La utilización de óxidos de manganeso se evidencia en el extremo norte de Chile desde el periodo Arcaico (ca. 10.500-4.000 cal. a.p.) en tierras bajas (costa y valles) y tierras altas (precordillera y altiplano). En tierras bajas aparece en contextos de cazadoresrecolectores y pescadores Chinchorro, en los procesos de momificación artificial y en cuerpos momificados de forma natural. En tierras altas se encuentra en aleros ocupados por cazadores-recolectores terrestres altoandinos. Adicionalmente, la información geológica existente apunta a que las fuentes de los óxidos de manganeso se encuentran sólo en sectores altoandinos. Con toda esta información, sumado a nuestros resultados obtenidos a partir de análisis físico-químicos de los pigmentos y pinturas de contextos arqueológicos se discute sobre la producción o cadena operativa del color negro a partir del mineral de manganeso, la criptomelana. Adicionalmente, se proponen alternativas interpretativas en torno al abastecimiento y movilidad de los óxidos de manganeso desarrollados por las sociedades arcaicas de la región.Palabras claves: óxidos de manganeso, periodo Arcaico, norte de Chile, producción del color, movilidad. Evidence of the use of manganese oxides in the northernmost area of Chile has been dated as early as the Archaic Period (ca. 11,500-4,000 cal. BP). In the lowland coastal zone and valleys, this material is usually associated with the hunting, gathering and fishing Chinchorro groups that used this substance in the processes of artificial mummification as well as for naturally mummifies corpses. In the highlands, manganese oxide has been identified in rock shelters

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The Camarones (CB) and Vitor (VB) Bays are situated in the middle of Atacama Desert, and their economies are based on activities entirely associated with the extraction of marine produce. The aim of this study was to determine the total arsenic content in three species of fish and seven species of shellfish from these two bays. The quantification of the total arsenic content in these products was performed by Hydride-Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, HG-AAS. The results showed that marine species associated with the CB sector had higher total arsenic levels than the same species in the area of VB, a finding attributed to much higher total arsenic concentrations in the water and soils of CB than VB. The species with the highest total arsenic concentration was the Venus antique (7.50 mg kg (-1)) from the CB, and the lowest total arsenic content was found in Cheilodactylidae variegatus (0.34 mg kg(-1)) from VB.