Millapel

The Illapel River runs through a valley in the semi-arid country of northern Chile, joining the Choapa before it reaches the Pacific. Diaguita communities lived along the river for centuries, making pottery with a shared local tradition and establishing settlements on its terraces. Rock engravings also mark the landscape around the valley, including examples at Cuz Cuz and Limahuida attributed to earlier inhabitants.

Under Inca rule, settlements occupied ground already used by Diaguita communities, and pottery acquired new forms and decorative motifs, including designs previously unknown in the valley. The Inca road passed through the mountains of the district; Spanish expeditions later followed it southwards. In 1754 the colonial authorities approved the foundation of a villa in the Cuz-Cuz valley, which developed into Illapel.