ROCK ART OF CHILE AND THE ATACAMA

Chile has an enormous diversity of climates and landscapes. Most remarkable is the presence of the driest desert on earth. This desert, the Atacama, is situated between the high Andes and the Pacific Ocean in the north of Chile. It is characterised by east-west flowing rivers that have cut deep gorges into the volcanic rock. The river gorges, called quebradas, hardly ever carry any water. There are just a few rivers that empty their water into the Pacific all year round. Still, these river valleys have attracted people for thousands of years and especially in these valleys they created hundreds of images on the rocks.
Below you will find a number of links that will enable you to visit some of these Chilean rock art sites.

More information in:
VAN HOEK, M. 2002. A survey into shaman-related rock art of the Atacama Desert, Chile. StoneWatch 7, 5-18. Warmsroth, Germany.

BERENGUER J. R. 1999. The vanishing language of rock art in the Andes of Atacama. In: Rock art in the Andes of Capricorn. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Santiago de Chile.

Petroglyph at Rosario, Arica, Chile

Just out of reach of human hands nowadays is a petroglyph that seems to represent a solar symbol. However, Alvaro Romero of the University of Tarapaca, Arica, Chile, carefully suggested that it could also depict a yellyfish that abound on the Pacific coast (some 20 km further west) at certain times. This illustrates the general problem in rock art: without informed knowledge, it is often impossible to interpret a certain rock art image. The petroglyph is on an almost vertical rock wall, facing north towards the midday sun. Scale is 10 cm and the arrow indicates the slope.

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	Petroglyph at Rosario, Arica, Chile Just out of reach of human hands nowadays is a petroglyph that seems to represent a solar symbol. However, Alvaro Romero of the University of Tarapaca, Arica, Chile, carefully suggested that it could also depict a yellyfish that abound on the Pacific coast (some 20 km further west) at certain times. This illustrates the general problem in rock art: without informed knowledge, it is often impossible to interpret a certain rock art image. The petroglyph is on an almost vertical rock wall, facing north towards the midday sun. Scale is 10 cm and the arrow indicates the slope.