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Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
Time and Mind:The Journal ofArchaeology,Consciousness
and CultureVolume 6Issue 1
March 2013
pp. 105112
DOI:
10.2752/175169713X13518042629379
Reprints available directlyrom the publishers
Photocopying permitted by
license only
Bloomsbury 2013
History, Landscape,and Social Life: Rock
Art among Hunter-Gatherers and Farmersin Chiles Semi-Arid
North
Andrs Troncoso and
Francisco Vergara
Andrs Troncoso is a member o Department o
Anthropology, Universidad de Chile. He has conducted
extensive research in central and north-central Chile,
ocusing on the processes by which space and social lie are
constructed and reected through rock art. He is Director o
the Fondecyt Project 1110125. atroncos@gmail.com
Francisco Vergara is a member o the Center or Heritage
Studies o POCH Ambiental. He has ocused his research
on the social aspects o the production and use o rock
art through the analyses o its technological eatures.
.vergaramurua@gmail.com
IntroductionThis article discusses the transormations and continuities
over more than 3,000 years o rock ar t production in Chiles
semi-arid north, through a characterization o its spatial
contexts and the dynamics o its manuacture. Considering
that both o these aspects are relevant or understanding
the way in which pre-Hispanic communities are organized, a
change is proposed in the role o rock art rom small bands
o hunter-gatherers to later horticultural communities. While
the ormer is characterized by production and use o rock
art inside a residential space or small groups, the latter used
petroglyphs in supra-amiliar spaces. During the Inca period,
these larger spaces were a place in which the tensions oassimilating new social situations into continued traditional
practice were expressed.
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106 Histor y, Landscape, and Social Lie Andrs Troncoso and Francisco Vergara
Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
Rock art is a historical product. Its
material, spatial, and visual attributes relatedirectly to the social contexts in which it
is ramed and which defne its production
and use. At the same time, these attributes
constitute pillars or the social production
and reproduction o the pre-Hispanic
communities that made it. This theoretical
premise is the basis o our approach to the
study o rock art in Chiles semi-arid north,
particularly in the Limar Valley (Figure 1),where this materiality represents one o
the most requent types o archaeological
remains. We present a brie discussion
o the relationship between rock art and
social lie in the zone o study, emphasizingthe dierences that occur over its 3,500
years o manuacture and use. During this
trajectory, the production and use o rock
art was related to communities that applied
dierent methods o manuacture, rom
paintings made by hunter-gatherers during
the Late Archaic period (2000 bc100 bc),
to engravings elaborated by hunter-gatherer
groups o the Early Ceramic period (100bcad 1000) and peasants o the Diaguita
Culture (ad 1000ad 1450) who were later
incorporated into the Inca Empire during the
Fig 1 Map o the area o study. The zones where the work was conducted as well as the landscapes o
those zones are highlighted. (All images: Authors)
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Andrs Troncoso and Francisco Vergara Histor y, Landscape, and Social Lie 107
Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
fnal phase o the local prehistoric sequence
(ad 1450 ad 1540) (Troncoso et al. 2008).We understand each o these communities
as a historical ormation that is produced and
reproduced through diachronic processes
o routinized social practices materialized in
a spatial feld (Pauketat 2001). It is through
these practices that the local landscape is built,
the social interactions between subjects are
established, and institutions and liestyles are
reproduced. A ocal point in this constructionis the articulation that occurs among objects,
space, bodies, and experiences (Pauketat
2008), which is mediated by materiality and
the ow o inormation/meaning associated
with them. In this context, rock ar t plays
a undamental role. On the one hand, its
distribution and intensity o production
embodies a set o socio-spatial practices in a
community. Production and the use o rockart articulate with other aspects o culture on
a spatial level, shedding light on the strategies
by which social lie is constructed within a
community, combining objects, space, bodies,
and experiences in a specifc manner. On
the other hand, through these practices the
contexts and dynamics or the construction
o meaning between communities is created,
defning possible audiences, areas o spatial
signifcance, and the ow o inormation within
and among groups. In our region, the shapes
that these dynamics acquire defne our major
articulations o rock art and social lie.
Rock Art and Hunter-Gatherers:
First ArticulationThe earliest maniestations o rock art in
the region were made by hunter-gatherer
groups o the Late Archaic period, and theyare paintings colored in red, black, white, and
green (N = 32 rocks). The spatial dynamic
o this type o art is defned by its placement
inside residential settlements (that do notinclude architecture), in association with
domestic materials such as bedrock mortars
or grinding (Figure 2). Isolated burials are a
requent eature o these archaeological sites.
These records are related to a social system
with high residential mobility. The number o
painted blocks detected at these sites is low,
and they are usually located near areas were
grinding took place.Thereore, rock art is incorporated in
the everyday spaces utilized by these groups.
At the same time, these are spaces or
varied social action, places where routines
o daily lie are expressed and developed.
The transmission o inormation, the
production o meaning, and the visual and
phenomenological dimensions associated
with the production and use o this rockart articulate with the daily social practices
o these communities, but are inserted
within a dynamic o socio-spatial practices
o residential movement. In this case, the
transmission o inormation is based on
simple visual resources with low spatial
intensity, oriented to create and give meaning
to an inhabited space. Within this context o
residential mobility, the rock art and mortars
alike act as markers or spaces o occupation
that convey inormation essentially or the
residential unit (Figure 2b, c).
Nevertheless, an important aspect o the
production o rock art is the construction o
a wider network o mobility that expands the
scope o spaces associated with it beyond
the residential sphere. This is evidenced
by the procurement and transportation
o pigments. This necessitates access todistant sources o raw materials and links
dierent places with certain phases in the
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108 Histor y, Landscape, and Social Lie Andrs Troncoso and Francisco Vergara
Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
production o the paintings, thus requiring
a system o spatial mobility that transcendsthe residential dimension. That the ull chain
o rock arts production is not concentrated
in a single space necessarily segregates the
phenomenological experiences involved in its
creation. The group as a whole was witness
to its production just in the last stages
realized within the inhabited space.
Rock Art and Hunter-Gatherers:Second ArticulationA second type o rock art, engravings that
depict aces and headdresses, has been
associated with hunter-gatherer populations
in the Early Ceramic period, who are
defned by their use o pottery (Figure 2d)(N = 17 rocks). Despite changes in the
technique o manuacture, certain aspects o
the spatial dynamics o rock arts production
remain unaltered. The engravings are
integrated within the settlements along with
a signifcantly greater number o bedrock
mortars, thereby suggesting the existence o
a more restricted or low-scale mobility. This
conclusion is supported by less variability inthe raw materials used or the production
o lithic tools, as well as a trend towards
tools produced in a more expeditious
manner.
Fig 2 Rock ar t in hunter-gatherer contexts. (a) View o an archaeological site. (b) Cupules. (c) Paintings.
(d) Engravings. (All images: Authors)
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
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110 Histor y, Landscape, and Social Lie Andrs Troncoso and Francisco Vergara
Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
phenomenological impact on two aspects
relevant or building communities: (i) the
production and observation o rock art
can take place only when the subjects are
separated rom their everyday places, actingas a discourse that reinorces their communal
bond beore accessing a space o transition
(a) (b)
(c)
(d)
Fig 3 Rock art in peasant contexts. (a) Location
o a site with background view o the river
terraces with evidence o human occupation.
(b) View o an archaeological site. (c) Block with
engravings assigned to the Diaguita culture.
(d) Engraved design introduced during Inca times.
(All images: Authors)
on a broader scale. They are ormed by
a common visual language that expands
through the dierent spaces that these
populations inhabit, and their recurrence in
the landscape strengthens social afliations.Moreover, the placement o rock
art in supra-communal spaces has a
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Andrs Troncoso and Francisco Vergara Histor y, Landscape, and Social Lie 111
Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
between neighboring communities; and (ii) in
these sites, the visual feld includes the settledspaces, thus incorporating the residential
areas into the landscape despite their spatial
segregation. In this context, the production
and interpretation o rock art is ramed by
both spaces.
In this way, a new confguration in the
role played by rock art in the social lie o
these groups is developed, marking a radical
break rom what occurred previously. Thisbreak is also reected in the scarce spatial
juxtaposition o this type o rock art with
that o the previous periods. Additionally, the
intensifcation o rock art production entailed
a greater number o individuals associated
with these practices, which is supported
by an increased variability o technique and
designs.
Rock Art, Farmers, and the State:Fourth ArticulationThe arrival o the Incas produced more
change in the social history o rock art in
the region. This new type o rock art is
characterized by engravings that reproduce
earlier designs, but with more complex
patterns o symmetry, which are ound in
other Incaic visual languages. In addition,
designs o Inca origin were incorporated,
such as clepsydras, curved-sided squares, and
inscribed crosses, as well as visual elements
rom the eastern side o the Andes that had
been adopted by the Inca State (Figure 3d).
Even though the imperial occupation
o the area is intense, its presence did
not involve a signifcant change in the
way this materiality was produced by the
local populations (N = at least 180 rocks).The spatial dynamics remained unaltered,
reusing the same sites and blocks rom the
previous times, thus maintaining a tradition
o movement in the space used or theproduction o rock ar t (Figure 3a, b). Similar
tools were used or this task, centralizing
the entire chain o production in the space
surrounding the engravings.
The production o rock art during this
period ollows its classic principles, but it is
transormed in the sense that now it includes
elements rom the Inca visual repertoire.
This implies mediation between traditionalpractice oriented towards the social
reproduction o the community and the
process o accepting new visual reerences
and meanings imposed by the State.
Nevertheless, in terms o the landscape, the
importance o rock art in relation to regional
movement subsides. Other eatures such as
the Inca roads and the architectural acilities
built along them impose a new orm omobility between and within valleys, replacing
the old routes, thereby excluding the
preexisting engraved rocks rom the transit
network.
By maintaining its spatial logic, the rock
art created during this period reproduces
a tradition o constructing space and acts
as a practice that preserves its communal
dynamic. Nevertheless, it is segregated
and excluded rom routes o mobility
that are established by the Inca roads. Its
production and use is closely linked with
the local populations rather than the State,
serving as a way to respect the tradition
and memory o the communities. However,
in this same sense, the inclusion o Inca
motis in traditional spaces demonstrates the
integration o oreign elements into the local
consciousness. In this process, rock art actsas a material resource in tension between
the earlier communal dynamics, the spatial
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112 Histor y, Landscape, and Social Lie Andrs Troncoso and Francisco Vergara
Time and Mind Volume 6Issue 1March 2013, pp. 105112
memory o these groups, and the presence
o the State.
ConclusionInterpreting rock art involves an attempt
to comprehend the role o this materiality
in the social lie o the groups that created
it. The multiple dimensions it comprises
spatial, material, and visualare relevant,
since it is through them that social practices
are embodied, meanings are constructedand transmitted, and spatial networks that
encompass landscapes are established. It is in
this process that traditions and memories are
confgured. In this particular case it is evident
that beyond its material homogeneity, rock
art serves an important unction in the social
lie and organization o these pre-Hispanic
communities. Despite its diachronic variation,
it is interesting to note that the relationshipsbetween body, space, experience, and rock
art show us a division between hunter-
gatherer and peasant groups. These
dierences are not only material and visual,
but also involve dierent phenomenological
audiences, reecting the existence o a
distinctive social subject or each o the social
ormations described. The transormations
respond to the increased spatialization o
social lie that occurs within arming groups,
who segregate and compartmentalize
spheres o action and meaning within thelocal landscape, in contrast to the spatial
concentration o social spheres that occurs
with the hunter-gatherer groups in the area.
Based on this, the history o rock art
production rom hunter-gatherer groups
to arming societies incorporated within a
broader State marks the centrality o this
productive practice in the social lie o the
groups that inhabited Chiles semi-arid north.Through it, proound transormations in
the strategies or social reproduction are
expressed, in addition to signifcant tensions
that resulted rom the integration o the area
into the Inca Empire.
References
Pauketat, T. 2001. Practice and History in
Archaeology: An Emerging Paradigm.Anthropological
Theory1(1): 7398.
Pauketat, T. 2008. The Grounds or Agency in
Southwest Archaeology, in M. Varien and J. Potter
(eds), The Social Construction of Communities. New
York: AltaMira Press, pp. 23349.
Troncoso, A., Armstrong, F., Vergara, F., Urza, P.,
and Larach, P. 2008. Arte rupestre en el Valle El
Encanto (Ovalle, regin de Coquimbo): Hacia una
reevaluacin del sitio tipo del Estilo Limar. Boletndel Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino 13(2): 936.