A Late Intermediate Period archaeological culture of Chile's Norte Chico, from Taltal on the coast south to the port of Huasco, centered on the Copiapó valley and its precordilleran tributaries. Best known for black-on-red 'Copiapó' ceramics decorated with stylized llama motifs and for practicing human mummification — one of the few Indigenous groups in Chile to do so. Many scholars derive it from the earlier Las Ánimas cultural complex.
Merged with Diaguita populations and was subjugated, along with them, by the expanding Inca Empire in the 15th century; its distinct material culture disappears from the archaeological record after roughly 1400.
Verified via Open Library (OL18286324W/OL8685009W). Broad regional archaeology of the Atacama corridor immediately north/inland of the Copiapó valley — offered as the nearest verified English-language context, NOT a monograph on Copiapó specifically; no dedicated Copiapó-culture book was found.