Tag Archive for rock art

Los Petroglifos de Pariacha, Perú

This study describes a little-known rock art site located on very high ground between the rivers Rímac and Lurín, a short distance inland from the capital of Perú, Lima. It has been reported for the first time in 2014. At least 25 boulders with petroglyphs have been discussed in this study.

Este estudio describe un sitio de arte rupestre poco conocido ubicado en un terreno muy alto entre los ríos Rímac y Lurín, a poca distancia tierra adentro de la capital del Perú, Lima. Se informó por primera vez en 2014. En este estudio se han discutido al menos 25 rocas con petroglifos.

By Van Hoek and Cárdenas

Read more

Los Petroglifos de Purunhuasi, Perú

Report describing a hitherto undescribed rock art site ENE of Lima, Peru. Simple petroglyphs of quadrupeds (camelids?) and abstract motifs predominate, but there is at least one interesting zoomorphic image as well.

Informe que describe un sitio de arte rupestre hasta ahora no descrito ENE de Lima, Perú. Predominan los petroglifos simples de cuadrúpedos (¿camélidos?) y motivos abstractos, pero también hay al menos una imagen zoomorfa interesante.

By Maarten van Hoek and Gustavo Cárdenas

Read more

El Arte Rupestre del Valle de Huarmey

La franja costera extremadamente seca al oeste de los Andes es muy rica en arte rupestre. Sin embargo, la distribución es bastante desigual. Algunos valles tienen una plétora de arte rupestre, como el valle de Reque-Chancay al este de Chiclayo, mientras que otros valles tienen solo unos pocos sitios con una modesta variedad de imágenes de arte rupestre. Uno de esos valles es el valle del río Huarmey. Este artículo presenta una revisión de los seis sitios con arte rupestre de este valle, escrito con la muy apreciada colaboración de Gustavo Cárdenas Huachaca (Perú).

Por Maarten van Hoek y Gustavo Cárdenas

Read more

Vítor Valley Rock Art Sites: Tacar

The coastal areas of the Department of Arequipa in southern Peru are very rich in rock art. Most of the rock art sites are found along or very near river valleys. One of those river valleys that is rich in rock art is the valley of the Río Vítor. In this study the rock art in the stretch of river between the confluence with the Río Yura in the north of the Vítor-Chili drainage and the confluence with the Río Sihuas, further downstream, will be discussed.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

The Rock Art Site of La Laja – Peru

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

Read more

The Petroglyphs of Cuesta de la Pachana and Miraflores

It is known for more than 80 years that the Manga drainage in southern Peru houses one of the most important rock art sites in this part of the Andes (Illomas). However, apart from Illomas there are a number of smaller, yet important rock art sites in this valley. This study discusses two sites in the Manga Valley that were provisionally recorded in 2018 by the Upper Manga Archaeological Survey Project (University of Toronto, Department of Anthropology, Royal Ontario Museum, Canada). It concerns Cuesta de la Pachana and Miraflores-Pachana.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

The Status of Sector-X – Toro Muerto, Peru

Toro Muerto es el sitio de arte rupestre más grande de los Andes, conocido desde 1953. En 2018, un equipo de investigación polaco-peruano inició el Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica – Toro Muerto (PIA-TM) e inspeccionó una parte informada anteriormente, pero no inspeccionada en el extremo norte del sitio. Se llamaba Sector-X. Este estudio intenta analizar el arte rupestre del Sector-X considerando especialmente el estado del Sector-X dentro del Complejo de Arte Rupestre de Toro Muerto. Para lograr esto, mi estudio se enfoca principalmente en la ocurrencia y distribución de un petroglifo de un ave específico que es exclusivo del Valle Central de Majes en el sur de Perú.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

Why Selecting Mollebaya Chico ?

This paper again demonstrates that in the area of the Majes Rock Art Style (Arequipa; southern Peru) many sites are firmly and ritually connected with at least one of the Sacred Mountains (the Apus) of the area. Those volcanoes play an important role in selecting spots for rock art production. Mollebaya Chico is one of those sites.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

The Rock Art of La Caldera, Southern Peru

This paper again demonstrates that in the area of the Majes Rock Art Style (Arequipa; southern Peru) many sites are firmly and ritually connected with at least one of the Sacred Mountains (the Apus) of the area. Those volcanoes play an important role in selecting spots for rock art production. La Caldera is one of those sites.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

Updating the Rock Art near Huaca Blanca, Peru

Many rock art sites are easily destroyed, also in Peru, especially because of road constructions or mining activities. This paper describes three petroglyph sites near the village of Huaca Blanca in northern Peru. Especially Huaca Blanca has already been partially destroyed by unwanted quarrying. This paper offers a brief inventory of what is (was!) available during our surveys. The thumbnail to the right shows a prehistoric petroglyph next to recent damage.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

Palamenco and the Shooting Male

Palamenco is a petroglyph site in the coastal area of Northern Peru. It has some special images, including an image of what I interpreted as a “shooting male”. This petroglyph is unique for Palamenco and possibly for Latin America as well. It is compared with more or less similar examples around the world.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

Petroglyphs and a New Geoglyph in the Sama Valley

The Sama Valley in southern Peru has only a few rock art sites. This article describes one of those sites, which is located at Coropuro on the south bank of the river. It has a interesting collection of petroglyphs, some of which might be linked to a previously unnoticed geoglyph nearby.

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

Valcamonica Rock Art Fieldwork 2021

The Footsteps of Man Archaeological Cooperative Society is based in Valcamonica, an Alpine valley in Northern Italy, where rock art constitutes an archaeological, artistic, ethnographic and historical patrimony of inestimable value (UNESCO World Heritage List). In collaboration with the Catholic University of Brescia, Footsteps of Man organizes its annual Valcamonica Rock Art & Archaeology Field School in Paspardo, one of the principal area where engravings are concentrated. The project participants will learn how
to survey, clean, photograph, draw and catalogue the rock engravings at sites around Paspardo. During the field season, visits to the major rock art parks and museums in Valcamonica will be organized.

by Angelo Eugenio Fossati

Read more

The Cíceras “Carcancha-Bird” Petroglyphs – Majes, Peru

The Majes drainage in southern Peru boasts the largest collection of rock art in the Andes, especially because of the abundance of petroglyphs at the Toro Muerto and Alto de Pitis. Importantly, both sites have numerous bird petroglyphs of different types. Yet there are other sites in the Majes drainage that also have idiosyncratic bird imagery. One of those sites is Cíceras, which is the subject of this study. I focus on a specific type of bird petroglyphs, for which I tentatively suggest that they have a special transcendent proficiency.

By Maarten van Hoek Read more

Valcamonica Symposium 2021

The CCSP-Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici is organising the Valcamonica Symposium from 28 to 31 October 2021 at the Auditorium Cittadella Cultura, Capo di Ponte – Valcamonica (Italy). Deadline for submitting proposals of papers and posters is April 6, 2021. The VCS will take place in person or online through an IT platform.
Il Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici organizza il Valcamonica Symposium dal 28 al 31 October 2021 presso l’Auditorium Cittadella Cultura, a Capo di Ponte (BS). Il termine per la presentazione di proposte di contributi e posters è fissato al 6 aprile 2021. Il Symposium si terrà in presenza o via web.

by CCSP Read more

Serrated Edges in Rock Art

Certain rock art images prove to occur at numerous places in the world, like cupules and zigzags. In most cases this is a matter of parallel invention. However, a number of motifs may have travelled across the globe for short or even enormous distances. This study investigates the distribution of one of the enigmatic rock art features, the serrated edge and explores the possibility that this practice diffused from North America to South America (or vice versa).

By Maarten van Hoek

Read more

Feline Petroglyphs in the Majes Valley, Peru

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

Read more

New “Carcancha” Petroglyphs in Arequipa, Peru

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