Los tejidos indígenas en la Patagonia Argentina: cuatro siglos de comercio textil

Abstract

This article attempts to document the existence of an indigenous textile trade in Argentine Patagonia from the sixteenth century to the present. Based on a contextualized analysis of historical documents, some results of ethnographical studies and field work done in the Central Plateau Region (Chubut Province), the author concludes that trade in indigenous textiles in Argentine Patagonia has existed for at least four hundred years, having been in former times an important economic resource for indigenous families that, along with other factors, has made possible their survival.