Atacama, extinct South American Indian culture of the Andean desert oases of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. The last surviving groups of the Atacama have been assimilated by Spanish and Aymara culture.
In their widely scattered settlements the Atacama cultivated crops such as corn (maize), beans, quinoa, and squash with the aid of irrigation. They herded llama and alpaca and traded extensively between the coast and the interior, as well as with the neighbouring Diaguita and Peruvian Indians.
The arid climate limited settlements to small and isolated oases. Each village was autonomous, made up of a group of related families under a chief. Villages were usually located on high ground, surrounded by defensive walls. The houses were built of stone and arranged along streets. Archaeological evidence shows that warfare was prevalent among the Atacama.
The language of the Atacama was called Cunza, or Lincan Antai, of which a vocabulary of about 1,100 words has been recorded.