Posted inAcademics Featured South America

Monkey Petroglyphs in Coastal Peru

The rock art of the Desert Andes, the extremely dry coastal strip west of the High Andes in South America, abounds in images of all sorts of animals. Most animals are to be expected: camelids, birds, snakes and felines, for instance. However, there is one animal species that is unforeseen. It concerns the image of the monkey. This study explores the distribution if the monkey in the rock art of mainly coastal Peru, and attempts at explaining the figure.

By Maarten van Hoek

Posted inAcademics Featured Geoglyphs South America

The Stepped Design in Desert Andes Rock Art

There are several motifs and images that have an unexpected rare occurrence in the rock art of the Desert Andes of South America. One such a motif is the Stepped Design that is ubiquitously depicted on ceramics, textiles and in other artefacts, as well as in architectural art. However, the Stepped Design is an anomaly (in several ways) in the rock art of coastal Chile and Peru. This study explores the distribution and attempts at explaining those anomalies.

By Maarten van Hoek

Posted inAcademics South America

New Pictographs at Guatin – Northern Chile

In 2013 Mario Giorgetta, an academic botanist from Switzerland, discovered for the first time a small rock panel with a collection of clearly associated pictographs on a rock cliff in the gorge of the Río Vilama. Mario reported the site to me in 2019 and we agreed to publish a paper describing the panel and its context. This paper comprises two parts. The first part is written by Maarten van Hoek and briefly attempts at interpreting the elements that make up the pictograph scene and the second part is independently written by the discoverer of the pictograph panel at Guatin, Mario Giorgetta.

by Maarten van Hoek and Mario Giorgetta

Posted inAcademics America Featured South America TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.42

Petroglifos Únicos en Ariquilda, Chile

Este artículo investiga cuatro iconos raros del sitio de arte rupestre de Ariquilda en el desierto de Atacama en el norte de Chile. Se trata de un grupo de figuras antropomórficas que muestran una actitud muy específica y tres otros motivos muy enigmáticos. He nombrado estos cuatro motivos: ‘Los Hombres Torcidos’, ‘Los Cueros’ y ‘Las Gafas junto con Las Figuras Triangulares’. De nuevo estos iconos confirman el estatus especial de Ariquilda en el arte rupestre andino (véanse también ‘The Avian Staff Bearer’ y ‘Icons That Travel’, ambos publicados en TRACCE).

 

Posted inArchaeology Geoglyphs Protection – Salvaguardia South America TRACCE Onl. RA Bull. 32

Chiza, Interpreting Digitally Restored Petroglyphs

Chiza petroglyph
Chiza Petroglyphs

The goal of this paper is to offer the interested reader a digital restoration and interpretation of the images of a vandalized petroglyph boulder located in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. Its damaged face underscores the urgent necessity to ([photo])graphic record rock art sites in general. It is hoped that very soon a complete survey will be made of the Chiza petroglyph site and that the official survey will be made available to rock art researchers.

by Maarten van Hoek