beans and mainly corn. In spite of being farmers , those who settled on the plains were hunters and collectors, while those who lived on the mountains were shepherds. They developed an excellent pottery, which was used to make food, ornaments and funerary urns. They worked stone, wood, bones, and metals such as copper and to a lesser degree gold and silver.

Their homes were made of stone or Quincha and sticks, depending of the environment where they settled: plains, mountains or valleys. The language, they used for communicating with each other was the Cacán or Cacano, it was very difficult because of the guttural sounds. At the beginnings of the xviii century, the aborigines spoke the language imposed upon them by the missionaries: the Quechua, dropping their former native language. The Conquerors found the region in the xvi century, when Captain Diego de Almagro was in search of a path for Chile. The first foundation was carried out by Juan Perez de Zurita, who in 1558, settled the first town called London, in honor of the wife of king Felipe ii, Mary Tudor, an English Lady who came from London.

It was destroyed by the Indians in 1607. The city was rebuilt with the same name a little later. Two decades later, the Diaguitas destroyed it again. It was rebuilt once again but the Indians destroyed it again in 1633. In 1683, to put in force Charles ii's decree, the governor of Tucumán Don Fernando de Mendoza and Mate de Luna reached the valley to found another settlement. Once the place was chosen, free from the floods caused by the river Paclín, the new capital was erected. It was called San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca.

The population evolved quickly, becoming an economic center of the colony, mainly by the production of weavings and the selling of them. Catamarca was not left aside of the changes of 1810. It also participated in the Anarchy of 1820. The leader from Tucumán Bernabé Araoz founded an independent nation which he called Republic of Tucuman spreading through the provinces of Catamarca, Tucumán and Santiago del Estero.

Salta and Santiago declared the war to Araoz; nonetheless, Araoz through his colonel Alejandro Heredia, sent Apolinario Saravia to invade Catamarca. He threatened the cabildo to accept Nicolás Avellaneda and Tula as the governor of the province. He was appointed in 1821 but he had to resign in 1822, Eusebio Gregorio Ruzzo took over the government. In 1853, when the National Constitution was approved, Friar Mamerto Esquiu emerged as a leader, he was an important political leader from Catamarca. He was known as "the orator of the Constitution". He got the support of the president, Octaviano Navarro, Catamarca got its first printing, a newspaper and a hospital.

The economy grew, together with the agriculture. The farming of vine spread and replaced the cotton farming, which was traditional there; it was well known for its quality and abundance. It was a great cotton producer, even exporting to Perú. Cotton was used as a coin. Cattle breeding strengthened the exchange with Chile, where it was sent; and with Bolivia where sheep, horses and mules were sent. Its orography, which has numerous and varied ore mines of gold, silver, copper, manganese, lead, different kinds of marble, limestone, onyx, pumice-stone, etc. allowed the mine exploitation from precolonial times.

In 1888, the railroad network was inaugurated. Sooner, the Bank of the province was created and a branch of the National Hypothecary Bank was settled. In spite of the economic consolidation, the province was tied to the central control of Buenos Aires so the fate of Catamarca was conditioned. For these reasons and the absence of an adequate infrastructure caused the gradual displacement of the population.