History of Human Settlement

Abstract

There is evidence of the presence of indigenous peoples in Mar Chiquita before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, which may go as far in time as the first waves of Paleoamerican humans coming to South America over 10,000 years ago, although this needs confirmation. Instead, the presence of human groups in Mar Chiquita at the initial stages of agriculture during the middle and late Holocene is well documented. These groups were capable of producing relatively sophisticated stone and ceramic artifacts. They were seminomadic and probably visited Mar Chiquita seasonally during the hunting period. The Spaniards arrived for the first time in Mar Chiquita in 1545. However, the wetland remained excluded from the mainstream land occupation for about three centuries, mostly due to the fierce resistance presented by the Chaco natives. This situation ended in 1874 when the Argentine army completed the occupation of the entire region, including Mar Chiquita. At this time, Argentina promoted massive European immigration and built a wide railroad network that allowed the fast settlement of a considerable portion of the fertile lands that surround Miramar, the first coastal town in Mar Chiquita, which dates from the early twentieth century.