The people and economy of the Grand Chaco Plains

There are many aboriginal ethnic groups in Xiagu. Because they make a living by hunting, gathering and fishing, the size of the tribe is not much larger than a few joint families. Anthropologists distinguish several major languages ??from their various dialects: Guaycuru, Lengua, Wichi, Zamuco and Tupi- Guarani (Tupi-Guarani) language. Most of them live in extremely primitive conditions, and their choice of residence depends on the availability of fresh water. Living near a river has become their greatest luxury. In the absence of stone, tools were mainly made of wood and bone, and the prickly leaves of a small pineapple-like plant were commonly used as a source of fiber. Although the environment of Xiagu Forest is severe, compared with surrounding areas, it has more plants that can sustain human survival, such as edible pods, fruits, berries and tubers; this natural condition has been fully utilized by local people. Traps, nets, clubs, and javelins were used to catch prey, often with the help of crowds to drive it away. Conditions for the Indian groups who still live outside the boundaries of European settlement have improved only slightly to this day, although they now have livestock and metal tools. But most tribes are like some kind of pioneering marginal farmers, engaging in some form of subsistence agriculture.

Except for a few agricultural communes run by the Jesuits and the Asunción colonial area in Paraguay on the eastern edge, the people of Xiagu resisted European occupation. This resistance continued for a long time until the 19th century. The hostile Indian groups and the formidable natural conditions of the Xiagu Valley restrained the European power during the colonial period and put them in a state of siege.

Cotton later became one of the main crops in Xiagu. Wild cotton was known in many areas in pre-Columbian times, but until the 20th century it was little more than an exotic crop. During the First World War, cotton prices skyrocketed, and vast areas of Xiaco Province in Argentina were converted to cotton. Yields have been greatly improved through irrigation and breeding drought-resistant varieties. Later, Argentina continued to expand its sowing area, and Paraguay's cotton became an important crop, with a small amount also planted in Bolivia. Despite years of falling market prices, frequent pests, diseases and natural disasters, as well as soil erosion problems in recent years, cotton acreage has continued to grow. The fiber and cottonseed oil produced are mainly for domestic consumption. Other crops include linseed, sunflower, sorghum and maize.

The discovery of oil in the foothills of Bolivia in the 1920s triggered a disastrous 10-year Xiagu War between Bolivia and Paraguay. Both sides hoped to find more oil in the neighboring North Xiagu. oil. Paraguay's territorial claims were eventually accepted, but the resulting area contained no oil-rich foothills; subsequent Paraguayan exploration results were disappointing. But across the border, Argentina has discovered oil and found large amounts of natural gas on the northern edge of Bolivia's Xia Valley, near Santa Cruz.

After World War II, governments of various countries called on people to settle in Xiagu. Argentina's interest is concentrated along the two railway lines starting from Resistencia and Formosa. At first, the residents were mainly Eastern European immigrants and mainly produced cotton. The central part of Paraguay's Xia Valley was not accessible by road until 1965, but Mennonite immigrants from Canada settled here in the 1920s; Soviets with the same religion settled here in the 1930s, and these immigrants established self-sufficiency Self-contained diaspora. After World War II, a large number of Soviet refugees came here to join the immigration process. In Bolivia's Xia Valley, the land is still mostly free pasture. But nearby deposits of oil and natural gas, as well as the hydropower and water storage capacity created by rapids in the foothills of rivers like the Picomayo River, give it huge potential for development.