PETROGLYPHS FROM THE AZAPA VALLEY

Just outside the museum at Azapa (Museo Arqueologico de San Miguel de Azapa, 12 km east of the town of Arica)is a small display of petroglyphic boulders found in the Azapa Valley that have been transported to the museum. One of these boulders is exceptional for being almost entirely covered by rather large cupules. Stones that are covered with cupules like this one are rather scarce in Chilean rock art sites. What is also exceptional is that on one of the sides of this cupule stone there is a set of grooves giving the impression of a vulva engraving. Next to it are some cupules. The combination of cupules and vulva-shaped symbols is not uncommon and occurs for instance at Easter Island, France and Great Britain. See also the website of the Azapa Museum for more information, also on other stones in the display.

A number of boulders at the open-air display of the museum have geometric engravings comprising circles in combination with cupules and grooves. The upper photograph is a circle with infill looking like a face associated with deep cupules. The lower one seems to represent a solar symbol although it in a certain way resembles the design at Rosario (see my webpage of the Arica area) that is said to possibly depict a jellyfish.

Several of the boulders depict representations of human figures. Some of these seem to be flute-players, but most of them are so weathered that it cannot be said for certain what precisely they depict.

The website of the Museo Arqueologico San Miguel de Azapa (University of Tarapaca, Arica, Chile). Click there on AZETA to go the internet-publications of the museum.