Upside-down bird engravings near Arica, Chile, imitating earlier rock art symbolism

              Almogaren XXXIV / 2003 Wien 2003 265 - 268
Maarten van Hoek
Upside-down "bird" petroglyphs near Arica, Chile,
imitating earlier rock art symbolism?
Key words: Chile, Atacama Desert, petroglyphs, "bird" imagery, imitation
Abstract:
Symbolic representation of upside-down "bird" imagery at the rock art site of
Rosario in the Atacama Desert of South America may relate to ecological
disasters caused by one or more severe EI Niiios. However, two recently
surveyed petroglyphs ofupside-down "birds" in the same area may represent
pre-historic imitations.
Zusammenfassung:
Symbolische, auf dem Kopf stehende Darstellungen von "Vögeln" von der
Felskunst-Lokation Rosario (Atacama-Wüste, Chile) könnten mit einer oder
mehreren El-Niiio-Katastrophen in Zusammenhang stehen. Jedoch könnten
zwei kürzlich gefundene Petroglyphen von auf dem Kopf stehenden "Vögeln"
im gleichen Gebiet prähistorische Imitationen darstellen.
Resumen:
Representaci6nes simb6licas de "pajaros" invertidos en la zona de arte ru­pestre
de Rosario (desierto de Atacama, Chile), posiblemente podria rela­cionarse
con las catastrofes ecol6gicas causadas por una o varias ocurrencias
mas graves de "EI Niiio". Sin embargo, dos petroglifos analizados reciente­mente
de <los "pajaros" invertidos en la misma regi6n, podrian representar
imitaciones prehist6ricas.
In the north ofChile and south of Peru hundreds ofrock art sites are found,
mainly situated in or near the many east-west running river valleys. One of
the most important valleys is the Valle de Lluta in the extreme north of Chile,
because in ancient times it provided a relatively easy through route from the
Pacific coast towards the important area around Lago Titicaca in Peru and
Bolivia. Several rock art sites are found in this valley and one of the most
easily accessible site is Rosario, indicated with a modern signpost since 2001
(for location of Rosario, see Van Hoek 2002: Figs. 1, 2 and 3). The improved
accessibility, part of a project to create an archaeological tourist route through
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the valley, proves not always to be an advantage, because shameful graffiti
and other unwanted damages (re-scratching the petroglyphs, for instance)
were noticed at our visit in 2002. The most remarkable petroglyphs at Rosario
are the depictions of large "birds" that, because of their size, splayed feathers
and curved beaks, almost certainly represent birds of prey. Most likely they
depict the condor.
In an earlier paper, published in ALMOGAREN XXXII-XXXIII, I argued
that possibly the "bird" petroglyphs at the interesting archaeological complex of
Rosario (above the petroglyph site there have been found remains of geoglyphs
and Inca settlements as well) are in some way related to an ecological disaster
caused by an El Nifio (Van Hoek 2002). One of the major arguments notably
was that all the then known "bird" petroglyphs at Rosario are depicted in an
upside-down position. This inverted position seems to represent a regional and
graphical anomaly, as in other rock art sites of the neighbouring coastal areas of
northern Chile and southern Peru, this phenomenon was not yet reported. At
least, I do not know of rock art sites in this area where all (or the great majority
of the) "bird" petroglyphs have been executed in an upside-down position. We
visited quite a few rock art sites in northern Chile and southern Peru, but even
atToro Muerto, one ofthe most extensive rock art sites ofthe world, where also
many "bird" petroglyphs occur, depicted in several different positions, no up­side-
down "bird" was noticed. lt must be taken into account, however, that it
was impossible to check every panel and every decorated rock at Toro Muerto
during our visit, so there may be examples of inverted "birds" that escaped us.
We did see, however, examples of zoomorphs that were in an upside-down po­sition.
Also at Miculla, another very extensive petroglyph site east of Tacna,
Peru, no tradition of upside-down imagery could be detected, although "bird"
imagery is quite common at Miculla.
When we visited Rosario for the first time in 2000, my wife and I thought
that we had recorded all the "bird" petroglyphs at the site. However, when re­visiting
Rosario in July 2002, we noticed another rock panel with a "bird"
petroglyph. I label this decorated panel "Rock 4", as it is the fourth rock with
"bird" imagery at Rosario, lt is situated just south ofthe track that runs im­mediately
north of the site and also some 15 metres to the NE of Rock 2 (see
Van Hoek 2002: Fig. 7). The "bird" petroglyph on Rock 4 escaped our atten­tion
mainly because of its small size. lt is only a little over 10cm in width
from wingtip to wingtip (Figure IA). Added to this is the fact that the
petroglyph is very delicately incised, probably with a sharp instrument. lt is
also difficult to spot the petroglyph because of the rather rough surface ofthe
rock itself and because there are many more petroglyphs consisting of deli-
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cate lines that have similarly been incised and/or abraded into its surface.
These petroglyphs mainly comprise anthropomorphic figures and "camelids".
In 2002 we were at the site in the late morning, a favourable time because the
sunlight then creates stark shadows on the west facing vertical panel for only
a short time so that all the petroglyphs were clearly visible.
What was most surprising, however, is that also this "bird" petroglyph proved
tobe depicted upside-down, which is clearly indicated by the position ofthe feath­ers.
The petroglyphs on Rock 4 are found on a rough panel that faces west (to­wards
the ocean!), but it also faces another decorated rock, labelled Rock 2 by me
in the 2002 publication. Rock 2 is situated about 15 metres further WSW and a
little higher upon the steep slope, but the decorated panels are visible from each
other. Importantly, also Rock 2 features an upside-down "bird", but the visual
impact ofthis "bird" petroglyph is enormous compared to the "bird" on Rock 4. lt
is no less than half a metre in from wingtip to wingtip, and the "bird" is also easily
visible to any observer standing at the foot of the hill because the petroglyph is
most conspicuously positioned in an isolated position on the left-hand part of the
rock that faces north (towards the sun at midday). Although the inverted position
is identical, the differences in size, position and visibility between the two rocks
are most striking. The "bird" on Rock 4 notably, is only visible when standing
directly in front of the rock, and only when having favourable lighting.
lt is therefore possible that the example on Rock 4 merely is a later imita­tion
ofthe much larger "bird" on Rock 2. lt notably lacks the visual impact of
all the other inverted "bird" petroglyphs at Rosario and it also lacks the inti­mate
relation with a human figure that seems to be so meaningful at Rock 2.
Therefore it seems highly unlikely that the upside-down position of the "bird"
at Rock 4 has any direct relation with initial urge to execute large upside­down
"birds". Neither will it relate to the El Nifio disasters that are suggested
by me to possibly explain the general inverted "bird" imagery at Rosario.
I already mentioned the regional exclusivity of the inverted "bird" im­agery
at Rosario. However, when returning the next day from a visit to some
other rock art sites in the scenic Lluta Valley further inland from Rosario,
Alvaro Romero Guevara of the University ofTarapaca ultimately guided us
to a rock art site situated high above the coastal town of Arica. The site over­looks
the Pacific to the west, while to the south and east it overlooks the Azapa
. Valley, which penetrates the Atacama Desert. The valley floor and hillsides
of the Azapa Valley are studded with archaeological remains , mainly
petroglyphs and impressive geoglyphs.
Just below the top of the hill, called Cerro Chufio, is the petroglyph site,
comprising a large number of angular boulders that feature petroglyphs of
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geometric motifs, zoomorphs and anthropomorphs. At least one "bird"
petroglyph depicted in a "normal" position was noticed. However, we also
spotted a small petroglyph of a "bird" near the top of a large boulder (identi­fied
by a number 21 painted in white on its surface) that clearly was executed
in an inverted position, again indicated by the upwards pointing feathers
(Figure lB). Strikingly, the style and position much resembled the "bird"
petroglyph that we saw on Rock 4 at Rosario the other day The petroglyph
(the only one on boulder 21) faces south onto the valley and is out of reach of
human hands (therefore, exact dimensions could not be taken, but it seemed
tobe only slightly larger than the "bird" petroglyph at Rock 4, Rosario). But
considering the pointed shape and the large size of the boulder 21, it is un­likely
that it is not in situ. The inverted position therefore may be intentional.
If indeed this petroglyph represents an inverted "bird", it may possibly
indicate that in this valley as weil the supernatural world had once been
graphically propitiated in order to restore the equilibrium of the universe
after a disaster caused by an El Nifio. However, it may equally confirm the
intensive contact that existed between the valley of the Lluta (where Rosario
is located) and the Azapa Valley (in which Cerro Chufio is situated). As, how-
Fig. 1
A
B
5cm
ever, several ancient routes traver­se
the hills and plateau between the
Lluta Valley and the Azapa Valley,
and, moreover, the "bird" petro­glyph
on boulder 21 seems to rep­resent
an isolated example (other
animal imagery at Cerro Chufio is
found in the "normal" position), it
is more likely that, like the "bird"
on Rock 4 at Rosario, the inverted
position ofthe "bird" on boulder 21
at Cerro Chufio, represents "bor­rowed"
imagery as well, possibly
confirming the intensive contacts
between the two valleys.
Literature:
Van Hoek, M. (2002): The Rosario birds
- possible indications of EI Nifio disas­ters
in the Chilean Atacama Desert.­Almogaren
XXXII-XXXIII / 2001-2002,
~---------------~ Vienna, 303-328
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© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca Universitaria, 2017