Just posted this over at The Missing Link! a wonderful group that aims to find every anthropological, archaeological, and historical link on the internet. Enjoy!


Here are the two paragraphs from the U.S. Library of Congress' country studies that mention pre-Columbian history in Uruguay...

"In contrast to most Latin American countries, no significant vestiges of civilizations existing prior to the arrival of European settlers were found in the territory of present-day Uruguay. Lithic remains dating back 10,000 years have been found in the north of the country. They belonged to the Catalan and Cuareim cultures, whose members were presumably hunters and gatherers.

Other peoples arrived in the region 4,000 years ago. They belonged to two groups, the Charrúa and the Tupí-Guaraní, classified according to the linguistic family to which they belonged. Neither group evolved past the middle or upper Paleolithic level, which is characterized by an economy based on hunting, fishing, and gathering. Other, lesser indigenous groups in Uruguay included the Yaro, Chaná, and Bohane. Presumably, the Chaná reached lower Neolithic levels with agriculture and ceramics."

The entire article is found here:

History of Uruguay U.S. Library of Congress