12-Briones 2006_GeoglyphsChile

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The geoglyphs of the north Chileandesert: an archaeological and artistic

perspectiveLu is Briones-M.*A lIew T{'view old", geoglyph! a/the AtflCflmn Dmm in Northern Chile has nllowed the all/horto define n vombulary offimns and show how these "/aUto pnrtiCltlnr groups ofpeople crossingthe desert from tbe mountains to the un in the prehispflnic period. Geometric, Z(Jomorphic andflmhropomorphic symbols mark TO I/US, destinations and wage by pllTHcu/nr Ilnml1 caravans. Thetrtlvellers were key players in society and were winningprominenu in their region .from AD 800.Krywords: Chile, geoglyphs, rock art, desert, lama, prchispanic, archaic, Inca

IntroductionThis paper presenrs a summary of work carried out by {he author and his colleagues overthe past 30 years. A register of sites with gcoglyphs, together widl their associa ted culruraland environm ental contexts, conslinH es the most complere database known for northernChile, offering new possibili des fo r interpretation of the geoglyphs. T he already classicbibliographic references of Mbeno Plageman, summarised in his work 'Los Pimados deChile' presenred at rh e XJVth Congress ofAmericanists, and of Bo llae rt and Q'Brien in thenineteenth cenrury on the geoglyphs of the northern desert , were our precursors, and servedas stimuli for other investigamrs in the second half of the twentie th century to follow intheir footsteps - for exam p le, Niemeyer, Nufiez, Monstny, Binmann; and, mos t recenrly,Clarkson, Briones, C hacama, Espinosa, Cerda and others.

The first sys tematic study of geoglyphs in Tarapad. was carr ied our by Lautaro Nufiez(N ufiez 1976), who presented an interpretation related m the traffic of caravans in thelate period in the Chilean desert. Later, start ing in 1978, and as a consequence of thedeteriora tion of various sites arou nd the Panamerican highway, a programme of appraisaland conse rva tion was initiated in rhe valleys of LIma, Azapa, C hiza, Ti liv iche, Cerro Rosira,Cerro Uni ta and Cerros Pimados in the region of Tarapad.; and of Qui llagua, TranqueSloman and Chug-Chug in the region of Antofagasta. T his process enabled us TO discovernew archaeological sites, carry OUt thei r exhaustive reco rding and documentation , andincorporate new backgro und information on the geographical context and the landscape inwhich they occur. Together wi th previous observations (Boallaen 1860; Nufiez 1976; Cerdaet al. 1985; Mostny & Niemeyer 1983), this informa tion has been gathered together ro

A m d ~ m i AHodau. lJfpllrfmllrlllo dr Amropotogin. Fncutflld Cimdll$ o d l f t ~ s tk AdmillisfmriQlIJ Ecol/omin .Ullillnlidnd dr Tamparo, Arica. Chil, (Emnil' tbriollrs@Ufn. r1)Rraiwd: I Marr" 2001: Arrrptrd: /0 Of/obrr 2004; RnJisrd: 11 April2005ANTIQUITY 80 (2006): 9-24

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G ~ o g l y p h s oftht' north C/Jii('(l1/ dt'$t'rlform a new comprehensive database. Based on this corpus, I offer a firs[ analysis of regionalgrou ps and some prel iminary interpretations (Figu re I).

DefinitionThe term 'gcoglyphs' was coined by Mosmy & Niemeyer in 1983 ro define the large figureslaid OUt on the hillsides and pampas of the desert, distr ibuted over an area extending fromthe lower course of the Llura valley in the north, to the river Loa in the south. Geoglyphsoccur in similar geographic locations in southern Peru where, in rhe desert SHip next mrhe Pacific, there are specmcu lar exam ples, sllld ied by Reiche (1980), Reinhard ( 1983),Clarkson (1992, 1998) and others. Taking both groups together, their distribution in thesub-area of the WeStern Va lleys (southern Peru, northern Chile) covers an area of 1000kmin length and 150km in width. The geoglyphs are found alone, or in grou ps ofwha t we call'panels'. some ofwhich may contain mo re than 50 figures.The geoglyphs were made by taking full advamage of the geological and geographicalcharacteris tics of the deserl. The majority were made by 'scraping' the oxidised layer ofthe surface, producing a light design that contrasts with the darker material all around.This is defined as an 'extractive' technique. We find examples of this technique in (hegroups at Cerros Pintados I, Cerro Mono, Cerro Sombrero, Santa Rosita, in the gulliesof Tarapad, Altos Ariqu ilda, Mapocho and others, o r on the pampas of Bajada lquique,Cerro Unita, ete. The other lechnique, found less frequently, involves bringing togethersurface material (smnes) like a mosaic, and is known as rhe 'addi tive' technique, in whichthe dark figures contrast with the lighter background of the dese rt Roor. A third techn ique.which com bin es the two others. is known as the 'mixed' techn ique, and makes it possible mprod uce a harmonious contrast in the geoglyphs through both extraction and addition ofmaterial. The resu lr is a figure of more com plex design such as at Cerros Pimados, AltoS deTamentica , Guaracondo, Cerro Rosita and elsewhere. One example of an atypical or evenunique technique is seen in the geoglyph ofAlto Sur at [he mouth of the Camarones gully: ilis a 'sun' figure in a double 'mixed' technique - that is 10 say, it not only uses ex traction andaddition of surface mate rial, but also red (liquid) paint. The red pigment has been analysed.and was found 10 be iron oxide mixed with seaw:uer (Briones 1984).

The geoglyphs of nOHhern Chi le have had a variety of interpretations related to theirfunctio n, with an emphasis on the activ ities of groups of prehislOric caravans. From thefi rst explorations of the Aracama desert, humans were forced to adop t careful sol utions forsurvival. Through the incorporation of the llama as a transport system, they were able toincrease their knowledge of the regional geography and its various extreme environmems likethe 'puna', cordilleras, gu llies, pampas and salt Rats, and to reach points that were both remoteand difficult. The accum ulated knowledge included fundamentals such as the location ofwater resources and their qua li ty. No less important was knowledge of the distribution offodder in sufficient quantity to maintain the caravan system. Thus the people of the regioneventually pur together a complex lIetlVork ofplllhs to serve the specialised groups that crossedthe different geographical regions of the desert.

In the face of this challenging reality, people frequen dy turned naturally to religion, andlaid down messages, memories and rites related to it, IOgether wi[h other cultural contexts:

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z::luou~-~

PERU

TOCOPILLA

L. Briollt1

TARAPACA


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G ~ o g l y p l ) J oflhr lIorth Chi/rnn dt'frr/

Figurr 2. Groglyph pmlttQfChiZll -S,m/. (omm U1I ( ofHU


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L. Brionts'ethno- perception' (Alvarez 1991), the appreci at ion of space that constituted an Andeanview of (he world. Al l of the si res with geog lyphs are lin ked to prehispanic roads and, for themo st part, wi th stopping places or pmkanm, so me of them with corrals and som e even withfunerary mo num ents, lin ked by o n g ~ d n ca ravan traffic. In ge neral, th e geoglyph s arelocated on hill slopes, valley slopes, gu llies, the coas tal cordi Jlera, ' isolated hill s'. mountainranges, shores of sa lt flats and on interme d iate pam pas betwee n va lleys or gullies, theselarrer being on horizonral surfaces. The highes t co ncentrations of geoglyphs are aro undthe Pampa del Tam arugal in the region of Tarapacl and the River Loa in the region ofAmofa gasta. Other sites with geoglyphs are diStributed in decreasing order of frequencyas fo llow s: Commune of Pozo Almonte, Hua ra, Ma ria Elena. Pica and Ari ca and the rest,between the Comm unes ofCamarones, Camifia, Iquique, Pune and the Loa.

Forms of geoglyphThe larest research has idemified more than 5000 geoglyphs, among which geometric for msare hugely dom inant, and then figura tive forms, either amhropomorphic or zoomorphic. inbroadly equal meas ure.

G(omnric geog/yphs range from simple conventional motifs to rhe mos t complex designs.Many rese mble designs on text iles and ceramics. such as circles, concemr ic circles. circleswi th dors, rectangles, a l ~ s i d e d crosses, ar rows, sim ple pa rallcllines, co mplex para llel lines,spi rals, sim ple and co mplex step ped rhombuses. They are found isolated or forming groupswith or withoUl apparem order. There are so me notewo rthy linear figures laid our on leve l,ho rizo ntal surfaces, so me of them more than a hundred metres long, and also concenrrationsofci rcles, always around paths. Exam ples can be see n in Alto Ar iqu ilda north, Alto Tarapadnorth, Infiern illo , Los Tambos, etc. (F igure 3).

An imporranr geometric form is the supped rhombus, with its sim ple and complex varianrs,which is visible from a great di stan ce, especially when it is located on the upper part of ahillside . This figure is made up of squares or rec tangles laid ou t inside a regular rhombus;th e result is a rhomboi da1staircase with its differem sections deno ting 'head ', 'body, 'arms'and 'base' . There are sim ple and symmetrical ones, wi th th ree squates per sid e; whi le th ecomplex ones have an increasi ng number ofsq uares from 4 to 15 per sid e, creating a greaterextension of the figure in its horizon tal axis than in its vert ica l. The com pl ex ity can alsobe seen in th e 'head' and 'base', where they display a revealin g var iable: th eir sides areconcave, resembling bodies of human figures which chara cterise the Cerro Pintados sty le.They can be see n ar Pica , Cerros Pintados, Yungay Bajo, Cerro Camello , AltO Huanillos,Al to Caramucho, Guatacondo, Ma ni, Cerro Posada , Le6n and C h g ~ C h g and elsewhere.

The stepped rhombus is also foun d in other express ion s of prehispan ic Andean an , noton ly in arch itecture (as an ornamental motif with an imponant sy mbo lic meaning andco ntent as at Chavi n, Tiwanaku, an d C ~ C h a n among the grea t Andean urban centres) ,bu t also in the early text ile des ignsofAltO Ramirez in Arica, or the basketwork an d text iles ofthe a ~ T a r a p a c l complex in northern Chile. It ap pea rs with lowe r frequency in pe uoglyphsites such as Huan cara ne, Tara pad and Tame ntica. Beca use of ts com plex des ign , significantfrequency and sparial coverage, the step ped rhombus motif has been the subjec t of specia lanalys is. Nui'tez stressed its im portance an d interpreted it, together with oth ers, as [he mOSt

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Gtoglypbs oid" lIonb CbilM" d ~ s m

Figllrr J. Gromrtrir grogfyph, Altll Ari'l"iU" Nllnh, ({"mllllllt IIfHwlftl.

important symbol of the canlvan people. Brioncs & Chacama (1995) em phasised its presencein the Tarapad desert as an emblematic and ideological icon that marks the penet rationofTiwanaku inro the dese rt . during rhe Middle Horizo n. This so-called Andean cross linksthe Bo livian altiplano with at le:lSI two routes of in eegration with the Tarapad. desert. viaTarapad. and Pica, conllecting with the longitud inal fooe hill rouee.

The rqual-sided cross motifprcsen tS a spatial distr ibution that is vcry similar to that of theslepped rhombus but occurs lcss frequemly. In various sites they arc fo und in associaeio n.Circles. with or without a ce neral dot, arc ge nera lly located on rhe hor izonml plains. eerracesand pampas, at an ave rage height of 1500rn above sea levd - they are found in rh e uppergullies of Honda, G lIaracondo, Chi pana. Tarapad. Aroma, Infiernillo and others. Thisgeomet ric pattern is distribueed sporadically on the main north-south path, connecting aseries of water holes, springs, oases and rivers tha1 die oUl in the pampa of El Tamarugal.

We consider another important diagnostic feature to be the nrrow figure, whi ch is fo undin association with Olher signs as al Ariquilda, Tarapad. Quillagua, Cerros Pintados. urroMono, Soronal. Yungay Bajo, etc. Its low formal variation AIcnlalcs from rhe simpl, nrrow,made with the exuaclive tec hn ique, to a more complex vers ion, made with the mi xedtechn iq ue, ehe arrow wit" 11 Jt'ctiollt'd S"llji and a triangula r point. as found at Ce rrosPimados or at Ce rro Mono. These ideographic signs are closely linked to open or Aat spaces,characreristic of the desert landscape.Zoomorp";c jigUrt'l incl ude camelids in pairs or in lines. figures of felines. birds oflakes, sea or land, such as flamingos. seagulls, eagles, rhe:ls. serpents. toads, li7.ards. foxes,dogs. monkeys and fishes, especia lly open-sea species like dolphins or sharks. T he piClures


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L. Bn onrs

Pig"rr 4. G ~ o g l y p l l /"UI,f lit I", amJfm uf .ol PimlldOJ. {{}mIlUmt {}fp{}ZO A/moll/t.demonstratea famil iar ity wi th a varied local fauna. lin ked to facmrsof util ity and signi ficance.They can also be interpreted as terriwia l markers of hum an groups from rhe highlands orlowlands, occupying or travelling th rough th e desen. An impo rlant compon ent for anyinterpretation of the geoglyphs is the came/id jigliu (llama ). often represe nted in largenumbers in a caravan. T here can be from 3-4 up to 80 an ima ls in lines, as can be seen in rhegulli es of Los Pin rados, Ar iquilda. Guatacondo, Cuevitas. Tarapad. Cerros Pinrados. CerroMono, Saronal , Al tO Bar ran co, Alto Huanillos, etc. In a spec tacula r example. a ve ritablegarland of llamas adva nces towards the west, ski rt ing th e smooth ro ll ing hi lls of Ihe drygu lly known as 'Los Pintados' (Figure 4). In th e gu lly of Ti livichc, a concentrat ion ofabout50 anim als is see n heading westwa rd , th at is, m th e coast, which is 40km awa y.

Another significant zoo morphic geoglyph is th e lizilrd figu re. which may be ve ry large -up to 50m long. These arc located on rhe slopes of th e mou ntai n ran ges, nm only in thecoas tal environment bm also in th e fOOlhi lls, facing the caravan paths rhat lead up ro a passor ravi ne, as can be seen at th e sites of Cerro Lagano, Yungay Bajo. Cerro Mono, gulliesof Mapocho and Tarapad . Cerro Negro, Cerro Longach o, Ari quilda. Cerro Colo rado, ere.Li1ards, toads or sc rpclHS fea ture in the Andean wo rld- view as di vini ties whic h, in rh ecOlHext of the carava ns, are linked to riru als aroun d water, an d concern (he fe rtili ty of rheland in rhe eyes of Ihe f.mning community. The liza rds and amphibi:ans, with recognisableproportions of rhe body an d limbs, are alw:ays represe nted in a 'pla n' view from above.

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Groglyphs ofthr lIorth Chi/rIm dtsm

Figurr 5, G r ~ l y p h ofthr UU/a Villi"" commuII' ofAn'ra.In gene ral , in rock art and especially in geoglyphs, rhe human figure is a great challenge to

conceptualise as an image. Some anthropomorphic geoglyphrare rather schematic, others morenalllralistic. They are found isolated and combined, in pairs, expressing various ceremonialconnecions, in rows or in 'formations'; they also represent human figures linked to va riousspecifi c activities such as hunting, fishing, traffic. religion, an organisation into a hierarchythrough associated outfits or objects such as bows, harpoons, rans, llamas, staffs, caps, headadornments, pectorals, etc. T here arc scenes of coupl es engaged in obvious sexual actS andpeople with arms raised in an an i tude of adoration.

In the far north of (he ter rito ry between the va lleys of Lima and Azapa, examples ofgeoglyphs made by the additive technique appear to represem human figures that reach anaverage length of 50m and which define the LIma Sry le (Figure 5). This rype of figure hasa head with cap in profile, no neck, a full body see n from the front, apparently no arms,straight legs and no depiction of feel. They ap pear static, and are so schematic rhat they arcalmost abstract figures. The idea of not incorporat ing into the design such subtle elementsas the neck and the ankles gives the human figure a highly stylised appearance. AJI theseaesthetic considerations of characrcristics, from our po im of view, make the style uniqueand exclusive to rhe coastal sector of Arica. fu a chronological indicator, wc can esmblish itsassociation with the anthropomorph ic designs in decoration on the polyc hrome pottery ofthe ' Gemilar' phase of Arica, between AD 1000- 1400.

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L. Briol1fl

Figurr 6. urmf Pimlld"t. ""finiti"" {)fa s,,'" in "" gtog/ypbs ofnord",", Cbi/". Comm/1I1t of1'0t,O Alm{)lIIr.

By comrast, ar the oth er extreme of rhe Tarapad. reg ion and on the pam pa itsclr. onefinds th e anth ropomorphic figureofmixed technique, that defines the Cerros Pintados Style,equally interes ting for its form al characteristics and links (Figure 6). It has a head with aforked crest, a body wi th concave sides, fromal, apparently withom arms and feet. The mos timportant di agnos tic feature is the fo rm of its bod y, kn own in th e 'nightshirt' textiles typica lof the period of Loca l Developm ents (AD 800-1400). They are generally found in pairs orin lin es of up to six, which suggests [he presence of an es tablished o rder in [he th oroughn essof its des ign and creation. Their distribution is not limited only to sites dose to Ce rrosPim ados, but extends to Ce rro Pan de Azucar, Ce rro Mono and So ron al, and south of theriver Loa at th e sites ofCerro Posada and Chug-Chug. They arc also found in petroglyphsat Santa Barba ra on the road to the area of San Pedro de Ataeama and nonh -wes t Arge nrina(Bcrenguer 1996).The human figure wit h C I l V ~ ridn is reAec ted in the depictions ofstepped rhombu ses,memioned earlier. The geoglyphs offer no dearer associ ation, at leas t from a fo rmal pointof view, than this. The di stribution of lhis common feature, in both amhropomorphic andgcomeuic form, sugg es ts [he identifica tion of a hu man group that occ upi ed these spaces ofth e Tarap ad. dese rt both physica lly and symbolically.The majo ri ty of the figures appear to be static. On ly th e camcl ids, in a line and in pro fi le,which form pan of a ca ravan , in som e cases tend to give an impress ion of movement; and

rhe sam e is true of som e sce nes of peop le and/or anim als raki ng part in a ritual dance, asin th e Valley ofAupa (Arica) (Figure 7). In gen era l, superimposition s are excep tional . Eachfigure is distinguished within a group of other figures, which sugges tS that this con sti tu tes a. . "compos ition or text.

I is perhaps appropriate here to confirm that the great majorityof th e figures arc perfec tlyvisible from th e ground and presum ab ly were des igned as such, exce pt fo r in some caseswh ere rhe orientation isdearl ydirec ted tow ards rhe space above th em, as if they were poi nredat the sky, th e abode of th e gods. This COli Id be an all llsion to messages addressed to deitiespresent in the IJtl11tlllpnccbn , in acco rdance wir h the Andean view of the world . Al th ough th eregion 's rock art does nor displayany intention to achieve drawings in visual perspective , thepossibility does see m to exist in some cases , es pecially among the gcog lyph s: for example,

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GfOglyplu of h .' lIonh Chi/m" dl.'srrl

Fig"" 7. &ogfyph ",lIul oJ i/a"un: I'tI/lry oJAMptl. l l " ' " " ' ~ oJAriftl.

the figures of ci rcles have design s that differ slightly from eac h other, depending on one'slocation an d observ;uion point.

Local historiesHaving introd uced the basi c vocabulary of the geoglyph s, it is now possible ro es tablishso me correlation between the for ms, their chronology and thei r distributi ons. For the rimebeing it is very diffic ult ro es tablish a chro nolog ical sequence; however, from the evidenceof the use of the llama caT:lvan and the great populariry of the geoglyphs, it is probable thatgeog lyph construction began in the Late For mative Per iod (Br iones t 'f nl. in press), reachinga climax during rhe period of Regional Develo pmenrs (c. AD 1000-1450), weakening inthe Late Period, an d then disappearing in the CO i l tact Period (AD 1540-1550). After thatti me, there were only sporadic crea tions of hismric geoglyphs suc h as crosses, stat ions of thecross and churc h rowers.

Reg ional var iatio ns in groglyph investment reveal a number of different local his tories(refer to Figure I). What stands OUI in the Arirfl reg ion is the tO tal absence of geomet ricgeoglyp hs. T he zoomorphic motifs include figures of eag le, heron, camel id, monkey andfel ine and arc lin ked IQ the anr hro pomorphs thro ugh excl usive use of the additive techn ique.This un usual pattern of subject and technique is reinforced by the amhropomo rp hicgeoglyphs that define the ' Uuta style ' and probably derives from rhe Airiplano or th eAmazo n. The late nature of this style is confirmed by the sim ilarity it displays to the

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L. B r i o 1 / ~

deco ra rion of ceramics and tex tiles in the Arica Culture (Santoro & Dauelsbe rg 1985;Mufioz 1981; Mufioz & Br iones 1996).The zone of [he gullies of SlIca, Chi za, Camarones and Tiliviche is a relatively narrow stripbounded by [he gully of Cnmarones, crearing a natural obstacle that was difficult to cross . ...cHere th e mos t representat ive figure. uniq ue for the region, is a geo metric figure described ~as a do l/bb-outline square. The predominant feature is m be seen in [he funct ional nature . ,of the square figure , and whi ch we interpret as a ' ritual corral'. The double omline has a d!filling of fi ner gravel , in acco rdance wi th th e Inca (o r immediately pre-I nca) constructionparrern, in whic h th e wa lls are made with a double co urse of smnes, infilled with smallstones and mud. Wi th in the sphere of reg ional archaeology, the gu lly ofCamarones is we llknow n, and represents an intense hum an occupation of fish-gathere rs an d farme rs from theArch aic Period to the prese nt, that is, over more th an 12000 years . The interrelationshi pwith human grou ps from the highlands was always im portant, eve n d uri ng the twentiethcenmry, when valley far mers reached th e coastal sector, wi th their animals, in search ofnatural ferti lisers de rived from birds or sea ls.

The Tarapaca region cove rs an area estimated at 200 00 0 sq km, fro m the gully ofCamifiain the norrh to the middle and lower Rive r Loa in the south. Together with the greatestva riery of geoglyphs one fin ds here a large number of si tes located in valleys, pa mpas, oases,woodland, salt Rats, mountains and coastal cordillera. It is here that we fi nd the greatestnerwork of prehistoric pa th s th at cross rhe desert to all the ca rd inal points. The ste ppedrhombus figure, already descr ibed and defined above , in terms of itS layo m, its links andpossible functions, is the best exponent of th e style that we ca ll 'Tarapaquefio', seen at thesires ofSanta Rosira, Cerros Pintados, Yungay Bajo, Cerro Mono, etc.The Toeo region has a lowe r density of geoglyphs and is loca ted close m the river Loa,from its mi ddle co urse to its mouth. The most abundant motifs are characterised by a mixedtec hn ique crea ting 'spotted' figures that are defined as abstract (they are somerimes confusedwith other 'spotted' figures which are the rema ins of recem road cons(fu ction). This regioncan also be considered transi tional through the presence of th e stepped rhombus moti f thatis found on [he tradi tional route thar connec ts rhe Middle Loa and San Pedro de Aracamawith [he Pampa del Tama rugal. The sires of Chug-Chug, Cerro Posada, Tranq ue Slomanand others ma rk transve rsa l roads, with Quillagua as their central point of co nve rgence(Figure 8).The Highland Secror (on the east side of Figure I), with alr itu des above 3000m, shows asparse presence of geoglyphs, which means rhat it is difficult to define any stylistic patternhere. However, some sires stand ou t such as Zapahuira in Arica, and in th e middle and uppersector of the river Loa, with des igns ofgeome tric motifs an d poss ible feli ne figures. But meseare isolated sites with sma ll co ncentradonsoffigures, unlike {hose know n in 'lowla nd' sectorson the pampa and coast, in the regions of Ta rapad and Antofagasta (Bere ngue r 1996).

InterpretationsThe most imporrant effort ap plied in the second half of the twem iem cenrury todemonstrating the very ex istence of the desert geoglyphs, and inrerpreting them, ca n befound in the exte nsive work ofNufiez (1976). He rela ted them to the routes that th e llama

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Gtoglyphs oflht 1I0nh Chi/m1l dtstrl

Figu ,r 8. Groglyphs ofl/,r hill ofClmg-Chug. rommunr ofM/rill Enla.

c.1ravans had followed in the desen , as they maintained their con stanr traffic benveen theahiplano, the imermediare oases and the coast. His interpretation, essentially, arrr ibmed [Qthe geoglyphs in the dcsen zone a function as a roure indicator, in a functional and alsoliturgical sense, especially in the Late Period. In the h i g h A n d zon e, the 'shrines' performa similar practic.11 role, in addition to their nature as vot ive structures. The geoglyph s,according to N ufiez, consti tu te essen tial landmarks from the days when the caravans travelledfrom the highlands to the coast. He also po ints om that the techni que , the repetition ofthemes and the geographical d isrribmion all give the geoglyphs a cultural unity.

Reinhard ( 1983) was inclined [Q believe in a relationshi p betw een the geoglyphs and thegeneralised cuh of mountains, which played an impon ant rol e in the beliefs of the And eanworld; bur, up [Q now, he has not proved any specifi c relat ionship between th e cult ofsacredhills and geoglyphs as com p lex as those known in our area. Bes ides, his co nj ectures are inco nt radiction wi th the presence of geoglyphs which are not associated with either hills orwater sources, but which are [inked to specific routes cross ing the Chi lean desert. Binmann( 1985), in her inrerprerarion , SUpp OrlS the idea that these geoglyphs arc heavily chargedwith ideology, the anthropomorphic fi gures being recognised as deities of T iwanaku, Nazcaor Cuzco. C hacama & Espinosa (1997) PUt forward an iconographic model based on localantecedents in the petroglyphs and geoglyphs of Tarapad. . According [Q them, Andeandiviniti es and myths complement im ages present in rock an , recon structing a symbolicroUle from the Great L1ke to the Pacific coas t. These icons include the big human withwalking sticks, of which rhe example with the greatest symbol ic weight is the 'man' ofCerroUnita (Figure 9).

W hen one incorpor:ucs Lite new sciemific evidence thal has emerged from the las tdecade's explorations and systematisation . it becomes possible to confirm the relationship

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L Brio"tibetween geoglyphs. routes and the move-ment of complementary goods. Quiterapidly. once again in ag reement withNunc"/., we came to believe lhal (he sys temof geog lyphs under study would have tobe pushed back in time to the MiddlePeriod , when the caravan traffic was ex-tremely intensive. Brion es et al. (1999),using ethnographic evidence, proposed astrong rel:lIionshi p berween th ese reticulatedgeog lyphs and 'symbolic chamu' used, forexample, in the ritual of the cross of Mayin the locality of Huasquina, in the interi or of l a apad.. They have been assignedto a category of depiction of ag ri cu lruralrites link ed to the ex ploitation of the landscape, natural resources and pilgrimages,in spaces that were specia lly suit ed 10 thereligious scene; these were later brought upro-dare by the Christian fai th as an exampleof syncretism. What today represents indi-

Figurr 9. Groglyph"f Urn> Unila, t"mmuur "f Pew vidual clmcrllJ, very close to (he systemAim""" . of private propeny that emerged from thesixteenth century onwards, we re previously collective ChllCTIlS in the sys tem of communityor Ily'ltl (Figu re 10 ).

/'igurr JO CtOf.fyph with a 'dmmt" II/rili[ AI,,, 7;IrIIp"td North, romll/uur of 'ow AIII/Olllt.

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G ~ o g l y p h J of hr norrh Chi/ran drurrOther recent studies (Dial. & Mondaca 1999) looked ill10 a geographical-cu ltural

interaction of the deserr landscape. specifically that ofTarapacl. and the geoglyphs linked [Qthe eas t. The 'marking' of pampas and slopes in the desert wit h designs and symbols, quiteapart from the speci fi c functions they may have had. involves us in the symbolic categoriesof the phenomenon, and the perception of the environment and geographical landscape.The caravan people, by thei r very nature active and dynamic beings, were also importantagents of the thought, ideology and religion ofAndean society; they transformed themselvesinto the pr inci pal activarors of the changes. introduct ions and modifications in the wholesphere of material and immaterial cultu re.

The desert, as landscape and also as ecological environment, taugh t them how to surviveit and overcome it; they learned and assim ilated the ex ploitation of the spa rse resources itprovided. This different way of seeing and feeling, in terms ofwhat the deserr is, is re Aectedin the offerings and rituals of each geoglyph, all the more so when they arc assoc iatedwith [he routes that cross the desert towards different destinations with interests that arelikewise different. It is postulated that the geoglyphs are not merely 'sign post' references,but also that they consti tu te an emblematic scheme of ethnic and cu ltural demarcation;rhey fo rm a component parr of the landscape, and were constructed by different erh nicgroups that symbolically occupied this territory - for example, the characteristic geoglyphgroups in the styles of L1uta and Ce rros Pintados. The stepped rhombuses, according torhe rheory ofBriones & Chacama (1995), correspond hypothet ically to this idea of an iconidentifYing some speci fi c eth nic group coming from the alriplano, establishing a verirablecircui t inregraring goods and cul tu ral traditions benveen the inhabitanlS of the highlandsand lowlands of this parr of the continent.Finally, a recent study explains and demonstrates how, in the rransect from Alms de Pica[Q Alto Barranco, benveen the Andes and the Pacific to the south of Iquique, there is aseries of caravan evcnts in connection with sites that were used before being rendered sacredthrough geoglyphs. The occupation, even in the Archaic Period, of 'paskl1nlls' or transitorycampsites at Cerros Pintados, Cerro Pan de Awcar, Cerro Mono, Salar de Soronal andAho Barranco, marks the terriwrial possession by men, women and even children, withtheir trains of loaded llamas. The occupation reaches a cl imax dur ing the Middle Lateperiod and the Late Period (AD 800-1500), to which we attribute the great majoriry ofthe geoglyphs of the Tarapacl deserr. The absol ute dares obtained from occupa tion layersand bodies unearthed along this route make it possible [Q associate them with paths,sires and, hypothetically, the srylistic patterns present in the geoglyphs (Briones et al.in press).

ConclusionWe can conclude that the geoglyphs of northern Chile form a long tradition of rock an thatmay possibly have las ted until at least as late as the start of the Ch ristian era. The presenceof these expressions in the desen is linked to the emergence of agricultural sedentism andadvances in social integration that are beginning w be envisaged in the Cenrral SouthAndean macro-region. The precise reasons why certain groups of trave llers who crossed theAtacama Desert felt the need to mark it, integrate it, recreate it or make it sacred by means

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L. B T i o l lof the geoglyphs are likely to remain an enigma. But the associated socio-cultural indicarorsprompt us ro define these manifestations as the product of a long intellec tual processmotivated by the desert landscape and inserted into selected places already been chosen bytheir predecessors. In this way the rising caravan activity in periods marked by profoundchanges (c. AD 800-1500), achi eved the defini tive consolidation of 'engraving' the pampasand hills. The geoglyphs, as express ions of the creadviry and though t of prehi storic Andeanhumaniry. like orher expressions known in rock art, were not uninvolved in the changes andthe social and political transformations of the indigenous societi es that used and inhabitedthe Chi lean desert.

From the point of view of the hisrory of art, the ropic of these geoglyphs, and ofAndeanrock an in ge neral, has nor been dealt with either globally or spec ifica lly, except fo r a fewsuperficial commenrs about function and inrerpreration. This is a subj ect which the authorwi shes to explore in more depth in the future, making the most of the valuable work that hasbeen ca rried OUt in these last four decades. However, the artist(s) achi eved the objective theyse t themselves of leav ing behind a testimony - at least fro m the viewpoint of our physicalconce ptio ns - of truly monumen ta l works of graphic art, regardless of their ideologica lcontent and the ro les that they played at the time of their use.

ReferencesALVAREZ, L 1991. Emopcrcepcion Andina. V ~ l I c s

Dukes y en la Venieme Ocddemal de losAndes. Rn,isM DililogoAlldillo 10: 920.

BER P.NGUf.R, J. 1996. Impaelo del e ~ r : l Sprchispin ioo lardio en S : l I n ~ B.:!rbu:I. A,-"u XIIICOlIgrt'UJ Mlriolllll Art}f.rologfa Cbi/m" (HombmJ Drsimo 9). An!O&gasl a: Socie


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MUNOZ, I. & L BRlOSES. 1996. l ' o b l ~ d o s rul;as y ancrupeslfC prccolomhino dc Aric:a: docripdOn yanilisis d" simma d" O

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