Chine

Chine lies in the Gran Chaco country of the Mocoví, who call themselves Moqoit and belong to the Guaycuru peoples. Flat grassland alternates with woodland, marshy channels and seasonal floods. Deer, rhea, fish and wild plants supported communities that moved following water and game.

Mocoví families lived in flexible bands with temporary skin shelters. They travelled along rivers and forest paths, exchanging hides and feathers for metal and other goods from neighboring regions. Mobility preserved access to scattered plants and game and reduced dependence on uncertain rainfall.

Jesuit missions later encouraged cattle, farming and fixed villages among the Mocoví, but the older seasonal economy did not vanish at once. Mission settlements connected communities to Spanish markets and labor demands, while floods and raids repeatedly forced movement. Chine's early identity belongs to this Chaco world of grassland, mobility and colonial pressure. Rivers marked seasonal routes and fishing places, while patches of fertile soil supported gourds, maize and other small crops. Bands returned to known fishing places and groves after seasonal travel, using reciprocity to share scarce water and successful hunts.