With great interest I have watched the YouTube Video called: Charla Rupestre: Los Petroglifos de Chillihuay. Arequipa, Perú by Maritza Rodríguez Cerrón and Daniel Chumpitaz Llerena (21 August 2020), two leading Peruvian archaeologists who have intensively surveyed the important rock art site of Chillihuay in southern Peru. However, a couple of those drawings in their 2014-paper drew my attention, as they proved to be incorrect (PDF available).
by Maarten van Hoek – rockart @home.nl Read more
In several cases rock art manufacturers were intrigued by natural rock features such as holes and cracks. This paper deals mainly with rock art images of masks that are folded across two rock panels creating 3D masks. In particular the Mogollon 3D masks of Three Rivers in New Mexico, USA, will be discussed. Also the puzzling anomaly regarding the distribution of Mogollon 3D masks and Rio Grande Style 3D masks will be dealt with. Finally, it will be attempted to offer an explanation for the enigmatic 3D masks (PDF available).
By Maarten van Hoek
Mating scenes involving mammals of the same species are rather rare in global rock art, but surprisingly fighting scenes are even more extraordinary. This study discusses a specific petroglyph panel in the south of Morocco where – in my opinion uniquely – a fighting and a mating scene was recorded by us in 2019. This panel is analysed and put into a wider context.
By Maarten van Hoek
Despite increasing interest in inventorying of the rock art in the northern coastal area of Peru, only very little has been published by Peruvian scholars. In fact, several scholars said to publish inventories of – for example, Palamenco in Ancash and even of whole departments such as La Libertad – but nothing happens. This interim inventory about El Vagón (La Libertad) hopes to contribute to the digital safeguarding of important rock art that runs the risk to be vandalised or even destroyed.
By Maarten van Hoek
The rock art of Arequipa (southern Peru) is characterised by several idiosyncratic images, like ‘Dancers’. However, also rather simple elements form rare and uncommon configurations that are composed of grooves, arcs of dots and crosses that are hovering over or are emanating from zoomorphic petroglyphs, yet intimately associated. Similar configurations prove to be very rare in global rock art.
By Maarten van Hoek Read more
Cantabria posee más de 70 cuevas con arte rupestre
paleolítico, erigiéndose como una de las regiones con mayor
concentración de conjuntos rupestres paleolíticos en Europa.
Su importancia radica en:
– la cantidad de conjuntos,
– la diversidad de técnicas, temática y estilística,
– la concentración de imágenes, antigüedad y continuidad en el tiempo,
– la calidad y excelente estado de conservación.
Only the manufacturer of a rock art image could reliably have informed us whether a rock art image is unfinished or whether it is incomplete. Unfortunately informed knowledge is often completely unavailable. Then only the image and its graphical and cultural context are available to possibly separate the unfinished from the incomplete. Additionally, the incomplete image may even include something invisible. To address these issues I will use the rich rock art repertoire of the Desert Andes, focussing mainly on Toro Muerto and Miculla, two enormous rock art sites in the south of Peru.
By Maarten van Hoek
Calling Card rock art sites, drawn by war parties in enemy territory to taunt their adversaries by illustrating deeds executed against them, are a newly identified site type on the northern Plains of North America. One such site is Cheval Bonnet, a small petroglyph in Northern Montana. Containing coup counting and horse raiding narratives from the early 1800s, analysis of these images shows that most of the petroglyphs can be identified as Crow drawings, even though they are carved in the heart of Historic Blackfeet tribal territory. Once this site was identified as a calling card petroglyph, I was able to identify three others elsewhere on the northern Plains (PDF available).
by James D. KEYSER Read more
In the area just south of the Anti-Atlas numerous rock art sites have been recorded. However, there are remarkably few rock art panels with cupules in that area. This study describes a surprisingly high number of cupule panels in the Imaoun area, north of the town of Akka in southern Morocco, which represents a true anomaly in this respect.
By Maarten van Hoek
The Ranaldi Shelter at the Serra Pisconi site takes its name from its discoverer, Francesco Ranaldi, an archaeologist and director of the Potenza Provincial Archaeological Museum from 1954 to 1988. It is possible to reach the site within the Reserve via a comfortable path. An excellent open-air museum has been created, making access easy after a pleasant walk of about twenty minutes. The chronological and interpretive frame of the Ranaldi Shelter rock paintings follows two distinct paths: on one hand, we have a Mesolithic naturalistic depiction of a herd of deer in their wood, on the other, the most likely, a schematic Neolithic hunting scene with the persistence of more ancient traditions (PDF available).
by Andrea ARCÀ, Oriana BOZZARELLI Read more
Although in general complex biomorphic figures in rock art are not suitable to demonstrate diffusion, there is one idiosyncratic anthropomorphic figure the in rock art repertoire of the Americas, which, although it is very rare, has a remarkably wide distribution that might indicate long-distance diffusion. I have labelled this icon the Saluting Anthropomorph. See the UPDATE at the end of the paper.
By Maarten van Hoek Read more
Rock art motifs are found in every inhabited continent. In most cases those motifs develop independently, but it is also certain that specific rock art motifs migrated from one area to another area, sometimes travelling for thousands of kilometres. This study investigates the possible long-distance diffusion of a number of abstract rock art motifs along the Pacific seaboard of the Americas.
By Maarten van Hoek Read more
Petroglyphs are often found superimposed by other petroglyphs, but in some cases they have also been (partially) obliterated by hammering, rubbing or polishing of the rock’s surface. This short study investigates a number of cases in North and South America where petroglyphs may have (and in some cases definitely have) been obliterated by such grinding activities. This study therefore strongly recommend to accurately record instances where grinding activities took place, even when there are no petroglyphs visible.
By Maarten van Hoek
This paper provides a few examples of petroglyphs that have drastically been transformed by later rock art manufacturers. However, it focuses on one specific petroglyph, which is found at Alto de Pitis in the Majes Valley of southern Peru; aptly called ‘The Death Valley of the Andes’. In this paper I tentatively argue that the unique ‘Trophy-Bird’ petroglyph of Alto de Pitis initially started off as a ‘trophy’ head, which was later intentionally transformed to symbolise the Supernatural Flight of the Dead towards Apu Coropuna, the Sacred Mountain of the area.
by Maarten van Hoek
Este artículo trata sobre el sitio de arte rupestre de La Puntilla en el norte de Perú. Aunque pasé este sitio muchas veces no lo he visitado. Sin embargo, el sitio tiene varios paneles muy interesantes con petroglifos – todos reportados por primera vez por el arqueólogo aficionado local, Francisco Gregorio Díaz Núñez – que serán discutidos en este artículo.
En 2016 visitamos por primera vez el sitio de arte rupestre de Chumbenique en el Valle de Zaña en el norte de Perú. Con base en nuestras investigaciones publiqué un artículo preliminar sobre los petroglifos de Chumbenique (Van Hoek 2016a). En mi artículo de 2016 mencioné que registramos 32 bloques con petroglifos . Sin embargo, volvimos a Chumbenique en septiembre de 2017 para una investigación más exhaustiva y pudimos agregar 21 rocas con petroglifos más. De ahí esta actualización.
En noviembre 2016 Daniel Castillo Benítez y María Susana Barrau informaron sobre el sitio de arte rupestre de Mayasgo-1 en el Valle de Carabamba en el norte de Perú. En septiembre de 2017 investigué el mismo sitio y descubrí más petroglifos. Por lo tanto, este artículo ofrece una actualización del artículo de Castillo y Barrau.
In November 2016 Daniel Castillo Benítez and María Susana Barrau reported the rock art site of Mayasgo-1 in the Carabamba Valley of northern Peru. In September 2017 I surveyed the same site and discovered more petroglyphs. Therefore this paper offers an update of the report by Castillo and Barrau.
This study discusses some rare instances of biomorphic rock formations that also bear petroglyphs, which, in some cases enhance the biomorphic character of the rock. The focus in this study is on the Sacred Sitting Bird at Cerro La Puntilla in northern Peru.
Este estudio discute algunos casos raros de formaciones rocosas biomórficas que también tienen petroglifos, que, en algunos casos, mejoran el carácter biomórfico de la roca. El enfoque en este estudio está en el Ave Sagrado Sentado en Cerro La Puntilla en el norte de Perú.
