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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
 Yahgan people, 1883 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,600 (in Chile, 2017)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Argentina and Chile | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish, formerly Yahgan | |
| Religion | |
| Christian (mostly Protestant), Traditional native religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kawésqar (Alacaluf), Chono |
The Yahgan (also called Yagán, Yaghan, Yámana, Yamana, or Tequenica) are a group of indigenous peoples in the Southern Cone of South America. Their traditional territory includes the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, extending their presence into Cape Horn, making them the world's southernmost human population.[2]
In the 19th century, the Yahgan were known in English as "Fuegians." The name is credited to Captain James Weddell, who supposedly created the term in 1822.[3] The term is now avoided as it can also refer to several other indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego, for example the Selk'nam.
The Yahgan language, also known as Yámana, is considered a language isolate.[4] Cristina Calderón (1928–2022), who was born on Navarino Island, Chile, was known as the last full-blooded Yahgan and last native speaker of the Yahgan language.[5] It is now regarded as an extinct language. Most Yahgan now speak Spanish.[citation needed]
The Yahgan were traditionally nomads and hunter-gatherers who traveled by canoe between islands to collect food. The men hunted sea lions and the women dove to collect shellfish. They also scavenged whale meat, and gathered local vegetation, including berries and mushrooms.[3]
The Yahgan share some similarities with the more northern Chono and Kawésqar (Alacaluf) tribes. These groups share behavioral traits; a traditional canoe-faring hunter-gatherer lifestyle and physical traits such as short stature, being long-headed (dolichocephalic), and having a "low face".[6] Despite these similarities, their languages are completely different.[7]
- ^ "Síntesis de Resultados Censo 2017" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, Santiago de Chile (in Spanish). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-13.
- ^ Grenoble, Lenore A.; Whaley, Lindsay J. (2002). "What Does Digital Technology Have to Do with Yaghan?". Linguistic Discovery. 1 (1). Dartmouth College.
- ^ a b "The Terra Del Fuegians at the Garden of Acclimation". Science. 2: 514–516. 29 Oct 1881. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ "Yámana". Ethnologue. SIL International. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Caistor, Nick (30 March 2022). "Chile: Death of the last Fuegian". Latin America Bureau. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ Trivero Rivera 2005, p. 42.
- ^ Trivero Rivera 2005, p. 33.
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