ROCK ART PAPER - No. 3.
Maarten van Hoek Updated November 2003| UPSIDE-DOWN 'BIRD' PETROGLYPHS NEAR ARICA, CHILE,
IMITATING EARLIER ROCK ART SYMBOLISM? Paper previously published in: ALMOGAREN (XXXIV; 265 - 268) the Journal of INSTITUTUM CANARIUM (see link below): 2003. Text and graphics of this web page version Copyright © 2003 Maarten van Hoek. Keywords: Chile, Atacama Desert, petroglyphs, 'bird' imagery, imitation Abstract. Symbolic representation of upside-down 'bird' imagery at the rock art site of Rosario in the Atacama Desert of South America may relate to ecological disasters caused by one or more severe El Niño's. However, two recently surveyed petroglyphs of upside-down 'birds' in the same area may represent pre-Historic imitations. In the north of Chile and south of Peru hundreds of rock art sites are found, mainly situated in or near the many east-west running river valleys. One of the most important valleys is the Valle de Lluta in the extreme north of Chile, because in ancient times it provided a relatively easy through route from the Pacific coast towards the important area around Lago Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia. Several rock art sites are found in this valley and one of the most easily accessible site is Rosario, indicated with a modern signpost since 2001 (for location of Rosario, see Van Hoek 2002: Figs. 1, 2 and 3). The improved accessibility, part of a project to create an archaeological tourist route through the valley, proves not always to be an advantage, because shameful graffiti and other unwanted damages (re-scratching the petroglyphs, for instance) were noticed at our visit in 2002. The most remarkable petroglyphs at Rosario are the depictions of large 'birds' that, because of their size, splayed feathers and curved beaks, almost certainly represent birds of prey. Most likely they depict the condor. In an earlier paper, published in ALMOGAREN XXXII-XXXIII, I argued that possibly the 'bird' petroglyphs at the interesting archaeological complex of Rosario (above the petroglyph site there have been found remains of geoglyphs and Inca settlements as well) are in some way related to an ecological disaster caused by an El Niño (Van Hoek 2002). One of the major arguments notably was that all the then known 'bird' petroglyphs at Rosario are depicted in an upside-down position. This inverted position seems to represent a regional and graphical anomaly, as in other rock art sites of the neighbouring coastal areas of northern Chile and southern Peru, this phenomenon was not yet reported. At least, I do not know of rock art sites in this area where all (or the great majority of the) 'bird' petroglyphs have been executed in an upside-down position. We visited quite a few rock art sites in northern Chile and southern Peru, but even at Toro Muerto, one of the most extensive rock art sites of the world, where also many 'bird' petroglyphs occur, depicted in several different positions, no upside-down 'bird' was noticed. It must be taken into account, however, that it was impossible to check every panel and every decorated rock at Toro Muerto during our visit, so there may be examples of inverted 'birds' that escaped us. We did see, however, examples of zoomorphs that were in an upside-down position. Also at Miculla, another very extensive petroglyph site east of Tacna, Peru, no tradition of upside-down imagery could be detected, although 'bird' imagery is quite common at Miculla. When we visited Rosario for the first time in 2000, my wife and I thought that we had recorded all the 'bird' petroglyphs at the site. However, when re-visiting Rosario in July 2002, we noticed another rock panel with a 'bird' petroglyph. I label this decorated panel 'Rock 4', as it is the fourth rock with 'bird' imagery at Rosario, It is situated just south of the track that runs immediately north of the site and also some 15 metres to the NE of Rock 2 (see Van Hoek 2001-2002: Fig. 7). The 'bird' petroglyph on Rock 4 escaped our attention mainly because of its small size. It is only a little over 10cm in width from wingtip to wingtip (Figure 1A). Added to this is the fact that the petroglyph is very delicately incised, probably with a sharp instrument. It is also difficult to spot the petroglyph because of the rather rough surface of the rock itself and because there are many more petroglyphs consisting of delicate lines that have similarly been incised and/or abraded into its surface. These petroglyphs mainly comprise anthropomorphic figures and 'camelids'. In 2002 we were at the site in the late morning, a favourable time because the sunlight then creates stark shadows on the west facing vertical panel for only a short time so that all the petroglyphs were clearly visible. What was most surprising, however, is that also this 'bird' petroglyph proved to be depicted upside-down, which is clearly indicated by the position of the feathers. The petroglyphs on Rock 4 are found on a rough panel that faces west (towards the ocean!), but it also faces another decorated rock, labelled Rock 2 by me in the 2002 publication. Rock 2 is situated about 15 metres further WSW and a little higher upon the steep slope, but the decorated panels are visible from each other. Importantly, also Rock 2 features an upside-down 'bird', but the visual impact of this 'bird' petroglyph is enormous compared to the 'bird' on Rock 4. It is no less than half a metre in from wingtip to wingtip, and the 'bird' is also easily visible to any observer standing at the foot of the hill because the petroglyph is most conspicuously positioned in an isolated position on the left-hand part of the rock that faces north (towards the sun at midday). Although the inverted position is identical, the differences in size, position and visibility between the two rocks are most striking. The 'bird' on Rock 4 notably, is only visible when standing directly in front of the rock, and only when having favourable lighting. It is therefore possible that the example on Rock 4 merely is a later imitation of the much larger 'bird' on Rock 2. It notably lacks the visual impact of all the other inverted 'bird' petroglyphs at Rosario and it also lacks the intimate relation with a human figure that seems to be so meaningful at Rock 2. Therefore it seems highly unlikely that the upside-down position of the 'bird' at Rock 4 has any direct relation with initial urge to execute large upside-down 'birds'. Neither will it relate to the El Niño disasters that are suggested by me to possibly explain the general inverted 'bird' imagery at Rosario. I already mentioned the regional exclusivity of the inverted 'bird' imagery at Rosario. However, when returning the next day from a visit to some other rock art sites in the scenic Lluta Valley further inland from Rosario, Alvaro Romero Guevara of the University of Tarapacá ultimately guided us to a rock art site situated high above the coastal town of Arica. The site overlooks the Pacific to the west, while to the south and east it overlooks the Azapa Valley, which penetrates the Atacama Desert. The valley floor and hillsides of the Azapa Valley are studded with archaeological remains, mainly petroglyphs and impressive geoglyphs. Just below the top of the hill, called Cerro Chuño, is the petroglyph site, comprising a large number of angular boulders that feature petroglyphs of geometric motifs, zoomorphs and anthropomorphs. At least one 'bird' petroglyph depicted in a 'normal' position was noticed. However, we also spotted a small petroglyph of a 'bird' near the top of a large boulder (identified by a number 21 painted in white on its surface) that clearly was executed in an inverted position, again indicated by the upwards pointing feathers (Figure 1B). Strikingly, the style and position much resembled the 'bird' petroglyph that we saw on Rock 4 at Rosario the other day. The petroglyph (the only one on boulder 21) faces south onto the valley and is out of reach of human hands (therefore, exact dimensions could not be taken, but it seemed to be only slightly larger than the 'bird' petroglyph at Rock 4, Rosario). But considering the pointed shape and the large size of the boulder 21, it is unlikely that it is not in situ. The inverted position therefore may be intentional. If indeed this petroglyph represents an inverted 'bird', it may possibly indicate that in this valley as well the supernatural world had once been graphically propitiated in order to restore the equilibrium of the universe after a disaster caused by an El Niño. However, it may equally confirm the intensive contact that existed between the valley of the Lluta (where Rosario is located) and the Azapa Valley (in which Cerro Chuño is situated). As, however, several ancient routes traverse the hills and plateau between the Lluta Valley and the Azapa Valley (see link to satellite photo below), and, moreover, the 'bird' petroglyph on boulder 21 seems to represent an isolated example (other animal imagery at Cerro Chuño is found in the 'normal' position), it is more likely that, like the 'bird' on Rock 4 at Rosario, the inverted position of the 'bird' on boulder 21 at Cerro Chuño, represents 'borrowed' imagery as well, possibly confirming the intensive contacts between the two valleys. VAN HOEK, M. 2002. The Rosario birds - possible indications of El Niño disasters in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Almogaren XXXII-XXXIII / 303-328 / 2001-2002. Wien. This 2002 paper appears on this web site as well: see Rock Art Paper 2. FIGURE 1A and B; the photo has not been published in ALMOGAREN. |
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VIEW THE ARICA AREA FROM SPACE This satellite photo shows the relative locations of the rock art sites of Rosario and Cerro Chuno and the plateau in between. Click the back arrow to return to Rock Art Paper 3.
THE HOME PAGE OF INSTITUTUM CANARIUM This link takes you to the web site of the Institutum Canarium; an international and interdisciplinary research association which is concerned with the history of the civilization of the Canaries. Its rock art and related questions about the history of colonization, language and religion are some of the main fields of research.
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