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Why was horticulture difficult in the southern Chilean archipelago?

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distribution of aboriginal South American and circum-Caribbean cultural groups — South American nomad Distribution of aboriginal South American and circum-Caribbean cultural groups.

Horticulture was considered impracticable in the southern Chilean archipelago primarily due to the region's rugged terrain and dense forests, which made land travel extremely difficult.1

Additionally, the environment is characterized by harsh conditions that are not conducive to agriculture, including heavy year-round rainfall and cold temperatures. The soils in this region are generally poor, consisting of lithosols and moorland soils that support only low shrubs, mosses, or rain forests rather than crops. Because the area is also limited in terms of available game and edible plants, the indigenous archipelagic peoples—such as the Chono, Alacaluf, and Yámana—relied on a nomadic lifestyle centered on gathering shellfish and hunting marine life rather than cultivating the land.2134