This paper describes specific petroglyphs recorded at sites in Peru (South America) and sites in New Mexico (North America). It concerns images of symbols that are found at the top of a vertically held pole. The symbol may be an object, a biomorph or an abstract pattern. The three areas that are being discussed have different types of images. For instance, poles with birds on top are most frequent at sites in Peru, while examples in New Mexico have poles often carried by biomorphs (absent in Peru). A careful attempt will be made to interpret the symbol-on-poles configuration.

By Maarten van Hoek

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Symbols on Top of a Pole in Rock Art

Comparing Rock Art Regions

Maarten van Hoek

Introduction

In rock art long and short lines often occur intimately associated with other images. However, in this study I will only present a selection of a specific type of petroglyph that comprises a (long or short) vertically arranged pole that is unquestionably associated with a single image on top of that pole. A pole (straight or slightly curved) is not just a line or a groove, it is an essential supporting element of an (often simple) configuration in which the image on top of the pole is actually the key element that determines the meaning of the whole configuration. Therefore, the subject of this study will henceforth be labelled as the “Symbol on Top” (acronym: SoT), in which the symbol may be a biomorph, an object or something abstract.

However, there are problems with the interpretation of such configurations. For example, a long line from the bottom of a frontally depicted biomorph may possibly just indicate an (intentional?) long phallus or a long tail (see for instance Núñez Jiménez 1986: Figs 725 and 734). Such dubious images are ignored here, as well as images that are based on uncertain drawings or low-resolution photographs published earlier. In this respect I have to mention the most valuable publication by Núñez Jiménez about the petroglyphs of Peru, in which unfortunately about 25 % of the illustrations are inaccurate or even completely incorrect (Van Hoek 2011). For that reason petroglyphs illustrated by Núñez Jiménez – that I have not seen – may also be inaccurate or incorrect and will be ignored. For example, at Alto de la Guitarra, a most important rock art site in northern Peru, I did not see the image that is labelled by him as “ave sobre estaca” (1986: Fig. 612); a “Bird-on-Pole” (BoP). But the fully pecked, small element on top of the pole only very vaguely looks like a bird. It may represent something else.

Importantly, it is the whole configuration of the SoT that conveys the message the manufacturer intended to share with the prehistoric audience and/or observers. Unfortunately, unambiguous examples are rather rare in global rock art. Therefore, in this study I will only compare some restricted rock art regions in South America (coastal Peru) and North America (New Mexico) that both are relatively “rich” in examples of the SoT. Yet, at all rock art sites that will be discussed here, examples of the SoT still are either relatively uncommon or even exceptional.

Southern America – Coastal Peru

Northern Peru – Virú and Jequetepeque

Alto de la Guitarras

In northern coastal Peru – an area very rich in rock art sites – I know of only two rock art sites that have petroglyphs depicting some kind of SoT. The first site concerns the very important site of Alto de la Guitarras, which is located at the extreme north end of the Virú Drainage, on an ancient Cupisnique road (more information in Van Hoek 2018a). The site has only two, perhaps three examples of the SoT. I visited the site only one time, but the area was most intensively studied by archaeologist Cristóbal Campana Delgado. In his final work he illustrates a petroglyph that rather convincingly seems to represent a SoT (2013: Fig. 169). In my opinion the configuration most likely represents a monkey on a pole (Figure 1A; note its triangular ears [see Van Hoek 2021 for a discussion about such ears]). It probably is of Moche or Chimú origin (see Van Hoek 2025a for a discussion about monkeys in Desert Andes rock art).

The second (possible) example was illustrated by Antonio Núñez Jiménez (1986: Fig. 746). The fully pecked petroglyph depicts a bird with outspread wings and a tail from which a short pole emerges (Figure 1B). Núñez Jiménez did not classify this image as a SoT, while the much more ambiguous image in his Fig. 612 was – in contrast – identified by him as a SoT.

Figure 1. Two petroglyphs at Alto de la Guitarra (Virú Drainage, northern Peru) possibly depicting examples of the SoT (a configuration which is relatively extremely rare at this site). Drawings © by Maarten van Hoek, A: based on Fig. 169 by Campana Delgado (2013); B: based on the drawing by Núñez Jiménez (1986: Fig. 746).

Yonán

The second site in northern Peru where several petroglyphs of the SoT have been recorded, is Yonán, an important rock art site – one of many – in the Jequetepeque Valley (NW of Virú). Although (like at Alto de la Guitarra) some ancient images from the Andean Formative Period have been recorded at Yonán, most of the petroglyphs are of a later date (Moche and Chimú).

Interestingly, Núñez Jiménez (1986) counts no less than 22 examples of the SoT, including some doubtful ones. However, earlier I also claimed that several of his drawings are inaccurate, incomplete or even completely incorrect. This seems to be the case with the images on Panel YON-001 (Figure 2) This interesting panel shows four vertically arranged lines, all topped by a symbol, one of which most certainly depicts a bird. The lines may depict or symbolise plants or even staffs adorned with plant attributes and symbols (like a bird on a plant [corn?]).

Figure 2. Panel YON-001 at Yonán, northern Peru (overlooking the modern entrance). Drawings © by Maarten van Hoek, A: based on the incorrect and incomplete illustrations by Núñez Jiménez (1986: Fig. 334 [only showing the less patinated petroglyphs] and Fig. 335; both drawings actually depicting one and the same panel, but presented as two different panels by Núñez Jiménez). My drawing (B: based on several photos) may also be incomplete because of the many much weathered and deeply patinated (and thus “hidden”) petroglyphs (note an almost invisible fish petroglyph). Panel YON-001 clearly informs us that the less patinated SoT’s are obviously later additions to a collection of earlier images (or perhaps re-pecked images?). It also shows – although the symbol on top of the left-most pole is undeniably a bird – that in several instances the element on top of the pole is hard to classify. The element may be unfinished, or presented so simplified that it cannot be easily identified.

Indeed, there are SoT’s at Yonán that seem to have a symbol on top of the pole that may represent a much simplified bird. An example is found on Panel YON-021 (Figure 3A). However, further down on the same panel is a frontally depicted anthropomorphic figure apparently holding a “pole topped by a solar symbol”. Conversely though, the object is in fact a “porra”, a club with a (metal or stone) star-shaped mace head on top of a wooden pole, used in warfare and rituals by the ancient Moche and Chimú. Finally, exceptional is the position of the SoT in Figure 4, which is found in a deep (natural or anthropic?) pothole.

Figure 3. Examples of petroglyphs depicting the SoT at Yonán, in which the symbol may be a (much stylised?) bird. A: Panel YON-021 (note the porra-bearer [not a SoT-carrier] with a tumi-shaped object on its head [a warrior?]); 3B: YON-030; C: YON-043 (much patinated; older and not re-pecked?). Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek,

Figure 4. An exceptional location of a petroglyph depicting a SoT on (rather “in”) Boulder YON-006 at Yonán. This boulder is entirely covered with cupules and petroglyphs but also features three deep (natural?) holes; all decorated on their interior walls. Understandably the SoT – topped by a stylised bird (?) – has a short pole because of the problem to engrave the pole in the deeper part of the hole (an adult man can put its complete lower arm into the hole, which is estimated by me to measure about 37 cm in width. Photograph © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 5. Panel YON-038A with at least three examples of the SoT (#1 with a biomorph [a human?] on top; #2 with a monkey [?] on top; and #3 with possibly a [deformed?] biomorph on top). There are at least two doubtful examples (?), as well as two fully frontally depicted anthropomorphic images of which #4 has a SoT with two circles at each end, while #5 holds a staff with a biomorph on top. The Crescent-Dot combination – visible at several spots on various panels at Yonán – may be related to the SoT. Photograph © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 6. A: Panel YON-026 (note the fully pecked bird [?] on top of a pole below the stepped design); B: Panel YON-000; C: Panel YON-069 (note deep cupule and the almost invisible crescent in the right-hand bottom corner); D: Panel YON-089 (note the curled tail of the biomorph that has been folded across two panels). Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 7. Panel YON-048. To the right: a bird on top of a pole, almost similar to the one in Figure 1. To the left: a pole with a symbol at each end. Note the much fainter anthropomorphic figure to the left that seems to hold the pole (a staff?). Photograph of Figure 7 and of the same photo on the cover © by Maarten van Hoek.

Southern Peru – The Majes Drainage

Most interesting in the scope of this study is the fact that in northern Peru a SoT is sometimes topped by a bird (at least one time at Alto de la Guitarras [see Figure 1B] and several times at Yonán [see for instance Figure 7]). A comparable distribution pattern can be noted in the Majes Drainage in southern Peru, where two sites – Toro Muerto and Alto de Pitis – feature examples of the SoT. Interestingly, most petroglyphs of the SoT in the Majes Drainage also represent the “Bird on a Pole” (BoP), while only a few examples have mammals on top (on a slightly different kind of pole, though; see Figure 19). The focus will be on the BoP, however.

Before discussing the Majes BoP petroglyphs, it will be necessary to review the major types of birds that appear in the Majes Style Rock Art. Despite the fact that there are many different varieties, there are four easily distinguishable types of laterally depicted birds that frequently occur (frontally depicted images will not be discussed here). More detailed information about these four sorts of birds in Van Hoek 2018b.

The Elongated Bird. This type of bird has a long beak and a long slender, often curved body with tail and legs pointing towards the end; tail and legs often running very close and parallel to each other ( Van Hoek 2018b: Fig. 89 – #1). Most examples have been recorded at Toro Muerto; only a few examples occur at Alto de Pitis, while two examples have been reported in the Vítor Valley. The Elongated Bird is – as far as I know – never associated with a pole.
The Rectangular Bird. Compared with the other bird types, the Rectangular Bird is much more stylised. The standard shape is composed of straight lines only, which mainly run parallel to each other (Van Hoek 2018b: Fig. 89 – #3). Because of its completely different shape, it really stands out in the bird imagery of the Majes Style Rock Art. As far as I know no examples of this type of bird “sitting on a pole” exist.
The Two-Digit-Claw Bird. The Two-Digit-Claw type of bird is less common compared with the Three-Digit-Claw type. The Two-Digit-Claw type of bird is characterised by having only one claw with two digits. They moreover are often lavishly decorated with patterns created with straight lines and dots (see Figure 14C), but fully pecked bird petroglyphs also occur, although some of those examples may definitely have been ritually obliterated at a later stage (see Figure 9; see Van Hoek 2005 for a discussion about ritual obliteration). Wings are usually not shown in the Two-Digit-Claw type of bird, but occasionally it seems as if wings have been added (at a [much?] later stage?), judged by the “strange” position of the wings in several instances, like with the bird “sitting on a pole” on Boulder TM-Bc-043 (see Figure 16 – Panel A).
The Three-Digit-Claw Bird. The most common bird type occurring in Majes Style Rock Art is the Three-Digit-Claw type, characterised by the claw showing three digits (Van Hoek 2018b: Fig. 89 – #2). It does not have a straight head-back-line. The curvilinear body is often decorated with a simple circle, one or more dots or some lines, but in general the rather simple adornment differs from the lush decoration of the standard Two-Digit-Claw type of bird.

Importantly, the theme of a “bird sitting on a pole” – almost always involving the Two-Digit-Claw type of bird – is a true hallmark of the rock art of Toro Muerto. It occurs – though only sporadically – also at Alto de Pitis. I know of only few instances where a Three-Digit-Claw type of bird seems to be “sitting on a pole”. Examples are found on Panel TM-Bn-002D (see Figure 18) and on Boulder TM-Cb-044, both at Toro Muerto. Yet, in some cases those “poles” may be an earlier feature, or they even may have been added later. Also the central digit of the bird’s Three-Digit-Claw may have been added later (or perhaps elongated to look like a pole).

The Majes Valley

Alto de Pitis

At Alto de Pitis there are at least seven examples of the BoP (and possibly three doubtful ones). This number is of course a minimum, as despite our many surveys we may not have seen every example. Moreover, the petroglyph on Panel AP2-052B shows that some poles may not have been noticed, being covered by the desert sands transported by the winds that often fiercely blow from the south, culminating sand at the north side in this case (Figure 8). Therefore, the pole on which this Three-Digit-Claw Bird is resting, may possibly be partially buried.

Figure 8. Panel AP2-052B at Alto de Pitis, looking south across the Majes Valley. The arrow indicates the Three-Digits-Claw Bird on Pole. Photograph © by Maarten van Hoek.

Alto de Pitis also has a few exceptional examples of the BoP. In one case it concerns a pair of BoP’s on Boulder AP3-199. The panel and the petroglyphs are very much blurred due to wind-erosion. Although the poles (indicated by arrows in Figure 9) and the claws are hard to distinguish, it most likely concerns Two-Digit-Claw birds; the one at the right possibly looking backwards. What is special about this pair of birds is that the whole of their bodies – and especially the heads – have carefully (and thus intentionally) been obliterated. The reason why an ancient manufacturer ritually obliterated especially this pair of birds, is unknown (however, see Van Hoek 2005 for a possible, general explanation of obliteration in Majes Rock Art).

Figure 9. Boulder AP3-199 at Alto de Pitis. Photograph © by Maarten van Hoek.

There is an even more puzzling instance of obliteration at Alto de Pitis. It occurs on Panel A of the very large, lavishly decorated Boulder AP3-183 (BoP framed in Figure 10). A Two-Digit-Claw BoP, originally 14 cm high, was carefully obliterated (apart from the tail), while later an outlined body and head was added for again an unknown reason Perhaps it depicts the rebirth of an earlier – once discarded – symbolism. The whole BoP now measures 20 cm in height.

Figure 10. Boulder AP3-183 at Alto de Pitis. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 11. Panel AP3-008C at Alto de Pitis, showing a (possibly partially obliterated?) Two-Digit-Claw Bird on a Pole. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Toro Muerto

Our surveys at Toro Muerto revealed a minimum of 29 BoP’s (plus four doubtful ones) and at least eight mammals on pole (plus one doubtful example). There is, however, one configuration on Boulder TM-Ex-009 of a bird and another element that deserves special attention first, as it may explain the symbolic meaning of the Majes BoP in general. It concerns a unique combination of a Two-Digit-Claw Bird that is resting (among a row of Majes “Dancers”) on the apex of a small, internally decorated triangle (Van Hoek 2018b: Fig. 85).

Earlier, archaeologist Joerg Haeberli tentatively referred to such a configuration (pyro-engraved on a portable gourd-fragment; thus not a petroglyph) as a “hill” (2001: 100). I fully agree with his interpretation and even would like to suggest further that the small pecked triangle on top of the “hill” may represent snow and that the lines and the dots within the triangle may represent or symbolise water (or water sources). Thus the triangle-petroglyph at Toro Muerto may even symbolise the very first representation of Apu Coropuna, the most sacred, snow-capped volcanic mountain visible form (only) two rock art sites in the Majes Valley (Alto de Pitis and Punta Colorada).

Of course it will be unfeasible to discuss all petroglyphs that feature the SoT-concept, but I will present some informative illustrations, some of which will be briefly commented on. Again, it often proved to be difficult to positively identify images as SoT’s, because poles may be buried by sand, or the panels are blurred by weathering and wind erosion. A fine example is the BoP on Boulder TM-Nn-003 (Figure 12; the right-hand picture shows the photo that has been heavily enhanced by me). This boulder is located far to the north of the main boulder field at Toro Muerto (but still south of the important group of at least 100 decorated boulders at Sector-X). It is the most northerly example of a BoP petroglyph at Toro Muerto that I know of.

Figure 12. Boulder TM-Nn-003 at Toro Muerto. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

The bird petroglyph on Boulder TM-Nn-003 (Figure 12) is an example of the Three-Digit-Claw Bird, of which there are not many examples in the Majes Drainage. A Three-Digit-Claw Bird is easily recognised by its single wing that runs parallel to its back, while the back-line and the neck-head-line form a distinctly curved line. This type of bird is always fully laterally depicted. In some cases there seems to be no wing indicated (see Figure 13C).

Figure 13. BoP’s at Toro Muerto. Some bird petroglyphs belong to the Two-Digit-Claw Bird-on-Pole type, despite having a curved back-neck-line; it may represent a hybrid or a transition example (see the example in Figure 13A). Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 14. BoP’s at Toro Muerto. Note the small bird hovering over the “confronting” couple of birds in Figure 14B (see also Figure 18). Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

The appearance of the Two-Digit-Claw Bird-on-Pole is more complex. To start with, many Two-Digit-Claw Birds are internally decorated; often rather lavishly (Figure 14C). Secondly, generally Two-Digit-Claw Birds-on-Pole have no wings, thus being posing as if sitting or resting (Figures 13B, 14B and C, 15A and C, 17A). Yet when Two-Digit-Claw Birds have two wings, it creates a visual “perspective problem” (Figures 14A, 15B, 16A).

Confusingly, although the body of the Two-Digit-Claw Bird is always fully laterally depicted, the position of the two wings give the impression of a frontally depicted bird with outspread wings; a matter of “twisted perspective”; one wing being illogically attached to the chest of the bird. But there is more. In some cases the (short) feathers of the wing point to the body (Figures 14A and 15B), while other birds have their feathers pointing outwards. All those variations give the impression that the wings are a later feature, added to the bird to give it more an appearance of a flying bird (or of a bird that is taking-off or landing on the pole).

Figure 15. BoP’s at Toro Muerto. The BoP in Figure A measures about 40 cm in height. The larger bird in Figure C measures 24 cm in height. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 16. Two BoP’s at Toro Muerto. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 17. BoP’s at Toro Muerto. The two almost identical ones in Figure B (arrow) are estimated to measure about 41 cm in height. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Figure 18. BoP at Toro Muerto with a very long (curved) pole (added later?). Note the smaller bird resting on the back of the larger one. Photographs © by Maarten van Hoek.

Mammals-on-Pole

Besides birds, also other animals (mainly [only?] mammals) are found on top of a pole. However, in all cases (known to me) the poles more-often are shallow, flat-bottomed grooves that I prefer to call “stripes”. But the idea is similar to the Bird-on-Pole concept. The photo of Figure 19 shows an example of a “Mammal-on-Pole” on Boulder TM-Bc-028 at Toro Muerto (indicated by the green arrow). Below the “Mammal-on-Pole” is a bird that might be associated with a curved groove (blue arrow), thus creating a Bird-on-Pole configuration. Importantly, the “Mammal-on-Pole” on Boulder TM-Bc-028 most likely is an example of a stripe having been anthropomorphised by adding an erect phallus and two legs with feet. Because of the long, curled tail of the mammals shown in the drawings of Figure 19, I suspect that the animals represent (stylised) felines. The two arrows in the drawing very tentatively suggest a kind of “evolution” from a stripe to an intentionally anthropomorphised stripe (more information about anthropomorphised stripes in Majes rock art in Van Hoek 2024). Interestingly, the “Mammal-on-Pole” configuration has also been created in a faraway rock art region; New Mexico.

Figure 19. Boulder TM-Bc-028 and drawings of three petroglyphs of the “Mammal-on-Pole”, (one anthropomorphised) at Toro Muerto. Photograph and drawings © by Maarten van Hoek.

Northern America – New Mexico

Southern New Mexico

Travelling about 5500 km to the NW from Toro Muerto in Southern America, we arrive in New Mexico, Northern America, where – especially in the south of New Mexico – a (small) number of rock art sites feature images of the SoT-configuration. Most of the rock art images that feature a SoT motif are found within the Mogollon Territory (see Van Hoek 2010 and 2026a for more information and many photos of Mogollon rock art). At least three Mogollon rock art sites (there probably are more; see the Addendum for confusing information about four other sites) feature petroglyphs of the SoT motif, of which the extensive petroglyph site of Three Rivers is the most important. This site has several examples, against (as far as I know) only one or two at the other sites each. The three other sites presented here further are Pony Hills, San Diego Mountain (see Van Hoek 2026a: the Appendix, for a simple map of southern New Mexico) and Alamo Mountain. In the Addendum those four more sites will be briefly discussed and illustrated.

Pony Hills, San Diego Mountain and Alamo Mountain

At Pony Hills (NM) there is at least one rock panel featuring a petroglyph of a SoT configuration. The difference between the examples from Peru and New Mexico becomes clear when scanning the example from Pony Hills (Figure 20A). A very long pole is topped by a symbol that depicts a biomorph (most likely a fish; a symbol absent in Peru’s SoT’s), but in this case the pole is held by a small biomorph at the very lower end. Also the Pole Carrier is unknown (to me) in the rock art of Peru. The example at Alamo Mountain (Figure 20B) shows a symbol on top of a pole that may represent two (mirrored) animal heads or two complete animals (Big Horns?). At San Diego Mountain there is an anthropomorphic figure that carries a short pole topped by a big Big-Horn symbol (Figure 21).

Figure 20. A: Pony Hills; B: Alamo Mountain. NM. Photograph © by Ken Steiner. Drawings © by Maarten van Hoek, based on photos by Ken Steiner.

Figure 21. San Diego Mountain, NM. Photograph © by Ken Steiner. Note the fully pecked “Severed Leg” to the left of the Big-Horn Carrier (“Severed Legs” in the rock art of New Mexico are further explained in Van Hoek 2026b). Drawing © by Maarten van Hoek.

Three Rivers

With more than 20.000 individual images and markings Three Rivers is one of the most extensive and important petroglyph sites of New Mexico. Yet, only a relatively small number of images depicts the SoT configuration, and, what is more, as far as I know there are only three petroglyphs featuring a rather long, single pole that is topped by a quadruped (Figures 22 and 28). All other examples at Three Rivers (known to me) involve figures that carry the pole.

Figure 22. Three Rivers, NM. Photograph © by Maarten van Hoek.

There may be just one figure that carries the pole (Figures 23B and 23C, and 24B and 24C) or two figures (Figures 23A [hardly visible at the bottom], 23D, 24A and 24D). The symbol on top may be a biomorph, like a mammal (Figures 23A and 24A), or an apparently abstract symbol, like the stepped design in Figures 23B, 23C and 23D. Also the carrier(s) may be zoomorphic (Figure 24B) or anthropomorphic (Figure 23C), or possibly a hybrid figure (Figure 23B), some of which may symbolise a transformed shaman (with an animal head?).

What may be significant is that several carriers (whether anthropomorphic or zoomorphic) appear to have an erect phallus (a fertility symbol?) (Figures 23C and 24A and B). The pole topped by a Stepped Fret design in Figure 24D is held up by two confronting birds. The stepped symbol most likely is associated with mountains, rain and thus with fertility (see Van Hoek 2004 and 2025b for discussions about the Stepped Fret). In some cases it is uncertain what exactly a symbol signifies, like the pole with three open circles (Figure 24C), or the symbol in Figure 25. The zoomorph in Figure 24B holds a pole topped by a dot-in-square, adorned with two (Big Horn?) horns (the Big Horn sheep is a powerful figure, also in Mogollon rock art).

Figure 23. Three Rivers, NM. Photographs © by Ken Steiner.

Figure 24. Three Rivers, NM. Photographs © by Ken Steiner (B and C) and by Maarten van Hoek (A and D).

Figure 25. Three Rivers, NM. An abstract (?) SoT. Photographs © by Ken Steiner.

In Mogollon rock art there are also biomorphs that carry a pole adorned with several shorter (curved) branches. In those cases it most likely concerns a person holding a (corn?) plant, like the complex anthropomorph (?) in Figure 26A. It may be compared with petroglyphs of anthropomorphs holding two plant-like objects (Corn Deities?) recorded by Ken Steiner at Alamo Mountain (an important Mogollon rock art site near the border with Texas; see Van Hoek 2026a: 12, 14 and 20; see the 2026a-Appendix for a map). However, at Three Rivers is a complex scene of two anthropomorphic figures (the better visible example clearly humpbacked and possibly phallic) holding a plant-like object, topped by a bird with outspread triangular wings, on top of which possibly sits another biomorph; perhaps a bird too (Figure 26B).

Figure 26. Three Rivers, NM. Photographs © by Ken Steiner and Maarten van Hoek.

Northern New Mexico and Arizona

There are a few possible parallels of the SoT in the rock art of northern New Mexico and Arizona. In the Lower Santa Fe River Canyon is an Anasazi petroglyph of an anthropomorph holding a pole topped by a (pierced?) bird, but in my opinion it concerns a ceremonial staff rather than an example of a SoT (Slifer 1998: Fig. 67). More interesting in the scope of this study is an Anasazi (phallic) anthropomorphic figure at the Aldridge Petroglyph Panel (Slifer 1998: Fig. 148). One of its four fingers is elongated to form a long pole that is topped by a stepped design, similar to those in Figure 23, which may imply that the image is a spin-off of Mogollon imagery and worldview. A fully pecked, phallic anthropomorphic petroglyph in the Cave of Life, Arizona, has a pole in each hand, one pole topped by a profile bird; the other with a fully frontally depicted bird (Slifer 2000: Fig. 26).

Some Observations

This study discusses the rock art motif comprising an (often) long pole that is topped by a symbol. The symbol on top of the pole (the SoT) may be a biomorph, an object or an abstract design. Excluded are long lines topped by a spear-point, or a similar element that – obviously – is an inseparable part of an object or a weapon (like the “porra” held by the anthropomorph in Figure 23A). Therefore, also rock art images of the atlatl may give an incorrect impression. For the same reason, the petroglyph of a zoomorph seemingly located on top of a pole at Three Rivers is excluded, as several photos demonstrate that the animal has most likely been hit by an arrow in an apparent successful hunt (Figure 27; the arrow indicates the slope of the panel).

Figure 27. Three Rivers, NM. Photograph © by Maarten van Hoek (rotated 90^o by the author, thus placing the image in an [incorrect] SoT position. The arrow indicates the slope.

Figure 28. Three Rivers, NM. Photographs © by Ken Steiner and Maarten van Hoek.

Then there are (always) several instances that are doubtful. Then it cannot unequivocally be decided whether the image involves a true SoT. A fine example is the deer petroglyph (showing an open mouth!) that seems to be eating from the dots surrounding a ring mark (Figure 28). Its legs are flexed, but there is a fifth line, which is straight. Is that a pole? It seems to be too short and is not held by a biomorph. A similar, yet fainter example has been recorded by Ken Steiner. We will probably never know what symbolism exactly this specific configuration conveys.

Also ignored in this study are the rock art images that I have classified as “climbing biomorphs”, which concern biomorphs that are joined to a vertically arranged plant-like element. They distantly look like animals on a pole, but they are not found at the very top of the trunk or branch (for many examples in Andean and global rock art see Van Hoek 2015).

Different Symbolism

Regarding the symbolism of the SoT, I am convinced that the metaphorical meaning is specific for every major rock art region that I have discussed: Northern Peru, with the key assemblage at Yonán; Southern Peru, with the major group at Toro Muerto; and New Mexico, with an essential collection at Three Rivers. However, because in every situation informed knowledge is lacking, the only sources of reliable (but often incomplete and/or uncertain) information are the rock art images themselves (on the panel and at the related site[s]) and the often fragmentary and scanty remains of archaeological excavations in the same area (yielding ceramics, textiles and other portable objects, for instance).

Yonán: Fertility. Because several poles at Yonán look like plants and moreover have a bird on top of the pole, I would tentatively suggest that those petroglyphs may have served to invoke the fertility of plants in the fertile valley of the Jequetepeque River. Importantly, Yonán directly overlooks the fertile river valley to its east, but also the dry and barren quebrada to the north. Thus the confluence of a barren riverbed and the always water-carrying river makes Yonán a site with a profound life-death symbolism.

Toro Muerto: Messengers. The imagery and location at Toro Muerto differs quite a lot from the images at Yonán. Both Toro Muerto and Alto de Pitis (both extremely dry sites) overlook the fertile Majes Valley; in itself a deep life-death symbolism. However, the Majes poles are vertically orientated grooves without any further detail. They might symbolise plants, but in this barren desert – a treeless and almost plant-less landscape (disregarding the fertile Majes Valley) – I regard this interpretation to be very questionable.

Disregarding the Majes “Mammals-on-Pole” (see Figure 19; for which I do not have a solid explanation), it is remarkable that the great majority of the symbols on top of a pole are birds. I now argue that birds are among the most powerful rock art symbols of the Majes Rock Art Style. I further argue that birds have the ability to serve as spiritual messengers to their ancestors and the deities of the area, which were (and still are!) supposed to reside on top of Apu Coropuna; the snow-clad dormant volcano (the highest in Peru). I now tentatively would like to suggest that the Two-Digit-Claw Bird on a Pole with one wing is relaxing on a pole, before or after its journey to the Spirit World. When showing two wings (one of which may be added), the bird may take off or land when having travelled or when about to travel to the Spirit World. Possibly confirming my theory is the probably unique petroglyph configuration of a Two-Digit-Claw Bird on a Triangular Element, which – in my opinion – may well symbolise Apu Coropuna, the Sacred Mountain of the area (more details in Van Hoek 2018b).

New Mexico: Fertility. The symbolism of the rock art images recorded in New Mexico is more diverse. The major difference between the Peru examples and those recorded in New Mexico, is that there are many (often phallic) figures that are carrying a pole with a symbol on top. It may be a biomorph (a fish or a quadruped), or a specific design, like the powerful Stepped Fret, which is associated with mountains generating rain. Abstract symbols are harder to interpret, though. Some carriers are anthropomorphic and – especially when holding a stepped design – they may be part of a ritual or even a procession. Sometimes birds are directly associated with such stepped design, which may mean that also birds are rain and fertility symbols. This also goes for the images of biomorphs holding a pole with plant-like branches. Thus fertility may have been one of the main reasons to create certain images in this area, like the SoT and plant-like images. However, all interpretations regarding the SoT are what they are; tentative guesses based on the often confusing and/or “deceptive” graphical information provided by the rock art images, or by artefacts like ceramics. For instance, a Mimbres bowl shows a man balancing a fish and a dog suspended from a staff, said to represent a person depicting a high ceremony acting as mediator between two opposing clans (Kabotie 1982: 25-26; in Berrier 2020: 8).

Addendum

Confusing Information Regarding Fish on Pole Images

In her informative paper about fish imagery in New Mexico rock art, independent researcher Margaret Berrier wrote (2020: 8). “On the same petroglyph panel as Figure 13 there is what appears to be a fish on a stick or staff held by an anthropomorphic figure. See Appendix A Figures 20, 54, 56, 57, and 65 for other fish on a staff.”. Unfortunately, this statement and the relevant references and illustrations contain several conflicting bits of information.

To start with, her Appendix A has no Fig. 20, although a Fig. 20 does appear in her text-part (on her page 12). According to the caption of Fig. 20 it concerns a “fish petroglyph on a hilltop above the Mimbres Valley.”, (in fact it concerns Taylor Mountain). However, the petroglyph of her Fig. 20 does not show a “fish on a staff” motif, but a fish with an internal pattern that – in my opinion – may depict a fish-bone (Van Hoek 2026a: 32 – upper photo).

Berrier – referring to the petroglyph found “on the same petroglyph panel as Figure 13” – had better referred to Fig. 56 in her text too, as Fig. 56 in the Appendix A shows the relevant part of the panel in question. According to Berrier it concerns the site of Cooke’s Peak or Pony Hills (see Figure 20). As far as I could check, her Fig. 56 does not show all petroglyphs (compare her drawing with my Figure 20, which, however, also only shows a part of the whole panel, while especially my drawing only shows the relevant petroglyph). Moreover, the Pole Carrier in Fig. 56 has been drawn without its (short) legs.

As far as I can unravel the puzzle, the drawing Berrier (on page 8) referred to as “Fig. 20, illustrated in Appendix A”, most likely concerns the petroglyph illustrated in her Fig. 28 (thus most likely it concerns a typo: Fig. 20 should probably read Fig. 28). However, about her Fig. 28 only confusing information is available in her paper. On page 7 Berrier writes that she has identified two examples of fish petroglyphs with anthropomorphs inside. One occurs at Three Rivers (her Figs 11 and 94), while the other (referred to by her to have been illustrated as Fig. 28 in Appendix A) is at Gila National Forest archaeological site. But her Fig. 28 has no anthropomorph inside the fish, although it does show a pole (Figure 29A). Maybe Fig. 28 should read Fig. 29, which does show a fish with a human head inside.

Finally, the provenance of the petroglyph that Berrier illustrates in Fig. 54 in her Appendix A (Figure 29B) could not be traced in her paper. Also, it is not mentioned or described any further by her. The same goes for her Fig. 57 in Appendix A (Figure 29C), as well for Fig. 65 (which probably should read Fig. 66), the only pictograph of a “fish-on-top-of-a-staff” that I know of (Figure 29D). According to Berrier the pictograph has been recorded at Gila Cliff Dwellings, but again this interesting rock painting is not mentioned or described any further by her.

Figure 29. Rock art images of the “Fish-on-Pole” (all petroglyphs, except for “D”, which is a pictograph. Note the simple Pole Carrier). A: Gila National Forest; B and C: Provenance unknown to me; D: Gila Cliff Dwellings. Drawings © by Maarten van Hoek, based on the illustrations by Margaret Berrier (2020: A: Fig. 28; B: Fig. 54; C: Fig. 57; D: Fig. 66).

Acknowledgements

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to Ken Steiner who shared with me thousands of photos of New Mexico rock art sites, together with his permission to publish them (photos in this study have digitally been enhanced and cropped by me). I am also grateful to Mrs. Mary Russell of the El Paso Archaeological Society and Bob Dragon for guiding us at Three Rivers in 2005. Last, but certainly not least, I thank my wife Elles who – as usual – assisted me during our surveys at Toro Muerto, Alto de Pitis and Three Rivers (and many other sites, worldwide) and continues to support me at home. Yet, I am the only one who is responsible of any error that I made in this study. Please, correct me when necessary (but not via Academia).

References

Berrier, M. 2020. Let’s Look at Fish: Pisciforms in the Jornada Mogollon Region of Southern New Mexico and West Texas. Bulletin of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center. Vol. 83; pp. 1 – 28. Tucson, Arizona.

Campano Delgado, C. 2013. Una Serpiente y una Historia del Agua. Notas para un Estudio del Alto de las Guitarras. Fondo Editorial de la Universdidad Privada Antenor Orrego. Trujillo, Perú (Introduction at Rupestreweb; 2014).

Haeberli, J. 2001. Tiempo y tradiciones en Arequipa, Perú, y el surgimiento de la cronología de tema de la Deidad Central. Boletín de Arqueológia PUCP. Vol. 5; pp. 80 – 137. Huari y Tiwanaku: Modelos vs evidencias, Segunda Parte. Eds. Peter Kaulike and William H. Isbell. PDF.

Kabotie, F. 1982. Designs from the Ancient Mimbreños with a Hopi Interpretation. 2d edition. Northland Press, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Núñez Jiménez, A. 1986. Petroglifos del Perú. Panorama mundial del arte rupestre. 2da. Ed. PNUD-UNESCO – Proyecto Regional de Patrimonio Cultural y Desarrollo, La Habana.

Van Hoek, M. 2004. The stepped-fret motif in American rock art: an attempt at tracing origin and meaning. The Artifact. Vol. 42; pp. 75 – 91. El Paso Archaeological Society. El Paso, Texas. Available as PDFna-3 at DropBox.

Van Hoek, M. 2005. Toro Muerto, Peru: Possible Prehistoric Deletion of Petroglyph Details. Adoranten 2005. pp. 73 – 80. Underslös, Sweden. Available as PDF-048 at DropBox.

Van Hoek, M. 2010. Mogollon Rock Art and the Status of the ‘Flute Player’. In: Proceedings of the XV World Congress UISPP. Lisbon. BAR International Series. pp. 161 – 173. Archaeopress, Publishers of British Archaeological Reports, Oxford, England. Available as PDFna-2 at DropBox.

Van Hoek. M. 2011. Petroglyphs of Peru – Following the Footsteps of Antonio Núñez Jiménez. Oisterwijk, Holland. Book available as PDF at Academia.

Van Hoek, M. 2015. ‘Climbing Biomorphs’ in Andean Rock Art and Beyond. In: Rupestreweb.

Van Hoek, M. 2018a. The Huacapongo Corridor – Rock Art along a Prehistoric Coastal Route in the Desert Andes. Oisterwijk, Holland. Book available as PDF at Academia.

Van Hoek, M. 2018b. Formative Period Rock Art in Arequipa, Peru. An up-dated analysis of the rock art from Caravelí to Vítor. Oisterwijk, Holland. Book available as PDF at DropBox.

Van Hoek, M. 2021. The Many Faces of Chuquillanqui – A Rock Art Site in Northern Peru. Oisterwijk – Holland. Book available as PDF at Academia.

Van Hoek, M. 2024. Animated Abstracts in Majes Rock Art, Peru. In: TRACCE – Online Rock Art Bulletin, Italy.

N.B. As per June 2026 the website of TRACCE moved to https://www.tracce.eu. The old .net URLS in this paper and earlier published papers should still work. If not, change .net into .eu to find the relevant paper in the new website of TRACCE.

Van Hoek, M. 2025a. Monkey Petroglyphs in the Rock Art of Coastal Peru: Distribution and Symbolism. In: TRACCE – Online Rock Art Bulletin, Italy. PDF available at Academia.

Van Hoek, M. 2025b. The Stepped Design. An Anomaly in Desert Andes Rock Art. In: TRACCE – Online Rock Art Bulletin, Italy.

Van Hoek, M. 2026a. Steiner’s Rock Art and landscapes of New Mexico and West Texas. Oisterwijk, Holland. Photo-book available as PDF at Academia.

Van Hoek, M. 2026b. The “Severed Limb” Feature in the Rock Art of New Mexico. In: TRACCE – Online Rock Art Bulletin, Italy.

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