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Inca and Spanish empires

San Pedro de Atacama, at about 2,400 m (8,000 ft) elevation, is like many of the small towns. Before the Inca Empire and prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the extremely arid interior was inhabited primarily by the Atacameño tribe. They are noted for building fortified towns called pucarás, one of which is located a few kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama. The town's church was built by the Spanish in 1577.

The Atacameño were an extinct South American Indian culture, different from the Aymara to the north and the Diaguita to the south.

The oasis settlement of Pica has Pre-hispanic origins and served as an important stopover for transit between the coast and the Altiplano during the time of the Inca Empire.

The coastal cities originated in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries during the time of the Spanish Empire, when they emerged as shipping ports for silver produced in Potosí and other mining centers. At the end of the 18th century, Carlos IV defines the southern border of the Viceroyalty of Peru at the port of Nuestra Señora del Paposo.