pp 105-112 (troncoso vergara)

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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. [email protected]

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.

[email protected]

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


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


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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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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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


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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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.

pp 105-112 (troncoso vergara)

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