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
The Sama Valley in southern Peru has only a few rock art sites. This article describes one of those sites, which is located at Coropuro on the south bank of the river. It has a interesting collection of petroglyphs, some of which might be linked to a previously unnoticed geoglyph nearby.
By Maarten van Hoek
The Majes drainage in southern Peru boasts the largest collection of rock art in the Andes, especially because of the abundance of petroglyphs at the Toro Muerto and Alto de Pitis. Importantly, both sites have numerous bird petroglyphs of different types. Yet there are other sites in the Majes drainage that also have idiosyncratic bird imagery. One of those sites is Cíceras, which is the subject of this study. I focus on a specific type of bird petroglyphs, for which I tentatively suggest that they have a special transcendent proficiency.
By Maarten van Hoek Read more
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
In 2013 Mario Giorgetta, an academic botanist from Switzerland, discovered for the first time a small rock panel with a collection of clearly associated pictographs on a rock cliff in the gorge of the Río Vilama. Mario reported the site to me in 2019 and we agreed to publish a paper describing the panel and its context. This paper comprises two parts. The first part is written by Maarten van Hoek and briefly attempts at interpreting the elements that make up the pictograph scene and the second part is independently written by the discoverer of the pictograph panel at Guatin, Mario Giorgetta.
by Maarten van Hoek and Mario Giorgetta
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Arequipa in southern Peru is very rich in rock art. This study investigates the relationship between the Majes Rock Art Style and the geoglyphs (not a form of rock art, though) in the area. It proves that several geoglyphs are directly related with the petroglyphs of Toro Muerto and also that they are located on ancient routes to and from the Majes Valley. Arequipa en el sur de Perú es muy rico en arte rupestre. Este estudio investiga la relación entre el Estilo del Arte Rupestre de Majes y los geoglifos (no una forma de arte rupestre) en el área. Demuestra que varios geoglifos están directamente relacionados con los petroglifos de Toro Muerto y también que están ubicados en las rutas antiguas desde y hacia el Valle de Majes.
Certain rock art images prove to occur at numerous places in the world, like cupules and zigzags. In most cases this is a matter of parallel invention. However, a number of motifs may have travelled across the globe for short or even enormous distances. This study investigates the distribution of one of the enigmatic rock art features, the serrated edge and explores the possibility that this practice diffused from North America to South America (or vice versa).
By Maarten van Hoek
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
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
The Majes Valley of southern Peru is well-known for its enormous collection of petroglyphs. A significant diversity of animal species has been depicted on the relatively soft volcanic rocks of those sites. Images of felines are relatively scarce in the Majes Valley, yet they are unexpectedly numerous in absolute terms in the Central Majes Valley. In this study the image of the Majes feline and its graphical anomalies will be discussed, as well as the unexpected distribution pattern of feline imagery in the Majes Valley.
By Maarten van Hoek
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
This paper presents the description of two new sites in Majes, Peru, both featuring an example of a skeleton-like petroglyph that may spiritually be linked with the Sacred Mountain of Coropuna. The documentation of those two new sites thus reveals new information about the symbolic spatial organization and ritual functions of the “Death Valley of the Andes”. It is especially hypothesized here that the specific setting of those two new sites may indicate a physical “Road to Coropuna”.
By Maarten van Hoek Read more
Scientific publications should always be reliable. The content may never be incorrect or misleading. This also goes for publications regarding rock art, whether by amateurs or by academics. This short paper deals with two photographs of petroglyphs from the Majes Valley, southern Peru, and the conclusions based upon those illustrations published by two academics from the USA. Regrettably, both the photos and the conclusions are unambiguously incorrect.
By Maarten van Hoek
Il Riparo Ranaldi, in località Serra Pisconi, prende nome dal suo scopritore, Francesco Ranaldi, archeologo e direttore del Museo Archeologico Provinciale di Potenza dal 1954 al 1988. Il sito si raggiunge attraverso un comodo sentiero attrezzato. È stato realizzato un eccellente allestimento museale all’aria aperta, che permette un facile accesso mediante una gradevole camminata di una ventina di minuti. il quadro cronologico e interpretativo delle pitture rupestri del Riparo Ranaldi segue due percorsi differenziati: da una parte una raffigurazione mesolitica di un branco di cervi nel bosco e dall’altra, più probabilmente, una scena di caccia neolitica in stile schematico (PDF disponibile).
di Andrea ARCÀ, Oriana BOZZARELLI Read more
Foum Chenna, Maroc
Dans tous les pays du Maghreb et du Sahara, en plein air ou sous abri, on peut rencontrer une petite figure, gravée ou peinte, connue dans la littérature spécialisée ou de divulgation sous l’appellation de cavalier “libyco-berbère”. Puisque cette image est très répandue, il semble qu’elle n’ait pas de secret et que du cavalier tout soit connu : son armement, le harnais de sa monture, jusqu’à son rôle dans la société de l’époque. Rien de plus faux. Au Maroc, nous pouvons observer combien le monde des cavaliers était diversifié en visitant les deux gisements principaux : le site de Foum Chenna dans la vallée du Draa (Maroc méridional) et le plateau aux pieds du Jebel Rat, dans le Haut Atlas central, le premier abritant 2550 gravures, le deuxième 1800 dont 800 appartiennent à la phase des cavaliers (pdf disponible).
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par Alessandra BRAVIN Read more
NAQ1 deer figure
(October 9, 2020, European Day of Rock Art). With its 104 engraved rocks, the National Rock Art Park of Naquane is the main archaeological site of Valcamonica and one of the most important European rock art sites. The best-known rock is the n. 1, called the Great Rock for its size; more than two thousand figures have been engraved over its surface: deer hunting scenes, acrobatic riders, sword duels, women with hands up, wooden barns, ducks, geese and chickens, the mysterious palettes … a virtual tour allow to discover it, to enjoy the panorama, to fly over its engraved figures looking at ultra high-res pictures, tracings and 3D models (PDF available).
by Andrea ARCÀ Read more
NAQ1, settore P
(9 ottobre 2020, Giornata Europea dell’Arte Rupestre). Con le sue 104 rocce incise, il Parco Nazionale delle Incisioni Rupestri di Naquane costituisce il principale sito archeologico della Valcamonica e uno dei più importanti complessi europei di arte rupestre. La roccia più conosciuta è la n. 1, nota anche come Grande Roccia per le sue dimensioni; sulla sua superficie sono state incise più di 2mila figure: scene di caccia al cervo, di cavalcatura acrobatica, duelli alla spada, donne a braccia levate, granai di legno, oche, papere e galline, le misteriose palette … un tour virtuale permette di scoprirla, di godere della vista del panorama, di sorvolare le sue figure incise osservando riprese fotografiche, rilievi iconografici e modelli 3D ad altissima risoluzione (PDF disponibile).
di Andrea ARCÀ Read more
In this paper I discuss the graphical displays of a natural bodily function that is, although – from top to bottom – normal in the natural world, very rare in rock art. It concerns images of defecating elephants, which – enigmatically – occur well above average in the Messak-Tadrart region of the Central Sahara. It will be attempted to explain this anomaly (PDF available).
By Maarten van Hoek
