Settlement and Artificial Mummification of the Chinchorro Culture in the Arica and Parinacota Region

• Management and governance
• Documentation, inventorying and monitoring to be developed
• General maintenance, including for unprotected archaeological remains on the surface
• Safety of visitors and protection of the property
• Potential impacts the industrial poultry farm located in the Camarones River valley
• Illegal settlement in the Desembocadura de Camarones component part

2009: USD20,000 from the Spanish Funds-in-Trust

On 22 December 2022, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report. An executive summary of this report is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1634/documents. Progress in a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in this report, as follows:

• The University of Tarapacá (UTA) has made improvements to the UTA Chinchorro Management Centre offices and installed security cameras and lighting systems in the Estanques de Agua area of component 01, Faldeos del Morro. Reinforcement of the perimeter fencing and work on a visitor trail is still in progress. The archaeological sites of component 01 were cleaned and signage was installed at component 03, Desembocadura de Camarones to guide visitors;
• The legal dispute concerning the southern terrace at component 03 is resolved and the area is included in the list of public lands by the Cadastre Department. However, it remains unclear if all legal disputes concerning the area are resolved permanently;
• Systematic documentation and inventory of archaeological information is in progress. As part of this process, UTA has plans to build a new Regional Anthropological Museum and the inventories of available Chinchorro culture materials will need to be updated. The museum was scheduled for completion in February 2024, but an extension of the deadline is being processed;
• The Chinchorro Marka Corporation has carried out biannual monitoring of the components, reviewing the general state of conservation as well as site management. Monitoring has also been done by the Chinchorro Management Centre of UTA at component 01. The results of these monitoring efforts indicate that the irregular settlement at component 03 is growing and that component 01 has suffered looting, deposition of solid waste and is impacted by the activities of domestic animals. In response to these findings, a Municipal Ordinance to further protect Chinchorro heritage is being drafted and awareness-raising activities and training sessions were carried out with members of the community at component 03;
• Conservation measures have been implemented for the remains exposed on the surface of the sector called Reserva Estanques in component 01. This process will be evaluated and replicated in other sectors. A field evaluation of component 03, focused on the open archaeological excavations, produced the recommendation to cover or stabilize most of the open excavations, and exhibit some of the archaeological profiles in situ. The corresponding projects will be developed in 2023;
• The ethical issues regarding human remains are a matter of permanent reflection by local and national agents and the dialogue between the different involved groups is ongoing. In a recent exhibition of Chinchorro culture, replicas of bodies were used;
• In order to make management of the property more inclusive, the Chinchorro Marka Corporation is in the process of formalizing the presidents of the three neighbourhood councils surrounding the property as ordinary members of the Corporation with the right to speak and vote;
• The official integration of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) in the management process of the property is foreseen for the updated Management Plan (2027-2031), following training and resources identification;
• In August 2022, the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Health carried out an inspection to the poultry farm of Ariztía, which certified the non-compliance of the company’s practices with environmental regulations;
• The project to modify the Arica Communal regulatory Plan is ongoing;
• The process to amend the current cultural heritage legislation (Law N°17288 of National Monuments) is ongoing, addressing participatory and indigenous consultations;
• The State Party submitted updated maps with the revised boundaries of components 01, 02 and 03, and their buffer zones.

The official approval of the property’s Management Plan (2020-2026), the advances concerning site preparation (e.g., signage, fencing, stabilization of excavations and surface finds and solid waste removal), the advances in the resolution of property disputes, and the steps taken to make the management structure of the property more inclusive are welcome. The management entity, the Chinchorro Marka Corporation, currently includes UTA and the municipalities of Arica and Camarones. However, the state of conservation report distinguishes between the activities of the Corporation on the one hand, and UTA, on the other. This seems to indicate that the management structure is not yet completely integrated. Moreover, the draft of the new Municipal Ordinance does not mention the Chinchorro Marka Corporation, further indicating an apparent lack of integration. the importance of a coherent approach to site management should be stressed.

It is concerning that the official integration of an HIA in the management process of the property is only foreseen for the updated Management Plan (2027-2031). It is noted that the poultry farms, which are located in the Camarones River valley, are non-compliant with current regulations and stresses the importance to follow-up to solve this matter. Other pending issues include the Arica Communal Regulatory Plan, which is in the process of being submitted to the Regional Government of Arica and Parinacota, as well as the process of amending the current legislation on cultural heritage (Law No. 17,288 on National Monuments) with elements of participatory processes and indigenous consultation. No clear timeframe for the finalization of these processes is provided. The relocation of the illegal settlement in component 03, Caleta de Camarones, is also still pending due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a change of authorities at the national, regional and local levels.

The advances in the dissemination of information on the World Heritage property and the participation of local communities are also well noted. Nevertheless, the reported growth of the illegal settlement in component 03, the impact the installation of underground fibre optics has had on the edge of the southern terrace of component 03, and the looting, animal intervention and solid waste disposal in component 01, show that there is still a need to improve the control of the property and increase the availability of information, awareness and involvement of local actors.