San Vicente de Tagua Tagua


San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, or just San Vicente, is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Vicente spans an area of and had 40,253 inhabitants. Of these, 21,965 lived in urban areas and 18,288 in rural areas. The population grew by 14.5% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The 2012 census reported 44,046 inhabitants, an increase of 9.4% from 2002 to 2012.

Administration

As a commune, San Vicente is a third-level administrative division administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Vicente is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Mrs. Alejandra Sepúlveda and Mr. Javier Macaya as part of the 34th electoral district,. The commune is represented in the Senate by Andrés Chadwick Piñera and Juan Pablo Letelier Morel as part of the 9th senatorial constituency.

Archaeology

Tagua-Tagua represents a very early Paleo-Indian archaeological site, and it is dated to 11,380 ±380 14C yr BP.
This is an ancient pleistocene site where humans butchered large animals that they hunted. The site was discovered in the 1860s.
An upper, younger stratum is about 1 m below the surface. The older stratum is about 2.4 m below the surface, and contains chipped stone tools. Horse and mastodon remains are represented, as well as smaller animals.