is interesting to note that one informant talked at TUM," "for relieving colds, rheumatism and
length about the use of imported brands such as neuralgia;" a remedy used to alleviate the suffer
"Capstan," "Woodbine," "Three Castles," ing caused by corns, and part of a devise used for
"State Express," and "Abdulla," but none of clysters. According to one informant, a special
remedy used by Bolivian laborers against rheuma advertisements which occur in the press of the
tism consisted in letting theirdogs sleep with them epoch, were particularly used at weddings, saints'
in bed. Informantswere inclined to emphasize the days, at New Year and theNational Day celebra
occurrence among the nitrate workers of "muscu tions. A single fragmentof a grammophone record
lar pains" caused by hard work and "pains in the was also recovered. One informant said that the
chest" caused by the amount of dust inhaled. It is unmarried employees would have at theirdisposal
interesting to note that statistics from the years a place where they could listen to music ("the
1936 and 1937 pertaining to another oficina show latest tunes") played on the grammophone or v/
that themost frequent diseases occuring among the trola. Perhaps some laborer had also possessed a
population were rheumatism, problems of the res grammophone.
piratory system, and grippe. Informants frequently Archaeology provided evidence of children's
referred to an extremely high mortality rate among games too. They would play with "marbles,"
children. According to one individual, some 40% dolls, and lead soldiers (Figure 5), and they also
of the children died within a short time of birth.He had kites. Informants told us that the latterwere
also told us, as an example, that his mother had very popular in the nitrate settlements, but other
nine children, only three of whom survived to types of toyswere not commonly possessed by the
adulthood. This type of evidence can eventually be children of the laborers.
checked against civil and church records, but it
seems to be supported by the high percentage of Education
children's tombs in the cemeteries of the nitrate
zone in general. For this same reason, itwas noted Another aspect of the lives of the children was
that therewould usually be a person in each oficina school. Written evidence informsus that Jose San
authorized to "administer the water," a kind of tos Ossa had a school, and that in 1923 school
preliminary baptism. If the child survived, the enrollment totaled 49 children. The school has not
priest would later arrive to perform the appropriate yet been located, but Cut 2 yielded some evidence
rites of the church.Medical doctors were supposed of children's education: parts of a "HISTORY OF
to visit the oficinas, which had no permanent doc CHILE," a book on how to learn to spell, note
tor, twice a month, but according to informants books similar to those still used inChile by school
this rule was not strictly adhered to. Jose Santos children, and writing chalk. It is also possible that
Ossa, however, had a resident doctor (Silva Narro the ink from an ink bottle, pencils, pens (marked
1911: 280; 1919: 323). "PERRY & CO. LONDON. J. MASON
B'HAM," "R. ESTER BROOK & COS.," and
Recreation and Amusement "THE RIFLEMAN'S PEN"), and the blotting
paper found inCut 2 were used at the school (Fig
Informants specially remember recreational ac ure 5). All these materials were included in the
44
tivities such as football, concerts, cinema, occa Communication/Education'' group.
sional dancing, card playing, and billiards, and On thebasis of the culturalmaterial recovered in
archaeology has demonstrated thatpeople did play Cut 2, much more could be said in a preliminary
cards and lotteryand that theywent to the cinema, manner about the community of Jose Santos Ossa,
because finds included playing cards, a small piece but as mentioned above, this topic and others will
of cardboard with numbers which had obviously be developed in the thesis currently being written
been part of a lotterygame (Figure 5), and a used by the junior author.
cinema ticket.Other evidence of how themembers
of this community spent their leisure time includes Concluding Remarks
fragments of books (a love story and a thriller),
national magazines, fireworks, and serpentines. Nitrate oficinas were settlements which were
The latter, according to informants, as well as rapidly created in a zone where little human per
manent settlement had previously existed. They Jose Santos Ossa and thepreliminary interpretation
were created with the sole objective of performing of the analyzed data from Site, Cut 2.
functions related to the nitrate industry, which The stage of research discussed in this paper
naturally had to include the providing of facilities, may be defined as exploratory or as a stage of
initially in terms of some basic necessities for the discovery based on only a small proportion of the
employees and laborers, such as food, water, and total evidence available. Consequently, no definite
shelter. Later, along with improved technology, evaluation of hypotheses or firm conclusions can
theworking and living conditions improved. As a be made. With respect to the first, second, third,
result of the discovery of synthetic nitrate, after and fourthhypotheses formulated, in a preliminary
World War I the demand for natural nitrate fell, manner the evidence recovered from archaeology,
and oficinas began to close, a process which has documentary evidence, and interviews, tends to
continued until present times. The nitrate industry confirm our initial idea that the abandoned nitrate
might be regarded as a system made up of: 1) oficinas are historically interesting and present
"towns" or settlementswhich functioned particu sharply defined cultural manifestations ideal for
larly at two levels: a) as refineries, and b) as living anthropological investigations. As already noted,
quarters of the staff (manager, office employees, the "Activity/Behavior" groups outlined merely
professional staff, laborers, etc.) and their fami present a firstapproximation. The final definition
lies, and 2) the nitrate fields or locations where the of a "Nitrate Oficina Pattern" must await more
rawmaterial was extracted, generally at some dis intensive research. With regard to the fifth and
tance from the settlements. The structure of the sixth hypotheses, more specific in nature than the
settlementswould commonly contain the follow former, the evidence at hand indicates that the fifth
ing elements: 1) buildings and facilities related to may not be true. The midden excavated did not
the technological part of activities and 2) those yield many imported objects. However, themost
related to the non-technological part. likely explanation of this is that the refuse re
In this study, a community is defined as a group covered pertained largely to the laborers' dwel
of people living in close proximity, in a place with lings located nearby. If this is true, furtherresearch
recognized geographical boundaries. On the other in differentmiddens might eventually tend to sup
hand, it is important to point out that to understand port the original idea. With respect to the sixth
what goes (or went) on within a community it is hypothesis, confirmation is obviously a matter for
necessary to view the community in the broader the future too.
context of region and nation. As far as the nitrate As no previous research of the type attempted
oficinas are concerned, theymay be regarded as here has been done in Chile, it is not possible to
the functioning parts of a single well-defined compare our results with those of other in
technological/economic/social system tied into a vestigators. The lack of comparable archaeological
far-rangingnetwork of considerable importance. It material also means thatno evaluation can be made
was first intended to use a single hypothetical "ni of the significance of the types and quantities of
tratecommunity" as the focus of this study. This artifacts and other materials nor of the "Activity/
scheme, however, was found to be far too Behavior Groups" or "patterns" established in
ambitious, above all due to limited resources in relation to other oficinas of the same or other per
terms of money, and time. It was there iods.
personnel,
fore decided to use as units of study of "com It should be noted too, that the attempt to apply
munities" individual plants located within easy quantitative techniques to the analysis of the large
reach of the present base of research in the hope variety of cultural remains recovered has posed a
that the results obtained would permit achieving number of problems which as yet remain unre
the major objectives of this study. The present solved, including the following:
paper has dealt with the first results of an in
vestigation undertaken in the oficina known as 1 Lateral variation in sample composition. This may se
verely affect the data and therefore tends to place doubts community of Jose Santos Ossa, and 3) expand the
upon the validity of the attempts to quantify the im activities in combination with
archaeological
portance of thematerials represented in the sample which
archival and ethnographical research.
was taken from only a small portion of the area of the site.
2 As far as the significance of remains of subsistence flora
and fauna is concerned, the depositional processes in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
volved also make questionable the validity of the results
reported here. The proportion which was given as fodder We would like to extend our thanks to the Universidad
to the animals that were kept is unknown, and no data del institution under the
Norte, Antofagasta, Chile,
exist on how much of the garbage dumped on themidden of which this research was conducted. We
auspices
might have been picked up by these animals. would also like to thank the students of the Department of
3 These authors are accutely aware of the methodological Universidad del Norte, and volunteers for
Archaeology,
limitations inherent in the weighing and counting pro their assistance in the field. Further, we are grateful to
cedures applied. A hundred grams of broken glass, a hun Lionel Joffre and Jorge Carvajal for drawing Figures 1, 4,
dred grams of potato peels, a hundred grams of nails, and and 5, and to Carlos Padilla for providing us with the
a hundred grams of fragments of newspaper simply do not shown in Figure 3.
photograph
present equivalent amounts of these materials. Nor does Finally, we are deeply indebted tomany persons of the
the counting of such items seem to form any valid basis nitrate oficinas, for the valuable in
past and present,
for numerical comparisons. formation they provided. This study could not have been
made without their assistance. The data recovered in
These factors and others present severe limita Stage Iof the project was used by Gerda Alcaide as the
tions to the formulation of precise quantitative subject of a thesis.
statements our material.
concerning
Direct historical informationwas found to be REFERENCES
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Adams,
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Laboratory of Anthropology, Washington State Uni
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much greater use. To these sources should be
Arensberg, C. M.
added the potential value of unpublished written 1961 "The Community as Object and Sample." American
civil and church and "com
materials, registers, Anthropologist 63: 241-64.
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M.,
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ing of themeaning of these things in the everyday del Pacffico. Ediciones de la Universidad de Chile,
de Chile.
lives of the people who had known them. An im Santiago
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and Miscellaneous Notice of the Prov
contradictory evidence was neither
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seemingly
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Cortes F., Mario
had occupied in the local social hierarchy.
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Santiago
1) develop better techniques and methodologies R.
couyoumdjian,
relating to thequantification of thematerial; 2) test 1974/ "El mercado del salitre durante la primera guerra
and re-evaluate the statementsmade in this paper, 75 mundial y la post-guerra, 1914-1921. Notas para su
which now stand as hypotheses related only to the estudio." Historia 12:13-54.
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1908 La industria del salitre de Chile. Traducida di
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Historical Archaeology in Abandoned Nitrate "Oficinas" in Northern Chile: A Preliminary

The Community Defined and location of the "community" to be studied

? 23?- x / ^otc ^Lj/\ r\*

FIGURE 2. Nitrate workers in 1909 (Canton Bolivia).

probably greatly increase the demand for it in foreign

importantproducers of natural nitrate.

consisting principally of chloride of sodium and

process, the affairs of the officinas are well conducted. Each

second half of the same century,which allowed for

transportingalong thedesert trails the rawmaterial portance. The firstdiscovery of importantnitrate

cheaply or cheaper in the United States and Eu

foundations exist. jects in great demand by collectors. In this connection it is

Composition Weight (grams) %

form, color, function, method of manufacture, TABLE3

along the lines developed by Stanley South (1977),

statistics, these in turnwere broken into classes, Count %

Table 4. It should be noted that the groupings 2. Architecture 2,493 7.98

out that themajority of the objects recovered from

The Household where products such as these were specifically

Cherimoyer 3.08 145

"Compama de Salitre de Antofagasta Oficina Jose TABLE8

ceeded that of beer. To judge from themarks on

industryas a whole, rather than serving as a source Ethnohistory 20: 335^16.

proved to be of great importance, particularly in 1971 Community Studies. London.

portant lesson was also learned, namely that Blake, John H.

Frankenberg, R. South, Stanley

Semper, Dr., and Dr. Michels (sic)

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