“En el pueblo no faltarán entretenciones”

This paper presents research on the nitrate town of Pampa Unión (1911-1954) in today’s Antofagasta region. Aiming to identify the materiality and spatiality of sex work during the nitrate era, we triangulated documentary and cartographic sources with the archaeological record to chart the physical locations of the businesses operating in the town, focusing on the spaces used for sex work and the sex trade in general. The findings demonstrate the approach’s usefulness by enabling researchers to describe these spaces and their distinguishing characteristics. More generally, the study shed light on the dynamics of sex work in the nitrate era, its limitations and possibilities in light of the era’s regulations and contemporary society.