La Laja is a major rock art concentration on a large outcrop wall high above the Majes River valley in southern Peru. This article describes the many rock art images at La Laja and attempts at a tentative chronology. Most of the imagery belongs to the Majes Rock Art Style (see Van hoek 2018 for more information), although several images are later.
By Maarten van Hoek
This study investigates the possibility whether rock art images in the Majes Valley of southern Peru indeed depict weapons or conflicts between humans. The bio-archaeological excavations and research at Uraca (Majes Valley) by Beth Scaffidi and Tiffiny Tung suggest that the rock art of especially neighbouring Toro Muerto conveys a preoccupation with violence (Scaffidi and Tung 2020). However, the current study demonstrates that there is not any proof or any convincing graphical context confirming “violent events in nearby petroglyphs”.
By Maarten van Hoek
Rock art images often include unexpected and enigmatic elements. This study investigates the petroglyphs of especially anthropomorphic figures in the Majes Valley of southern Peru that have an unanticipated feather-element; a long groove (sometimes slightly curved) with a row of parallel but shorter grooves attached to one side only. This study will describe the petroglyphs of the several types of biomorphs featuring a feather-element, focussing however on the “Feathered Homunculus”, as well as their surprisingly limited distribution.
By Maarten van Hoek
The Majes Valley of southern Peru is well-known for its enormous collection of petroglyphs. A significant diversity of animal species has been depicted on the relatively soft volcanic rocks of those sites. Images of felines are relatively scarce in the Majes Valley, yet they are unexpectedly numerous in absolute terms in the Central Majes Valley. In this study the image of the Majes feline and its graphical anomalies will be discussed, as well as the unexpected distribution pattern of feline imagery in the Majes Valley.
By Maarten van Hoek
Alto de Pitis
This book is the first to explain the exceptional relationship between unique images of skeleton-anthropomorphic petroglyphs and one of the most important Sacred Mountains of the Andes.
El sitio de arte rupestre de Alto de Pitis es el más importante en el Valle de Majes por su unión única con una Montaña Sagrada.
by Maarten van Hoek
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