Indigenous peoples of South America

It is believed that the first human populations of South America either arrived from Asia into North America via the Bering Land Bridge and migrated southwards or alternatively from Polynesia across the Pacific. The earliest generally accepted archaeological evidence for human habitation in South America dates to 14,000 years ago, and is located at the Monte Verde site in southern Chile. The descendants of these first inhabitants would become the Indigenous populations of South America.

Before the Spanish colonization of the Americas, many of the Indigenous peoples of South America were hunter-gatherers and indeed many still are, especially in the Amazon rainforest. Others, especially the Andean cultures, practised sophisticated agriculture, utilized advanced irrigation and kept domesticated livestock, such as llamas and alpacas.

The only South American country that presently has a majority-Indigenous population is Bolivia, with 62% of Bolivians identifying as a member of an Indigenous group.

South American Indigenous peoples include:

• Indigenous peoples in Argentina
• Indigenous peoples in Bolivia
• Indigenous peoples in Brazil
• Indigenous peoples in Chile
• Indigenous peoples in Colombia
• Indigenous peoples in Ecuador
• Indigenous peoples in French Guiana
• Indigenous peoples in Guyana
• Indigenous peoples in Paraguay
• Indigenous peoples in Peru
• Indigenous peoples in Suriname
• Indigenous peoples in Uruguay
• Indigenous peoples in Venezuela