TRACCEAmerica Archives - Page 3 of 7

Archive for America

New “Carcancha” Petroglyphs in Arequipa, Peru

December 2, 2020 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This paper presents the description of two new sites in Majes, Peru, both featuring an example of a skeleton-like petroglyph that may spiritually be linked with the Sacred Mountain of Coropuna. The documentation of those two new sites thus reveals new information about the symbolic spatial organization and ritual functions of the “Death Valley of the Andes”. It is especially hypothesized here that the specific setting of those two new sites may indicate a physical “Road to Coropuna”.

By Maarten van Hoek Read more

False Information Concerning Majes Rock Art, Peru

November 13, 2020 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

Scientific publications should always be reliable. The content may never be incorrect or misleading. This also goes for publications regarding rock art, whether by amateurs or by academics. This short paper deals with two photographs of petroglyphs from the Majes Valley, southern Peru, and the conclusions based upon those illustrations published by two academics from the USA. Regrettably, both the photos and the conclusions are unambiguously incorrect.

By Maarten van Hoek

Enfrentando los dibujos… ¡otra vez! (Perú)

August 24, 2020 Academics, Featured, Imaging, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.46 No comments

With great interest I have watched the YouTube Video called: Charla Rupestre: Los Petroglifos de Chillihuay. Arequipa, Perú by Maritza Rodríguez Cerrón and Daniel Chumpitaz Llerena (21 August 2020), two leading Peruvian archaeologists who have intensively surveyed the important rock art site of Chillihuay in southern Peru. However, a couple of those drawings in their 2014-paper drew my attention, as they proved to be incorrect (PDF available).

by Maarten van Hoek – rockart @home.nl Read more

The Three Rivers 3D Masks

July 22, 2020 Academics, Featured, North America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.46 2 comments

In several cases rock art manufacturers were intrigued by natural rock features such as holes and cracks. This paper deals mainly with rock art images of masks that are folded across two rock panels creating 3D masks. In particular the Mogollon 3D masks of Three Rivers in New Mexico, USA, will be discussed. Also the puzzling anomaly regarding the distribution of Mogollon 3D masks and Rio Grande Style 3D masks will be dealt with. Finally, it will be attempted to offer an explanation for the enigmatic 3D masks (PDF available).

By Maarten van Hoek

The Rock Art of El Vagón – Moche Drainage, Peru

October 13, 2019 Academics, Featured, Geoglyphs, South America No comments

Despite increasing interest in inventorying of the rock art in the northern coastal area of Peru, only very little has been published by Peruvian scholars. In fact, several scholars said to publish inventories of – for example, Palamenco in Ancash and even of whole departments such as La Libertad – but nothing happens. This interim inventory about El Vagón (La Libertad) hopes to contribute to the digital safeguarding of important rock art that runs the risk to be vandalised or even destroyed.

By Maarten van Hoek

Enigmatic Configurations in Arequipa Rock Art, Peru

October 3, 2019 Academics, Asia, Morocco, South America, Zoomorphic No comments

The rock art of Arequipa (southern Peru) is characterised by several idiosyncratic images, like ‘Dancers’. However, also rather simple elements form rare and uncommon configurations that are composed of grooves, arcs of dots and crosses that are hovering over or are emanating from zoomorphic petroglyphs, yet intimately associated. Similar configurations prove to be very rare in global rock art.

By Maarten van Hoek Read more

The Incomplete Versus The Unfinished

July 8, 2019 Academics, Featured, Geoglyphs, North America, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.44 No comments

Only the manufacturer of a rock art image could reliably have informed us whether a rock art image is unfinished or whether it is incomplete. Unfortunately informed knowledge is often completely unavailable. Then only the image and its graphical and cultural context are available to possibly separate the unfinished from the incomplete. Additionally, the incomplete image may even include something invisible. To address these issues I will use the rich rock art repertoire of the Desert Andes, focussing mainly on Toro Muerto and Miculla, two enormous rock art sites in the south of Peru.

By Maarten van Hoek

Calling Cards: a New Plains Rock Art Site Type

July 6, 2019 Academics, Ethnography - Etnografia, Featured, North America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.44 No comments

Calling Card rock art sites, drawn by war parties in enemy territory to taunt their adversaries by illustrating deeds executed against them, are a newly identified site type on the northern Plains of North America. One such site is Cheval Bonnet, a small petroglyph in Northern Montana. Containing coup counting and horse raiding narratives from the early 1800s, analysis of these images shows that most of the petroglyphs can be identified as Crow drawings, even though they are carved in the heart of Historic Blackfeet tribal territory. Once this site was identified as a calling card petroglyph, I was able to identify three others elsewhere on the northern Plains (PDF available).

by James D. KEYSER Read more

The Saluting Anthropomorph in the Rock Art of the Americas

September 30, 2018 Academics, Featured, North America, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.43 No comments

Although in general complex biomorphic figures in rock art are not suitable to demonstrate diffusion, there is one idiosyncratic anthropomorphic figure the in rock art repertoire of the Americas, which, although it is very rare, has a remarkably wide distribution that might indicate long-distance diffusion. I have labelled this icon the Saluting Anthropomorph. See the UPDATE at the end of the paper.

By Maarten van Hoek Read more

Long Distance Diffusion of Rock Art Motifs in the Americas

September 7, 2018 Academics, Africa, America, Australia, Europe, Featured, Mid-America, Morocco, North America, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.43 No comments

Rock art motifs are found in every inhabited continent. In most cases those motifs develop independently, but it is also certain that specific rock art motifs migrated from one area to another area, sometimes travelling for thousands of kilometres. This study investigates the possible long-distance diffusion of a number of abstract rock art motifs along the Pacific seaboard of the Americas.

By Maarten van Hoek Read more

Indifferent Obliteration of Petroglyph Art

August 9, 2018 Academics, Featured, North America, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.43 No comments

Petroglyphs are often found superimposed by other petroglyphs, but in some cases they have also been (partially) obliterated by hammering, rubbing or polishing of the rock’s surface. This short study investigates a number of cases in North and South America where petroglyphs may have (and in some cases definitely have) been obliterated by such grinding activities. This study therefore strongly recommend to accurately record instances where grinding activities took place, even when there are no petroglyphs visible.

By Maarten van Hoek

The ‘Trophy-Bird’ of Alto de Pitis

June 8, 2018 Academics, Africa, Featured, Morocco, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.43 No comments

This paper provides a few examples of petroglyphs that have drastically been transformed by later rock art manufacturers. However, it focuses on one specific petroglyph, which is found at Alto de Pitis in the Majes Valley of southern Peru; aptly called ‘The Death Valley of the Andes’. In this paper I tentatively argue that the unique ‘Trophy-Bird’ petroglyph of Alto de Pitis initially started off as a ‘trophy’ head, which was later intentionally transformed to symbolise the Supernatural Flight of the Dead towards Apu Coropuna, the Sacred Mountain of the area.

by Maarten van Hoek

Una Actualización del Arte Rupestre del Cerro la Puntilla, Perú

March 4, 2018 Academics, Featured, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.43 No comments

Este artículo trata sobre el sitio de arte rupestre de La Puntilla en el norte de Perú. Aunque pasé este sitio muchas veces no lo he visitado. Sin embargo, el sitio tiene varios paneles muy interesantes con petroglifos – todos reportados por primera vez por el arqueólogo aficionado local, Francisco Gregorio Díaz Núñez – que serán discutidos en este artículo.

Una Actualización del Arte Rupestre de Chumbenique – Perú

January 24, 2018 Academics, Featured, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.43 No comments

En 2016 visitamos por primera vez el sitio de arte rupestre de Chumbenique en el Valle de Zaña en el norte de Perú. Con base en nuestras investigaciones publiqué un artículo preliminar sobre los petroglifos de Chumbenique (Van Hoek 2016a). En mi artículo de 2016 mencioné que registramos 32 bloques con petroglifos . Sin embargo, volvimos a Chumbenique en septiembre de 2017 para una investigación más exhaustiva y pudimos agregar 21 rocas con petroglifos más. De ahí esta actualización.

Una Actualización del Arte Rupestre de Mayasgo-1 (Perú)

December 16, 2017 Academics, Featured, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.42 No comments

En noviembre 2016 Daniel Castillo Benítez y María Susana Barrau informaron sobre el sitio de arte rupestre de Mayasgo-1 en el Valle de Carabamba en el norte de Perú. En septiembre de 2017 investigué el mismo sitio y descubrí más petroglifos. Por lo tanto, este artículo ofrece una actualización del artículo de Castillo y Barrau.

In November 2016 Daniel Castillo Benítez and María Susana Barrau reported the rock art site of Mayasgo-1 in the Carabamba Valley of northern Peru. In September 2017 I surveyed the same site and discovered more petroglyphs. Therefore this paper offers an update of the report by Castillo and Barrau.

‘Petroglifos’ Aviformes Tridimensionales (Perú)

December 1, 2017 Academics, Featured, Interpretation and semiotics, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.42 No comments

This study discusses some rare instances of biomorphic rock formations that also bear petroglyphs, which, in some cases enhance the biomorphic character of the rock. The focus in this study is on the Sacred Sitting Bird at Cerro La Puntilla in northern Peru.

Este estudio discute algunos casos raros de formaciones rocosas biomórficas que también tienen petroglifos, que, en algunos casos, mejoran el carácter biomórfico de la roca. El enfoque en este estudio está en el Ave Sagrado Sentado en Cerro La Puntilla en el norte de Perú.

Un Sitio Rupestre Poco Conocido en Chicama, Perú

November 5, 2017 Academics, Featured, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.42 No comments

En el Valle de Chicama en el norte de Perú hay muchos sitios de arte rupestre. Más de 20 sitios han sido reportados en esta cuenca (Castillo Benites 2006). Sin embargo, hay sólo unos pocos sitios que tienen un gran número de paneles con petroglifos. La mayoría de los otros sitios de la cuenca de Chicama tienen sólo uno o algunos paneles de petroglifos y la mayoría de ellos son poco conocidos. Este artículo se trata de un sitio poco conocido en Chicama.

By Maarten van Hoek

Aiapaec in Andean Rock Art ?

November 5, 2017 Academics, Featured, South America, TRACCE Onl. RA Bull.42 No comments

Aiapaec probably was the supreme divinity of the Mochica pantheon, an ancient civilisation that emerged in the coastal strip of northern Peru. There are numerous often much differing depictions of full zoo-anthropomorphic figures and – especially – of isolated heads in the Huaca de la Luna near Trujillo that are said to represent Aiapaec. In view of the importance of Aiapaec in this part of Peru it is extraordinary that there are no unambiguous depictions of undeniable Moche origin of this personage in Andean rock art. This paper discusses that problem and describes seven petroglyphs that might symbolise Aiapaec.