The shawl pins worn by native South American indians in the Andean and Patagonian regions of the continent originated with the Inca peoples. The pins might be worn in pairs on the breast, or as a single pin at the shoulder to secure a cloak. The Quechua term 'tupu' used by the Incas refers to a pair of pins worn vertically (the point upwards), joined by a chain, while the Quechua word 'ttipqui' indicates single pin worn horizontally on the shoulder. In fact, the word 'tupu' was used by foreigners from at least the seventeenth century as a general term for the shawl pins used by native women. The Franciscan missionary Fray Diego de Ocaña, writing about his visit to Chile in 1600, records that the Mapuche women wore 'a square blanket over their shoulders, gathered at the breast with a gold or silver topo'. This pin seems to have been of the 'ttipqui' type - it lacks a hole for a chain to connect it with a pair, and the applied decoration is consistent with the pin being inserted horizontally rather than vertically. The long pin on this example has been supplemented by another pin soldered onto the back of the plaque, presumably to ensure it remained in place.