TRACCEPeru Archives

Tag Archive for Peru

The Chillihuay “Lord” – Peru

March 22, 2025 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This paper discusses the possible meaning of two impressive petroglyphs at Chillihuay in the Ocoña Drainage of southern Peru. One petroglyph concerns the very large image of what is often called “The Lord”, which suggests that it is an image of an Andean God, possibly the well-known Staff God. Despite the many conflicts and wars that no doubt occurred throughout prehistoric Andes, it is in my mind certain that the two petroglyphs at Chillihuay offer no evidence for a militaristic theme in the rock art of the area, as is – in my opinion incorrectly – claimed by archaeologists Scaffidi and Tung, and later also accepted by Zborover.

By Maarten van Hoek

Puzzling Petroglyphs at Chillihuay -Peru

March 8, 2025 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

The west part of the Department of Arequipa in the south of Peru is extremely rich in rock art sites. All those sites are part of the Majes Rock Art Sphere, the rock art region where the Majes Rock Art Style dominates the area. Well-known to rock art researchers are the major sites of Mollebaya Chico, La Caldera and Quilcapampa in the Vítor Drainage, Illomas in the Manga Drainage, and – above all – Alto de Pitis and Toro Muerto in the Central ajes Valley. Less known, but equally important, is the exceptional site of Chillihuay in the Ocoña Drainage, the subject of my study.

By Maarten van Hoek

A “Lost” Petroglyph Retraced at Moro, Peru

March 8, 2025 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

A short note rectifying an error in my 2016-book about the rock art in the Nepeña Valley of northern Peru.

By Maarten van Hoek

A Petroglyph Panel at Chillihuay, Peru.

December 14, 2024 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This study mainly focusses on the rock art imagery on one specific and special panel at the rock art site of Chillihuay in southern Peru. This panel has an exceptionally high number of much differing anthropomorphic petroglyphs that – in my opinion – have intentionally been executed at this spot, high upon the mountain. I also argue that this collection expresses the worldview of the ancient peoples of this area, which may well be related to the Sacred Mountain of the area.

By Maarten van Hoek

El Vagón Violated (Peru).

September 6, 2024 Academics, Featured, Geoglyphs, Mines, Protection – Salvaguardia, Rock art SOS, SOS, South America No comments

This short paper reports the unexpected destruction and violation of an important rock art site – El Vagón – in the Moche Drainage of northern Peru. In 2019 I published a full account of this site, based on several surveys by my wife and me. In 2017 there was no destruction visible, but in August 2024 I found (via Google Earth) out that the site had been destroyed by heavy machinery. This short paper discusses the damage, often referring to my earlier publication. It is sad that the site survived from the Formative Period (2000-500 B.C.) up to at least 2022, and was then recklessly and shamefully violated and destroyed in a few days, apparently without any warning or any official archaeological survey. Permission should never have been granted!

By Maarten van Hoek

The Cupules of Cerro La Cal, Peru

July 24, 2024 Academics, Cup marks - coppelle, Featured, South America No comments

This short study presents an update of the petroglyphs (focussing on cupules) recorded by my wife Elles and me at the rock art site of Cerro La Cal, Lambayeque, northern Peru. Also a selection of rock art sites featuring cupules in the Desert Andes is included.

By Maarten van Hoek
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Petroglyphs at Cerro Mal Paso, Peru

June 7, 2024 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This paper describes the several rock art panels recorded by us after 2012 at the rock art site of Cerro Mal Paso in the Chancay Valley of northern Peru. In addition also some other petroglyph- panels at the site have been recorded by other explorers, as well as a few petroglyph panels recorded by others beyond Cerro Mal Paso. The focus of the paper is on a rather enigmatic image, a possible anthropomorphic-zoomorphic figure (lizard or bird?), while this study also offers a tentative explanation of the anthropomorphic-zoomorphic figure.

By Maarten van Hoek

“Trophy” Head # 42 at Toro Muerto?

May 15, 2024 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This short note discusses a possible addition of a “Trophy” Head petroglyph at Toro Muerto, southern Peru. Toro Muerto has the biggest concentration of “Trophy” Head petroglyphs in the Desert Andes. This paper suggests that another example can be added to the grand total, but simultaneously proposes that this new (possible) find – and many other panels at Toro Muerto – should be photographed in optimal circumstances to ascertain its identification.

By Maarten van Hoek

New “Snake” Petroglyphs – Vítor Valley, Peru

May 15, 2024 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This short paper discusses two new finds of specific biomorphic petroglyphs in the Vítor Valley of Southern Peru and its distribution within the Majes Rock Art Style (MRAS). It proves that this type of biomorphic image is overrepresented in the Vítor Drainage.

By Maarten van Hoek

A New “Venus” Cross Petroglyph

May 15, 2024 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This short paper discusses a new find of another petroglyph depicting the “Venus-Cross” in the Vítor Valley of Southern Peru. The paper also reviews its distribution within the Majes Rock Art Style (MRAS) and within a much larger area (the Desert Andes). It proves that – for still some unknown reason – the “Venus-Cross” is overrepresented in the Vítor Drainage.

By Maarten van Hoek

Commenting on Rozwadowski and Wołoszyn

May 11, 2024 Academics, Featured, Interpretation and semiotics, South America No comments

This paper reviews the publication by academic archaeologists, Andrzej Rozwadowski and Janusz Z. Wołoszyn, in which they suggest that zigzag petroglyphs at Toro Muerto in the Majes Valley of southern Peru – constituting the most important rock art site in the Desert Andes of South America – could be representations of songs. In my paper I question a number of their suggestions and statements by trying to put the whole issue in a more appropriate context. I cannot refute their theory, but my objections makes it unlikely (though not impossible) that Toro Muerto zigzags indeed represent songs.

By Maarten van Hoek

Animated Abstracts in Majes Rock Art

April 23, 2024 Academics, Featured, Interpretation and semiotics, South America No comments

This paper is one of a series of studies that investigates the rock art of the Majes Rock Art Style (MRAS) in southern Peru. This time I focus on petroglyphs of long, pecked stripes that have been animated by the prehistoric Majes People. I now argue that those Animated Stripes and many other typical MRAS images (discussed earlier by me; see my bibliography), including another icon (the “Majes Spitter”, which is the subject of my next study) created the Toro Muerto Anomaly, which – unfortunately – is either unknown or neglected by archaeologists busy in the Majes Valley.

By Maarten van Hoek

A Study of Boulder AP3-065 – Peru

August 12, 2023 Academics, Featured, South America One comment

This paper presents the fifth case in my series of articles in which I discuss a selection of petroglyph boulders at Alto de Pitis, in the Majes Valley of southern Peru. It especially discusses a controversial petroglyph of an anthropomorph that has been interpreted in two most different ways. One rendering of the figure is questioned in this study (updated September 2023).

By Maarten van Hoek

Majes Rock Art – evaluating a thesis

August 7, 2023 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This paper analyses the 2018-thesis by Prof. Scaffidi. It concerns a revision (dated September 2023).

by Maarten van Hoek

The “Camelines” of Toro Muerto

August 2, 2023 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

In general, it proves to be rather awkward (or even impossible) to establish the exact species of biomorphic images depicted at Toro Muerto (Peru), and thus this is even more problematic for conflations of two or more animals. In this study I argue that at Toro Muerto several petroglyphs of quadrupeds may well depict a specific conflation. With a number of illustrations I will demonstrate that this hypothesis is not far-fetched at all.

By Maarten van Hoek

The Case of Boulder AP3-098, Alto de Pitis

July 15, 2023 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

This paper – the fourth in a series about Alto de Pitis, all published in TRACCE – discusses some specific petroglyphs on Boulder AP3-098, focusing on the possible therianthrope on one of its panels.

By Maarten van Hoek

The Case of Boulder AP3-060, Alto de Pitis, Majes Valley

January 15, 2023 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

My paper describes the images on a boulder that has one of the most complex biomorphic petroglyphs in the Majes Valley and in Arequipa rock art. It may well be death-related, as will be demonstrated. Another death-related petroglyph on an adjoining panel definitely links the boulder – and the whole site – with Apu Coropuna, the most Sacred Mountain of the whole of southern Peru.

By Maarten van Hoek
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Rock Art at Torán, Majes Valley, Peru

December 17, 2022 Academics, Featured, South America No comments

The paper proves that even “minor” rock art sites can be most interesting, especially when placing such a “minor” site in a larger local and regional context. Torán is such an important “minor” site, as it is clearly connected with the two most important “major” rock art sites in the valley; Toro Muerto and Alto de Pitis.