This article addresses evidence of violence imbedded in both soft and hard tissues from early populations of hunters, fishermen, and gatherers, known as the Chinchorro culture, who lived between 10,000 and 4,000 cal yr BP, along the coast of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest environments on Earth. Our study is aimed to test two hypotheses
(a) that interactions and violent behaviors increased through time as population density and social complexity augmented; and
(b) that violence was more prevalent between local Chinchorro groups and groups from other inland locations.