The Chono people, or Guaiteco were a nomadic indigenous people or group of peoples of the archipelagos of Chiloé, Guaitecas and Chonos. The Chono people lived as hunter-gatherers traveling by canoe. Much of what is known from Spanish sources on Chonos is filtered by a Huilliche worldview, as Huilliches and Huilliche language was used to communicate with Chonos. Physical appearance Together with other canoe-faring peoples of western Patagonia, the Chono people shared the physical features of being of low stature, being long-headed (dolichocephalic) and having a "low face". In the opinion of Robert FitzRoy who saw the Chono people in the 1830s, they were more muscular and with a more beautiful appearance when compared to canoe-farers further south. Alberto Achacaz Walakial, himself a Kawésqar born around 1929, said that the Chono people were taller and of darker skin than his people. He also added that their noses and faces were longer. Study of Chono bones reveal they were prone to suffer joint problems, infectious diseases and in some cases traumatic injuries. These diseases were associated with their lifestyle. History Pre-Hispanic era Scholar Alberto Trivera considers that there is no continuity between the human culture seen in the archaeological site of Monte Verde and any historical group. According to archaeologist Ricardo E. Latcham the Chono people along other sea-faring nomads may be remnants from more widespread indigenous groups that were pushed south by "successive invasions" from more northern tribes. The Chono people are believed to be Chiloé Archipelago's first ethnically identifiable inhabitants. This has led to the assumption that the Chonos were the people who left behind most of the abundant shell middens () of Chiloé Archipelago, yet this claim is unverified. There are various place names in Chiloé Archipelago with Chono etymologies despite the main indigenous language of the archipelago at the arrival of the Spanish being Veliche. A theory postulated by chronicler José Pérez García holds the Cuncos settled in Chiloé Island in Pre-Hispanic times as a consequence of a push from more northern Huilliches who in turn were being displaced by Mapuches. As such, some historians consider that places as far north as the coast of Osorno and Llanquihue Lake were once within the range of Chono nomadism. Archaeologist and ethnographer Ricardo E. Latcham built upon these notions and held the Chono arrived to Guaitecas Archipelago from Chiloé Archipelago after these were invaded by groups of Mapuche culture