Archive for Featured

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

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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

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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

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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

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Il Ciappo di Varegina – Finale Ligure

Ai tre famosi affioramenti rocciosi tendenzialmente pianeggianti di Pietra di Finale, localmente noti col termine dialettale di ciappi presenti nel Finalese, noti per le incisioni rupestri, viene ad aggiungersene un quarto, forse non esteso come gli altri, ma comunque assai interessante, individuato e documentato nella primavera 2021: il Ciappo di Varegina; su di una superficie complessiva di circa 55 mq sono visibili almeno 45 tra coppelle e vaschette (pdf disponibile).

Antonio NARICE 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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War and Weapons in Majes Style Rock Art?

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

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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.

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The Enigma of the “Feathered Homunculus”, Peru

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

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Cervidi in Valcamonica e nelle Alpi

Cervids Valcamonica

Cervidi in Valcamonica e nelle Alpi, diversi approcci per una storia millenaria

giornata di studi giovedì 28 gennaio 2021 dalle ore 10

YouTube Footsteps of Man/Le Orme dell’Uomo https://bit.ly/3nLuV1M

Cervids in Valcamonica and in the Alps, different approaches to a millenary history

conference day Thursday 28 January 2021 from 10 am

YouTube Footsteps of Man-Le Orme dell’Uomo https://bit.ly/3nLuV1M

di Cer.Val Read more

Guardando i monti e i passi

Il sito di pitture rupestri delle valli ossolane conosciuto da lungo tempo è il riparo del Balm ’dla Vardaiola, posto all’interno del territorio del Parco Naturale dell’Alpe Veglia e dell’Alpe Devero. Le pitture rupestri sono state scoperte nel 1992 da Filippo M. Gambari e da Angelo Ghiretti.  La parete dipinta è stata recentemente riesaminata, con la produzione di vari corredi digitali: rilievo iconografico vettorializzato, panorama sferico a fotomosaico, riprese fotografiche a rielaborazione cromatica, modello 3D stereofotogrammetrico e tour virtuale.

Andrea ARCÀ, Angelo Eugenio FOSSATI, Francesco RUBAT BOREL Read more

L’Antece degli Alburni, condottiero o divinità?

L’Antéce

A 1125 m di quota, sulla sommità di Costa Palomba, monti Alburni e Parco Nazionale del Cilento, un non comune monumento rupestre domina un ampio panorama a 360°, che spazia dall’entroterra al mare, sino all’isola di Capri nelle giornate più limpide. Si tratta dell’Antéce, secondo alcuni “l’Antico”, un altorilievo rupestre ricavato da un lastrone naturale, un aguzzo spunzone calcareo. La figura umana, a grandezza naturale, impugna con la destra una lancia, o un’insegna, alla quale è poggiato uno scudo rotondo a profilo leggermente spiovente dotato di umbone fusiforme; nell’altra mano impugna un oggetto allungato, eroso e lacunoso, che può fare ipotizzare la presenza di una folgore o di un fascio di folgori (PDF disponibile).

di Andrea ARCÀ, Oriana BOZZARELLI Read more

Progetto Cer.Val. – Cervidi della Valcamonica

NAQ1, sett. i

Uno dei temi peculiari dell’arte rupestre della Valcamonica è senza dubbio quello dei cervi. Le due più antiche raffigurazioni di cervo risalgono alla fine del Pleistocene, mentre sono frequenti quelle presenti sulle stele dell’età del Rame, e ancora di più quelle relative all’età del Ferro. Il progetto Cer.Val., sostenuto dal Gruppo Terre Alte del CAI (Club Alpino Italiano), vuole affrontare questo percorso di ricerca, privilegiando la multidisciplinarietà, l’incontro tra specialisti di diversi campi, il rapporto con i cambiamenti climatico-ambientali, l’analisi del simbolo del cervo nel patrimonio culturale locale.

di Dario SIGARI Read more