Chono or Chona is a generic name for a nomadic, indigenous people

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 of the Chiloé Archipelago

Chiloé Archipelago

Chiloé Archipelago consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separated from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast. All of the archipelago except Desertores Islands, which are part of Palena...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

. They are now extinct.

The Chono became extinct during the 18th century with the last survivor going missing in 1875.

The Chono language

Chono language

Chono is a poorly attested extinct language of confusing classification that may or may not be related to Kawesqar. It is attested primarily from an 18th-century catechism, which is not translated into Spanish...

 is known only from local toponyms. It is thought to be related to the Kawésqar language

Kawésqar language

Kawésqar is an Alacalufan language spoken in southern Chile by the Kawésqar people. Originally there were several distinct dialects...

 and could possibly be a dialect of that language.

Culture

Men hunted marine mammals, especially sea lion

Sea Lion

Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...

s, while women gathered shellfish

Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

 and seaweed

Seaweed

Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...

. The Chomo used nets and spears to gather food from the sea, but supplemented their catch with potatoes and other plants from small gardens. Their healing places consisted of caves or leather structures.

External links

• The Chono people, The Oldest Americans, George Weber, May 6, 2007.