B A R I N T E R NAT I O NA L S E R I E S 3 0 9 2 2022

Rock Art in the

Landscapes of Motion
Proceedings of a session of the 20th
International Rock Art Congress IFRAO 2018
in Valcamonica, Italy

EDITED BY
P A W E Ł L. P O L K O W S K I
AND FRANK FÖRSTER
B A R I N T E R NAT I O NA L S E R I E S 3 0 9 2 2022

Rock Art in the

Landscapes of Motion
Proceedings of a session of the 20th
International Rock Art Congress IFRAO 2018
in Valcamonica, Italy

EDITED BY
P A W E Ł L. P O L K O W S K I
AND FRANK FÖRSTER
Published in 2022 by
BAR Publishing, Oxford, UK

BAR International Series 3092

Rock Art in the Landscapes of Motion

isbn 978 1 4073 5989 2 paperback

isbn 978 1 4073 5990 8 e-format

doi https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407359892

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

© the editors and contributors severally 2022

cover image: Rock art at Karkur Talh in the Egyptian part of Gebel Uweinat,
including the representation of a small donkey caravan on the move (photo
courtesy of Flavio Cambieri)

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Designs and Patents Act, are hereby expressly asserted.

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Paweł L. Polkowski’s work on this volume was part of the realisation of the research project
no. 2016/23/D/HS3/00805 financed by the National Science Centre in Poland.
 Contents

Foreword............................................................................................................................................................................. vii

1. Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations: An Introduction to Rock Art in the Landscapes of Motion............ 1
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

2. Between Arrest and Movement: ‘Mobile’ and ‘Stationary’ People and Their Rock Art in the
Western Desert of Egypt (Third Millennium BC)..................................................................................................... 23
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

3. Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock Images................................................................................................ 61

Gernot Grube

4. Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers: A View from Guaiquivilo Rock Art,
Southern Andes, Chile................................................................................................................................................. 71
Francisco Vergara Murua

5. Post-Paleolithic Rock Art and Landscape: A Case Study of Mount Coto de Sabroso, Guimarães
(Northwest Portugal)................................................................................................................................................... 93
Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

6. In the Middle of Nowhere: Geoglyphs, Caravan Routes, Social Conflict, and the Visual Demarcation
of Travel Routes Across the Northern Chilean Atacama Desert........................................................................... 109
Daniela Valenzuela, Luis Briones†, Paz Casanova, Indira Montt, Thibault Saintenoy, Marta Crespo and
Pablo Mendez-Quiros

7. Patterns of Movement. Rock Art, Rough-Outs, and Route-Ways in the English Lake District......................... 131
Kate E. Sharpe

8. Bronze Age Footprints and Shoeprints, Celestial Cults and Pilgrimages in the Northwest Iberian
Peninsula..................................................................................................................................................................... 153
José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

9. Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin .............................................................................. 163
Jessica Joyce Christie

Contributors...................................................................................................................................................................... 181

v
 Foreword

This volume contains the proceedings of the session Rock Art in the Landscapes of Motion,
organised and chaired by us, together with Heiko Riemer, during the 20th International Rock
Art Congress IFRAO that took place in Valcamonica/Darfo Boario Terme, Italy (29th August
to 2nd September 2018). The session gathered 24 participants, and 12 presentations were given.
The present book consists of eight contributions, which are extended and revised versions of the
original papers delivered during the session, preceded by an extensive introduction to its topic.

The motivation behind organising the session and, subsequently, publishing this volume stems
from our involvement in archaeological investigations in a specific region, where the question of
mobility and movement is particularly relevant. Both Frank Förster and Heiko Riemer have been
involved for many years in archaeological research in Egypt’s Western Desert, where rock art has
long constituted one of the key elements studied by their expeditions. They are also the editors of
the book Desert Road Archaeology in Ancient Egypt and Beyond (Cologne 2013), which clearly
demonstrates their interest in the question of relationships between material culture and mobility.
Paweł L. Polkowski’s research has been carried out in the Dakhla Oasis, a smaller area within the
same geographical region, and one of the great oases in Egypt’s Western Desert. His studies have
concentrated on rock art corpora of various periods and their embeddedness in the landscape. His
current project Rocks in Motion: Research on the Dakhleh Oasis Petroglyphs in the Context of
Paths, Roads and Mobility addresses some of the key questions raised in this volume, focusing
on rock art/movement interrelations and their consequences.

The question of the entanglement of rock art and motion, which we all have tackled independently,
has sparked our increasing interest in various theoretical and methodological aspects of this broad
topic. Eventually, it led us to Valcamonica where we could discuss manifold research problems
and challenging questions and positions during our session. We met other scholars dealing with
similar research problems, but not necessarily using the same set of theoretical assumptions. The
contents of this book reflect both this general situation and the open-minded scientific atmosphere
very well. It not only offers a broad geographical and chronological range of subjects, but also
presents different approaches to these subjects. We consider this theoretical non-uniformity to be
an advantage, and a peg on which further discussions can hang.

The work on this volume was long and arduous, mostly because it was abruptly paralysed by
the COVID-19 outbreak. As the world was struggling, so were we and the contributors. Closed
universities, libraries, offices; cut-off from various resources; personal issues, anxiety and worries
– all of these and other factors contributed negatively to the process of editing the book. Although
we committed to lead the project to a successful end within reasonable time limits, the pandemic
and its consequences impacted our work with great force, thwarting our plans relentlessly.
Eventually, the project, started in 2019 but arrested in 2020, moved on and the final result is now
in the readers’ hands.

This is a fitting place to express our immense gratitude to the contributors, who not only decided
to share with us their papers and thoughts, but also demonstrated great patience in the wake of
the above-mentioned obstacles and delays. We hope that this book will compensate for their
effort and longanimity. We also thank Heiko Riemer for his contribution to the organisation of
the session and his further help in the editing process. Finally, we wish to thank the BAR editing
team, especially Tansy Branscombe and Jacqueline Senior, for their continuous support and
smooth collaboration, as well as the anonymous reviewers.

The Editors
Poznań & Bonn, 30th May 2022

vii
 1

Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations:

An Introduction to Rock Art in the Landscapes of Motion

Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Abstract: During the last three decades of rock art research, the contextual importance of
landscape has been strongly emphasised a number of times. It seems to be an axiom now that
rock art should not be perceived as an isolated phenomenon but rather as a spatially embedded
one. It is particularly the analytical category of place which has become an interpretational tool
for many scholars, allowing for various considerations on rock art ‘fixity’, thus researchers may
focus on this alleged stability and spatial relationships rock art has with other landscape features
and agents.

However, one may argue that place is not as stable and fixed as it may seem at first glance. Such
loci are often connected with paths and roads, or actually, they form parts of these routes. A place
then may constitute only a node point of countless paths used by various agents. Features such as
rock art belong not so much to a landscape of endurance and fixed relationships but to a landscape
of motion, full of ephemeral links and relations. Motion affects rock art in a number of ways, from
acting human agents to acting animals, weather phenomena, changing lighting conditions, objects
and other rock art. Hence rock art, apparently stable, is subjected to movements of those entities.
Moreover, one cannot approach rock imageries other than through movement, so if one side of
a coin is a landscape of endurance, then the other side could be labelled a landscape of motion.

This introductory chapter aims at providing a theoretical and methodological overview of the
discourses on the three basic and interdependent notions this volume deals with: landscape,
motion, and rock art. We attempt at describing the main ways of conceptualising each of these
notions in order to sketch the current theoretical landscape in rock art archaeology. At the end of
the chapter, a very short outline of the contributions to this volume is given.

Keywords: Motion, movement, mobility, landscape, place, rock art, perception, Val Kilmer and
the moving station

1.1. Raison d’être, or an introduction to the day of a survey, equipped with a backpack and sufficient
introduction amounts of water, I was journeying from site to site on foot.
Rocks were taking on shapes, paths were emerging, rock art
It is probably common knowledge among rock art and other remains of the past were becoming increasingly
researchers who experience anthropogenic imageries in the familiar. New images started to emerge in places I had
landscape: such an experience always involves some kind passed by many times before. Walking, climbing, even
of movement. Whether this means climbing a hill, or just falling, were developing in me a better knowledge of the
following the depictions with one’s eyes, it is always about area. The movement of the sun could reveal, as well as
mobile engagement with seemingly immobile rock art conceal, the images. Wind and sandstorms were influencing
images. And, one could argue, all these movements do not both my perception and the rock art itself. When I visited
only have an impact on the perception but are also part of those places for the first time, everything was still – the
the broader meaning of rock art – meaning that transcends silence was poignant and the landscape was dead. When I
the physical outlines of painted or carved depictions. had my last day of the survey three years later, I was leaving
a vibrant place, full of life (animals!) and full of rock art
This paramount role of movement in approaching and that – now I could be sure – was inseparable from the rocks
comprehending rock art is a notion that has been seeded it was applied to, inseparable from the paths leading to it
some years ago in one of us (PLP), largely for a trivial reason. and, most importantly, inseparable from my movements
Having a rock art survey to carry out in a remote desert area which had become firmly interwoven with those places
in one of the Egyptian oases (Dakhla), but having a lift only (Figure 1.1).
as far as the tarmac road leads, I was forced to take long walks
into the desert each day. Sometimes three, sometimes eight This book is an outcome of pursuing that notion, as
kilometres one way to the sites and then back again. Every well as finding a similar fascination with movement and

1
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 1.1. Walking in the desert. Rock art research in the Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt (photo by Paweł L.
Polkowski).

motion in other scholars, who share similar experiences right. This theoretical development roughly commenced
and concepts. First discussed during the IFRAO Congress as early as the 1960s, but gained a real strong impetus
in 2018, our ideas have undergone further development in the 1990s and 2000s (e.g., Bender 1993; Ingold 1993;
reaching their, for now, final state in this volume. Tilley 1994; Gramsch 1996; Ashmore and Knapp 1999;
Ucko and Layton 1999; Anschuetz et al. 2001; Johnson
In this introductory chapter, we will broadly discuss three 2007; David and Thomas 2008; Denham 2017, to name
basic keywords featuring in the book’s title: landscape, just a few publications either theorising the notion of
motion, and rock art. We devote a major section to each landscape, providing useful overviews on the subject or –
of these topics, trying to account for a multiplicity of ­usually – both). Simultaneously, if not earlier, the concept
approaches and definitions. It all serves to sketch a very of ‘landscape’ (as well as of ‘space’ and ‘place’) has
diversified theoretical background that forms a matrix to been the subject of theoretical reformulation within other
which the current research may refer. We finish this chapter disciplines, such as geography1 (e.g., Tuan 1977; Cosgrove
with a brief outline of the contributions to this volume, 1998) and anthropology (e.g., Rodman 1992; Hirsch and
while our case studies are presented in the following O’Hanlon 1995; Feld and Basso 1996; Ingold 2000), which
chapter (Chapter 2). have heavily influenced the archaeological discourse.
Despite some scholars arguing for a holistic “landscape
1.2. Theoretical landscape, or landscape theorised paradigm” in archaeology (Anschuetz et al. 2001), a definite
understanding and definition of ‘landscape’ has never
1.2.1. Towards a landscape paradigm? been universally accepted. Hence various notions of, and

There can be no doubt that one of the most influential 1

See Wylie 2007 for a helpful interpretative overview of the notion of
developments in archaeology, particularly on a theoretical landscape within the domain of human geography, encompassing Carl
level, has been a broad redefinition of ‘landscape’ that Sauer’s cultural landscape tradition, approaches inspired by cultural
Marxism, structuralism and post-structuralism, phenomenology, Actor-
has made it both a conceptual background for studying Network-Theory (ANT) and hybrid geographies, to name just the most
past ‘behaviours’ and an analytical category in its own influential movements.

2
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

approaches to, ‘landscape’ have been regularly advanced, subjectivity, as in the case of various postprocessual and
criticised, or sometimes merged and transformed. other concurrent theoretical conceptions.

1.2.2. Many landscapes, manifold approaches. . . One of the themes introduced to landscape archaeology
considers a landscape as a particular gaze and as an arena
Historically speaking, the approaches advanced from the of social tensions, especially in regard to interrelations
1960s to 1980s were often developed with a desire to of power. This is an approach investigating the ‘politics’
transform archaeology into a branch of ‘exact science’. of landscape (e.g., Bender 1993 and the essays therein)
Environmental archaeology,2 which gained a real impetus and one that has been particularly developed within
with the advent of the ‘New Archaeology’ movement, feminist and postcolonial studies (e.g., Leone 1987;
focused in particular on human-environment relationships Hauser and Hicks 2007; for a brief overview, see Lydon
and, consequently, on recognizing various adaptive 2008). Landscapes ‘vibrate’, being full of ‘tensions’;
strategies of people coping with ‘nature’ (Pişkin and they are ‘contested’, and they are negotiated by largely
Bartkowiak 2018, 3). It considered landscape mostly disconsonant forces. Landscapes can be ‘designed’ in order
in terms of its physicality, treating its various features to exert power over other parties; yet also those subjugated
(such as relief, soil, topography, etc.) and forces (like can resist those in power by manipulating a landscape. In
climate and typical weather phenomena) as capable of this regard, Jane Lydon brings to our attention the Western
governing or structuring past human behaviour. Within imperialism and its colonial landscape rhetoric such
this field, landscape has been usually equated with as, for example, the notion of ‘wilderness’ that implies
‘natural’ or physical environment.3 This was also the time cultural emptiness and a primordial status of a given
of developing the so-called ‘off-site archaeology’ and landscape (Lydon 2008, 656), which is surely at odds with
regional studies of settlement patterns, which resulted from various natives’ conceptualisations of their lands. Such
a better recognition of the ‘spatiality’ of people’s actions. A an approach in landscape archaeology seeks to unmask
primary interest of archaeologists in economic aspects of conflicts, inequality, and a particular cultural gaze residing
past societies sparked the development of various ‘middle- in landscapes or representations thereof.
range theories’, such as site catchment (e.g., Higgs and
Vita-Finzi 1972) or site territorial analyses (e.g., Bailey Other approaches to landscape challenged the mainstream
and Davidson 1983). Within this framework, landscape, currents by advocating the abolition of the Cartesian
or rather land or territory, was considered a reservoir of dualisms in thinking about the world. This mostly concerns
resources exploited by people and analysed in terms of a movement rooted in phenomenology4, which in the
efficiency of such exploitations. The landscape was thus field of archaeology has been advanced over the years
providing opportunities but, inevitably, remained rather by Christopher Tilley (e.g., 1994; 2004; 2008) and other
inert and detached from human agents. scholars (Casey 1996; Thomas 1996). This approach,
or better set of approaches, has influenced not only the
Another shift in the conceptualisation of landscape was way the landscape might be defined but also the very
brought with the development of the postprocessual or methodology that, in this framework, has been largely
interpretive archaeologies, which were more focussed reduced to a researcher’s lived experience gained through
on meaningful aspects of places and landscapes, rather a direct corporeal engagement with landscapes.5
than in their purely economic or structural dimensions.
Nevertheless, a fast increment of various approaches, 4
Phenomenology, from the outset, was conceived of as an alternative to
leading to a vast theoretical plurality, has resulted in an the rational and objective philosophies of modernity that have pervaded
accumulation of differences, or even incongruences, much of the Western thinking since René Descartes had prioritized the
between various conceptualisations of landscape – Reason – a defining event which paved the way for ‘objectivity’ to
become the virtue of science, and for various structural dualisms (body/
even among those that centre on the human body and mind, subject/object, etc.) to be granted impregnability in our thinking
about the world. This thinking is thus deeply rooted in both modern
science and everyday ‘common sense’. What phenomenology offers
2
This urge to recast archaeology into scientific discipline, as noted by instead, broadly speaking, is a description of reality as experienced – in
Umberto Albarella (2001, 9), is explicit in the case of environmental other words, as phenomenal. Its proponents seem to argue that the world
archaeology and its long-lasting interest in the ‘natural world’. In his cannot be approached in any other way than through a direct experience,
critical evaluation of the state of the art of this sub-discipline at the and it is the body that is a vehicle of perception (not just the mind).
dawn of the 21st century, Albarella wrote: “Rather than embracing the This philosophy calls into question a detached objective observation of
idea of an archaeology that investigates a world in which natural and science and instead offers a neither objective nor subjective knowing of
cultural elements could not be disentangled, archaeologists have chosen the world that always happens in the midst of the most basic unit, that
to relegate the study of the natural world to a branch of their discipline, is – in ‘place’ (for an explanation of phenomenology and its particular
in order to keep the Culture predominant. In other words, environmental congruence with anthropological practice, see Casey 1996). While some
archaeology is the price that archaeologists have paid to the Nature- archaeological landscape studies uphold (deliberately or not) a division
Culture debate.” between ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ landscapes, the other simply talk about
3
Currently, environmental archaeology more commonly refers to one ‘landscape’ that is indivisible. For instance, Bernard Knapp and
social components when studying human–environment relationships, Wendy Ashmore (1999, 20) write that “[w]hatever are own traditional
often departing from a concept of straightforward ‘natural’ determinants views, it is now clear that landscape is neither exclusively natural nor
and causes of human behaviour or action (cf. O’Connor 2001; Evans totally cultural: it is a mediation between the two and an integral part
2003). However, a distinction between environment (nature) and social of Bourdieu’s habitus, the routine social practices within which people
interaction (culture) is usually clearly sustained (Hamilakis 2001, 30–34; experience the world around them”.
see also n. 4). For an elegant, critical and concise historical outline of 5
On application of phenomenology in landscape archaeology, see
developments within this discipline, see Pişkin and Bartkowiak 2018. Johnson 2012.

3
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

A similar line of reasoning can be found in the ‘relational’ Thus, similar to ‘landscape’, also ‘place’ can be considered
theory of landscape, or the ‘dwelling’ perspective, proposed a highly popular term, but one that is often differently
by Tim Ingold (1993; 2000). Developed in the field of defined by scholars, and thus – again as landscape itself
anthropology, it has been widely applied in archaeological (cf. Gosden and Head 1994) – remaining vague (Woolford
practice and theory (e.g., Thomas 1996; see also the essays and Dunn 2014, 114–117) (Figure 1.2). In general, place
in Rajala and Mills 2017). Ingold has introduced the notion is often understood as something more particular than
of ‘taskscape’ which, to put it simply, “is an array of related landscape which has a more encompassing nature. Place
activities” (Ingold 1993, 158) that has a multi-temporal is, perhaps, considered more tangible. Some scholars will
dimension; hence “the landscape is the congealed form of equate it with site, for instance, as a particular parcel of
the taskscape” (Ingold 1993, 162); or, as he further explains, space. For others, place will represent physical qualities
landscape and taskscape are simply one and the same thing of a given locale. For yet other researchers, place can be
(Ingold 2017). In his approach, landscape is neither natural understood as sediment layers of meanings, values and
nor cultural; it has a great temporal depth, and by providing memories, which brings to light its intangible element.
‘affordances’ to all organisms inhabiting it, the landscape
enables an ever-unfolding field of relations. The ambiguity in conceptualization of place becomes
particularly evident when discussing its ontology (Casey
Landscape theories that acknowledge corporeal 1996, 14). Whereas for some researchers place (and
subjectivity as central to experiencing an environment consequently landscape) seems to consist of two separate
(both by people in the past and by researchers today) substrates – a natural environment (even if active and
gained momentum in the 1990s and left a significant mark influential) enshrouded in a cultural cloak (as it seems to
on the global theoretical landscape of archaeology itself. be the case in works such as Fleming 1998; Anschuetz et
Even though many, if not most, landscape studies have not al. 2001; Anyon et al. 2005; Lozny 2006) – others will
been based upon phenomenology,6 a considerable number claim these substrates to be inseparable8 (Ingold 1993;
of studies have successfully transplanted this philosophical Casey 1996; Gramsch 1996, 32; Thomas 1996, 83–91).
current’s premises into archaeology. Still, others ended up Doubtlessly, different conceptualizations of place are
with similar reflections, but derived from other theoretical usually well attuned to specific aims of research. GIS-
currents (cf., e.g., Johnson 2012, 275–276). based spatial analysis will find a better ground in the
Cartesian concept of space (but see below), whereas
1.2.3. A place for ‘place’ methodologies based on a walking survey can benefit
from applying more bodily-experiential approaches.
Within archaeological landscape studies, often regardless Some recent advancements in archaeology challenge the
of their theoretical foundation, it is ‘place’ that has been older notions of place by proposing alternative ontologies
gradually gaining focal attention. The notion of place (sometimes equally old) that can be collectively named as
has become one of the analytical categories deployed to relational. Those propositions tend to grasp place as an
counter the predominant Cartesian notion of space (Ingold event (Casey 1996), as a knot or vortex of lifelines (Ingold
1993; Tilley 1994; Casey 1996; Thomas 1996, 83–91); 2007), as an entity emerging in movement (Bolender and
or, being defined as a milieu inscribed and layered with Aldred 2013), as an entity dependent on social actors and
strata of meanings and memories, to provide interpretive their mobility (Sheller and Urry 2006), and in many other
tools to account for the plurality of perceptions within past ways. These perspectives are to a large extent mutually
and present societies (Rodman 1992; Stoffle et al. 2003; compatible, although they differ (sometimes substantially)
Bowser 2004; Lozny 2006; Branton 2009). Of course, the in some aspects. As they all refer, in one way or another,
archaeological inquiries into ‘place’ had been undertaken to mobility, motion and movement, we will come back to
long before this conceptual transition (e.g., Binford 1982), them later.
but in a spirit that could give little chance for interrogation
of places as social, meaningful and value-laden entities. 1.2.4. Landscape: what is next?
Hence, ‘site’ and its ‘territory’, both considered
measurable and objective, would become more and more To conclude, then, that we may think of a linear evolution
often substituted by ‘place’ and ‘landscape’, irreversibly in scholarly understanding of landscape, as if one concept
connected, qualitative and meaningful. This modern always substitutes and eliminates the previous one,
anthropological and archaeological interest in places has would be, no doubt, a fallacy. Landscape in all its facets
left palpable traces not only in a myriad of articles and continues to be variously conceptualised by researchers.
books with the key word ‘place’ in their titles (e.g., Feld However, three major views (and a myriad variants
and Basso 1996), but also in the form of special issues of thereof) appear as dominating: (1) landscape defined as
journals dedicated entirely to this theme.7 physical environment (external), (2) landscape as a way
of seeing or a gaze (internal), or, as phenomenologies and
other relational or non-representational theories propose,
6
Phenomenological approaches to landscape have also met various (3) landscape as a surrounding world that is neither
criticisms; see, e.g., Brück 2005; Bintliff 2013.
7
See, for instance, two issues of the Journal of Archaeological Method
and Theory, vol. 11 (1–2), dedicated to “Recent Advances in the
Archaeology of Place”. 8
Cf. n. 4.

4
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

Figure 1.2. What is a place? Is it a particular locale? Sedimented layers of meanings? A knot in the meshwork of interwoven
lifelines? One of the numerous petroglyphic loci in the Negev Desert, Israel (photo by Paweł L. Polkowski).

fully objective, nor subjective. The first notion does not notions, is still a subject to vital theorisation, while its
require a subject, as a landscape is out there anyway; ‘readings’ and understandings remain as diverse as the
the second, quite the contrary, is entirely dependent on a entire theoretical tradition and scholarly contrivance allow
human spectator in whose mind a vision of landscape is them to be.
envisaged; the last one also implies a subject, albeit one
that is engaged in the world, and not detached from it, thus This brief overview helps us emphasizing a synchronous
a participant, not a distanced viewer. plurality of rivalling or, more and more often, supplemental
conceptualisations of landscape that can be employed in
If we were to observe any kind of gradual, and to some archaeological studies. It provides us with a framework
extent directional, change in the concept of landscape, for, and an explanation why, the case studies presented in
it would perhaps reside in increasing recognition of this volume – although all of them investigating ‘rock art
human and non-human ‘agency’ inherent in place and in the landscape’ – do this each along their own theoretical
landscape, of either essential or relational character of its lines. Finally, it helps us to conclude that this multiplicity
constitution. Hence, with now more than twenty years of of approaches coincides also with the quite tangible
the 21st century having been passed, we are dealing with impression that theoretical ‘quarrels’ in archaeology
a large accumulation of concepts and approaches, some have recently substantially settled down, at least when it
being rooted in theoretical developments of the 1960s to comes to disputes over the grand theories (Thomas 2015).
1980s, other sprouting from discourses of the 1990s, and Hence, instead of looking for an all-encompassing theory
ultimately enmeshed with various new – or old but revised that would also assist in a definitive conceptualization of
– conceptualisations born during the past two decades. landscape, many scholars seem to have started searching
And despite the announced “death of archaeological for particular landscape ‘features’ that could lead them to
theory” (Bintliff 2011; contra Thomas 2015) or new interpretative avenues. One such theme is associated
“the third science revolution” (Kristiansen 2014), with the concept of ‘motion’ and the recognition that,
postulated by some scholars, landscape, as so many other although landscape’s primary ‘unit’ – place – appears

5
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

often as fixed and stable, it is in flux, even if this ‘motion’ 1.3.2. Archaeologies of movement
is, again, conceptualised in various ways: both in terms
of natural ‘reality’ and human perception. One way to Archaeologies of place and archaeologies of movement
understand places and landscapes is to understand the constitute only an apparent dichotomy, and, no doubt,
flows and movement(s) occurring within them, if not archaeology has been preoccupied with ‘movement’ for a
co-constituting them (cf. Sheller and Urry 2006; 2016; long time9 (as is shown, for example, by the preoccupation
Ingold 2007; Aldred and Bolender 2013; Edgeworth 2014; of early archaeologists with migration, see below).
Gibson 2015). Mobility was studied by processual archaeologists,
who considered it a factor in archaeological patterning
1.3. Archaeologies of movement, mobility, and motion (Binford 1982; Kelly 1992; see also Close 2000). These
studies, however, regarded movements as a given group’s
1.3.1. The notion of motion responses to external pressures, and they often theorised
mobility typologically (e.g., mobility as residential vs
In such a pluralistic theoretical landscape, notions of logistical). This kind of research approach envisions
movement, mobility and motion, just as much as those of “mobility as part of the broader adaptational programme”
space, place and landscape, are not defined universally. (David et al. 2014, 1169). A different, and perhaps more
Perhaps one should start with the statement that, albeit attentive, attitude to movement and mobility can be
often treated synonymously, these three terms actually detected in more socially-oriented approaches blooming
refer to slightly different things. According to the Oxford since the onset of the postprocessual period. It is, for
Dictionary of English, mobility can be defined as “the instance, fundamental to phenomenological applications
ability to move or be moved freely and easily”, movement to both archaeological methodology10 (a moving-body-
is simply “an act of moving”, whereas motion refers to “the researcher) and theory (moving bodies as subjects of
action or process of moving or being moved” (Stevenson analysis) (Tilley 1994; 2008). In many cases, however,
2010). All of these definitions are closely related, but the ‘archaeology of movement’ has been more about shifting
main differences in meaning are clear: whereas movement one’s attention from fixed ‘place’ towards dynamic
refers to an act (= event), motion can signify a process or ‘motion’, although not necessarily leading to substantial
state; while movement is a performed action, mobility and changes in underlying theoretical assumptions.
motion can equally describe a passive condition of a person
or an object which is moved. Archaeological literature It is mostly during the last two decades that we can observe a
deals with these notions variously and, depending on the substantial increase of interest in the notions of movement/
context, either applies them on equal terms or relies upon mobility/motion within archaeology and anthropology.
specific meanings. This is reflected, expressis verbis, in the titles of books and
articles utilizing phrases such as archaeology of mobility
The application of one of these terms, mobility, appears (Sellet et al. 2006; Barnard and Wendrich 2008; Beaudry
as particularly well established in archaeology. It is and Parno 2013a), archaeology of movement (Gibson
usually employed to encompass various kinds of habitual, 2007; Insoll 2009; Aldred 2014a; Gibson et al. 2021),
repeatable and corporate movements, often considered and – including this volume – landscapes of movement,
as tactical or strategic for a given group’s subsistence; mobility, or motion (Snead et al. 2009a; Ur 2009; Schmidt
it is then a patterned movement (see below). Movement 2012; David et al. 2014; Correa 2020; for social sciences
and motion seem to constitute much less codified terms and architecture, see Sen and Johung 2013). Certain
in archaeological writings and, apparently, happen to be themes, such as migrations,11 are, of course, already
employed more intuitively. There, the former certainly deeply rooted in archaeology, and what we can observe is
refers to a broad spectrum of phenomena and thus is applied a further refinement of, and elaboration on, both existing
quite often, whereas the latter is only rather sporadically methodologies and interpretative inquiries. To such surely
used. But motion is a term that features in this book’s title belongs the theme of mobility of hunter-gatherers (David
for a reason. In its encompassing capacity, it is understood et al. 2014), pastoralists (Cribb 1991), and other hybrid-
primarily as an envelope term for all kinds of movements
that one can think of when studying past worlds, including
their imageries. “Rock art in the landscapes of motion”
9
In fact, Dalakoglou and Harvey (2012, 460, 463, n. 2) acknowledge
archaeology for its long interest in “roads, trails, and paths” what – in
is thus the broad scientific setting we are going to deal their opinion – differentiates it from sociology and anthropology that
with. We intend to mobilise, or make more dynamic, the have been showing increased interest in these issues only recently.
picture drawn by archaeology and, particularly, our vision
10
Although interest in the archaeological dimension of ‘movement’ has
also been a feature of much less theoretically oriented studies; see, for
of rock art. But the theoretical scope of motion-oriented instance, Fowler 1998.
research is, like the one of landscape, full of avenues and 11
Migration, both as a topic and as an explanatory concept, lies at the
paths that allow scholars to conceptualise archaeological root of archaeology (Beaudry and Parno 2013b, 2–3). A recently renewed
engagement with this theme re-orients, however, the inquiries towards,
material in various ways. In order to provide a background for instance, social and political aspects of migration, often investigating
for this volume’s case studies, we thus offer a brief sketch power relations behind (forced) migratory movements, and extends these
of the concepts and significance of mobility, movement, archaeological explorations chronologically into modern times (see the
collections of papers in Driessen 2018; Gori et al. 2018; see also the
and motion, as notions employed in social sciences and, special issue of the World Archaeology journal entitled “Mobility &
particularly, in archaeology. Migration” [vol. 46, issue 4] and editorial by van Dommelen 2014).

6
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

economy ‘non-settled’ peoples. The movement here is of domesticated animals and humans has been, then,
mostly equalled with a given group’s strategic mode of shared and interdependent, and – at times – mobility of
mobility and the resulting archaeological patterning the latter relied on the former to a high degree (Förster
(Barnard and Wendrich 2008), largely following, in this 2015; Clarkson et al. 2017, 303; see also Gooch 2008).
way, the processual school. Such studies often dwell more The materiality of routeways is often less influenced by
upon collective movements across the landscape and people than by animals that tread and carve the paths into
their functional nature, rather than investigate individual the soil, sand, or vegetation (Figure 1.3).
experiences, inevitably idiosyncratic and of a less organized
nature. They increasingly recognise, however, that various Archaeology, linked since its very beginning first and
modes of mobility not necessarily result from an adaptation foremost with the study of material culture, has always
to deterministically understood external factors, but can been interested in the movement of objects. By analysing
constitute an outcome of deliberate community choices their ‘movements’ as reflected in distributional patterns,
and motivations that may differ from needs or pressures archaeologists tend to infer about the mobility of a
in the sphere of ‘economy’ and ‘subsistence’ (Wendrich ‘culture’ and in consequence – of people. However, along
and Barnard 2008, 8–10; for various aspects of mobility with advancing the concepts of ‘biographies of things’
in prehistoric sedentary societies, see Scharl and Gehlen and, more recently, ‘itineraries of things’, researchers
2017). started to pose questions reaching beyond the simple
distribution of artefacts understood as markers of human
Another group of studies exploring some already well- movements (or often just presences) – it is their mobility
established topics, but increasingly introducing novel and the resulting transformations to their significance and
methodologies and points of interest, is dedicated to the meaning that prompted scholars to shift their attention
investigation of roads and routes12 with their largely off- from anthropocentric issues to “travels and itineraries of
site nature (Gibson 2007; Snead et al. 2009a; Alcock et things” (Hahn and Weiss 2013).
al. 2012; Riemer and Förster 2013 with further references;
Paprocki 2019). Research into routeways may significantly Within a large part of the recent scientific literature,
vary in scale, from complex regional or supra-regional we can, thus, detect three main (interlinked) research
road-networks (e.g., Dorsey 1991; Fowler 1998; Laurence topics associated with movement: movement of people
1999; Ur 2009) down to individual routes or legs thereof and animals, movement of objects, and the recognition
(e.g., Witcher 1998; Förster 2015; Gibson 2015; Davies that movement takes place in landscapes.13 We can
and Welsby 2020). Such road archaeologies (Förster and also observe a gradual shift in emphasis from purely
Riemer 2013) develop an interest in manifold aspects of functional-oriented approaches to movement and the
roadways as lines of communication, trade and supply, etc. related infrastructure (e.g., roads) towards a more detailed
– their construction, maintenance, use, historical, social or recognition of its social embeddedness. This unfurling
political significance, and so on – drifting away from a archaeological interest in movement has coincided with
purely topographic approach. Apart from functional and the intense discourse on the notion of landscape (see
economic aspects, it is particularly the social and political above) and, to a large extent, both these conceptual threads
dimension of roads and paths, and consequently, of the have been developed in a discursive symbiosis. As Erin
inherent movement along with them, that has been studied Gibson (2007, 64) puts it: “Landscape and movement, just
recently, with various topics brought to the forefront, such like place and landscape, are not separate entities, but are
as habitus of daily movements (Gibson 2007), routes as interwoven concepts.”
shaping human landscapes (Zedeño and Stoffle 2003) and
influencing socio-political structures (Ur 2009), active 1.3.3. General mobilisation
role of roads in relations of power (Witcher 1998; Gibson
2015), or ceremonial paths of rituals (Insoll 2009). But there is still more regarding the development
of movement studies in recent years. Firstly, we are
Moreover, movement is not a trait exclusive to humans; witnessing a technological breakthrough that considerably
and as much as it may sound trivial, it bears important expands the range of scientific questions that can be
implications for archaeological theory and practice. So, posed to the archaeological record (Kristiansen 2014).
even though road archaeologies study ‘movements of In addressing issues of mobility, archaeologists can now
people’, it almost goes without saying that researchers apply various sophisticated modern techniques. Some,
also investigate animals and their mobilities. The latter like GIS (Global Information System) studies, have
have often constituted an inseparable element of road been developing gradually over the years, and with the
traffic, be it during deep prehistory when hunters followed progressively increasing resolution of acquired data and
the tracks of their prey along their habitual paths, ancient new digital tools, they offer ever more ways of detailed
or more recent historical times of cattle drives and trade
caravans, or the onset of the modern era. The movement
13
Note that this triad of topics is well reflected in the arrangement of
themes of the volume edited by Beaudry and Parno (2013; Objects in
12
A very useful overview of older and more recent literature on the Motion; People in Motion; Movement Through Spaces) and features
research of past roads in a global perspective can be found in Snead et among subjects in another recent collection of essays by Jim Leary
al. 2009b, 4–9. (2014a).

7
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 1.3. Saharan routes have been trodden by pack animals for millennia. Here, a modern donkey caravan in northern
Sudan, shortly after its departure from the Nile bend at Debba, is aiming for Darfur (end of September 2010; photo by Frank
Förster).

research and for the modelling of past mobilities (cf. Polla some of these new approaches. If we only look at the
and Verhagen 2014 and the articles therein; Seitsonen et al. world from a proper perspective, they argue, we should
2014; Kohut 2018; see also below). Similarly, the question be able to grasp movements everywhere and in variable
of mobility is addressed by physical anthropologists who temporalities, as landscape and place are in a constant
can infer about motional habits and mobility strategies process of becoming. This broad philosophical backdrop
of people not only by studying pathological changes in seems to influence, or even underpin, two distinct research
human bone structure (e.g., Davies et al. 2014) but also by approaches in particular.
analysing strontium and oxygen isotopes in order to trace
inhabitancies and lifetime movements of individuals (e.g., The first one is Ingold’s (1993; 2000) anthropological
Gerling 2015). These new advances enable archaeology theory. The mode of movement that is particularly
to delve into areas previously inaccessible and to extract foregrounded by Ingold is walking (Ingold 2004; 2007).
information of unprecedented high resolution. However, This is the basic way of getting to know one’s environment,
such hard-science applications to archaeology do not and as such, it seems to be well suited to archaeological
always follow concurrent developments in social theory inquires (both as a method of research and as an
and, albeit they elicit new data of high granularity, they investigated phenomenon). In his conceptual framework,
sometimes run the risk of interpreting them through the Ingold recognizes a deep temporal nature of landscape
lenses of older paradigms (but see, for instance, Gillings and he emphasizes movement as the key element in both
2012 for linking GIS with social theory, and Hu 2011 for experiencing and constituting the former. This perspective
a discussion of the contribution of GIS to the generation is strongly connected with the existential phenomenology
of theory). of Martin Heidegger and his concept of ‘dwelling’. Ingold
challenges the mainstream rational epistemology also by
Secondly, also a strictly theoretical discourse on movement, introducing concepts such as ‘wayfaring’ and ‘meshwork’
motion and mobility has recently gained momentum. The (Ingold 2007). As wayfarers, he purports, we all live along
trajectory of the impulse leads, as is often the case, from our own paths, which he conceptualises as lines along
philosophy through the social sciences to anthropology which we are perceptually engaged with and within an
and archaeology. An increasing recognition of various environment (here understood as all that surrounds us).
dynamics structuring our entire reality – including anti- Where the strands of people’s (and animals’) ‘lifelines’
foundationalist intellectual currents deconstructing the meet and interweave, knots do emerge – and these
notion of ‘settledness’14 (Massey 2006) – underlies constitute places. Hence, in Ingold’s theory, places are not
bound and confined entities connected by paths, but are
14
Doreen Massey (2006, 46) points to the fact that a landscape is
continuously shaped in an ongoing process and it can be “imagined as of tectonic plates and various temporalities of these movements, is
provisionally intertwined simultaneities of ongoing, unfinished stories never at rest. Massey points to the problematic nature of notions such as
[. . .]” and that it is “the (temporary) product of a meeting up of trajectories ‘indigeneity’ or ‘localness’, asking how anyone can claim their rights to
out of which mobile uncertainty a future is [. . .] negotiated.” She gives any place, since every place is always on the move. We are all perpetual
an example of a particular mountain which, due to constant movements immigrants on this planet, she seems to suggest.

8
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

paths in themselves. Landscape is a meshwork of all these ideas within social sciences. Drawing on other theories
interwoven lines and, according to Ingold, to understand (e.g., complexity theory and social practice theory; see
them one needs to be ‘in’ the world, not ‘above’ – the latter Sheller and Urry 2016), advocates of NMP are turning
being what the rational and objective perspective wishes to different conceptualisations of the social: one that is
to achieve. The concept of places as knots in a complex heterogeneous and comprised of human and non-human
meshwork and flows of materials is a theme that finds agents constituting complex, fluid and dynamic networks.
increasing attention from archaeologists. One encounters These hybrid social agents, including objects, information,
it, for instance, in Marc Edgeworth’s studies, in which technologies and people – being in movement on various
he investigates the effects of mutual relations between scales and in sundry ways – constitute dynamic systems.
humans and non-human flows and agencies, such as rivers This, they argue, is “dwelling-in-motion” (Sheller and
(Edgeworth 2014). Urry 2006, 214). But still, this motion operates owing to
“systems of immobility”, that is “immobile infrastructures
Although Ingold’s set of concepts currently enjoys a that organize the intermittent flow of people, information,
sound reception within archaeology and related disciplines and image” (Sheller and Urry 2006, 212) or, as still others
(Knappett 2011; Edgeworth 2014; Gibson 2015), there is call them (Hannam et al. 2006, 3), the ‘moorings’.
a theoretical programme that receives perhaps even wider
recognition (Aldred 2014b; 2017; Bolender and Aldred As NMP is a direct scientific answer to socio-technological
2013; Leary 2014b; Sørensen 2015; Antonites and Ashley realities of the 21st century, this body of concepts should
2016; Leary and Kador 2016; Kristensen 2019; see also not be applied to archaeological material directly and
Dalakoglou and Harvey 2012). This movement – nomen uncritically. Archaeology definitely needs to find its
est omen – is derived from a reflection on the inherent and methods and themes, if taking inspiration from ‘new
constitutive role of mobility in all aspects of modern reality. mobilities’ concepts, rather than copying their goals and
Thus, the impulse has come from social sciences that have solutions (Aldred 2014b, 21–22; Antonites and Ashley
announced the ‘new mobilities paradigm’15 (henceforth 2016, 475). As Oscar Aldred (2014b, 26) aptly remarks:
NMP) (Sheller and Urry 2006; 2016; Hannam et al. 2006; While social sciences want to observe an actual movement
for the ‘mobility turn’ in the sole context of geography, see as it happens now, archaeology works with the mobility
Cresswell and Merriman 2011; Adey 2017), since “[a]ll the “that is materialized” – i.e. movement that “already
world seems to be on the move” (Sheller and Urry 2006, happened”.
207). This is not a paradigm in a strict sense (although
see Sheller and Urry 2016), but rather a conglomerate of But there is still much to borrow from the NMP current.
theories and methods that are combined to study mobility Mobility is not a trait exclusive to the modern era and,
understood as part and parcel of social relations and not as albeit it is surely dependent on a historical context
a parallel or a discrete axiomatic phenomenon. Under the (Sheller and Urry 2016, 12), it has always co-constituted
banner of NMP, researchers are determined to transcend a the human modus operandi in the world. Hence the urge
dichotomy between ‘sedentarist’ and ‘nomadic’ theories; for a better understanding of the very mobility as one of
they attempt to deconstruct the notion of ‘fixity’ and to such constituents, as soundly advocated by NMP, seems to
study “the constitutive role of movement within workings be a reasonable subject for archaeology. Various authors
of most social institutions and social practices” (Sheller (e.g., Aldred 2014b, 23; Sørensen 2015) recognize that
and Urry 2016, 11). One of their aims becomes the archaeological (re)presentations of the past often run the
disclosure of mobility as weaved into relations of power, risk of being too static and stable, and thus a leap towards
whereas by conceptualizing mobilities through the prism a new vision of mobilities might be one answer to this
of nested or overlapping networks, NMP also redefines the alleged danger. Such an attitude helps, to borrow Aldred’s
notion of place. Places, then, are not “separate from those expression (Aldred 2014b), to ‘mobilise’ material culture16
visiting”, but relational and dependent upon people who (see below). NMP puts a strong emphasis on the materiality
visit them: they are “places of movement” (Sheller and of movement – including ‘moorings’ or ‘immobilities’ that
Urry 2006, 214; cf. Cresswell and Merriman 2011, 7). In enable it – thus this approach meets archaeology at its core
this reasoning, the proponents of NMP seem to come close (Kristensen 2019). But this is also about mobility “as a
to Ingold’s approach to place mentioned above, albeit they subject in itself” (Leary 2014b, 4; see also Sørensen 2015),
differ on various other aspects. so about a shift from treating mobility as a mere factor
in explaining other phenomena (like migration accounting
One of the philosophical concepts that NMP wants for a cultural change) to mobility as a fully-fledged topic
to break away with is Martin Heidegger’s concept of in itself.
‘dwelling’, the application of which, as Mimi Sheller and
John Urry (2006, 208–209) suggest, redounds largely to
cultivating and anchoring the ‘sedentarism’ and ‘stability’
16
When presenting his fieldwork in Iceland, Aldred (2014b, 34) describes
a trail flanked with cairns: “So while cairns have a fixed, material
15
One of the outcomes of NMP formulation are new scientific journals presence in the landscape, when they are viewed through practices that
named Mobilities and Applied Mobilities, whose first volumes were actually involve motion, they become mobilized, as it were. Mobilized
issued in 2006 (Hannam et al. 2006) and 2016 (Freudendal-Pedersen et in the sense that they were viewed multiple times, each time differently,
al. 2016), respectively. at particular junctures along a route bringing into play different forces.”

9
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

1.3.4. Moving landscapes

Movement/mobility has always been present in

archaeological inquiry, but – as much as it can sound
paradoxical – it was all too often represented in a
somewhat static manner. As with landscape, one cannot
suggest that a certain evolutionary line of conceptualizing
notions of mobility and movement has occurred over
the last decades. Yet, some trends seem to be detectable.
One such line of change in the perception of movement
within archaeology perhaps can be seen in a gradual shift
from ahistorical pattern-oriented mapping of movements
to tracing actual movements of groups and individuals,
contextualized and history-embedded. This goes hand in
hand with a lesser interest in the modelling of optimal
and least-cost mobility strategies (e.g., Herzog 2013;
White and Surface-Evans 2012), to some extent replaced
by a stronger appreciation of the conjectural nature of
movement with its own internal logic or even lack thereof.
One observes also that movement, as a research theme, is
no longer exclusive to humans. There is a growing number
of studies dedicated to movements of things, whereby
the latter are not treated as sole markers of past human
presence but rather as entities with their own biographies
and narratives. One deals, then, with a gradual ‘mobilising’
of a landscape by recognising more and more agential
powers inherent in it; it is a shift in archaeological thought
from the movement of people to the movement of things,
and, eventually, to landscape-as-movement that results
from the reflection on the highly mobile modern world we
all live in. The “moving landscapes”, be it a metaphor as Figure 1.4. Rock art in the landscape. A hand motif at the
Boca Negra Canyon, Petroglyph National Monument, New
Ömür Harmanşah (2011) has it or taken quite literally as in Mexico, USA (photo by Paweł L. Polkowski).
Massey’s (2006) writings, become an important focus of
today’s archaeological inquiry into the past. We have come
to the conclusion, it seems, that everything is in motion,
or at least some kind of motion affects everything. How One of the first and seminal works that successfully
to argue with that, if even ‘theory’ is considered mobile weaved together rock art and landscape studies was Rock
(Lucas 2015)? Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe by Richard
Bradley (1997). The book explored not so much the rock
1.4. Rock art in the landscapes of motion art motifs and iconography per se, but rather their diverse
spatial relationships, with topography in particular.
1.4.1. Making landscapes Bradley offered the reader a vision of a ‘patterned’
landscape of rock art, full of regular associations, as the
A development of landscape archaeology quickly research was set at identifying “[. . .] the hidden structures
affected rock art research (Bradley 1991), for it gave it that governed [rock art] creation and its use” (Bradley
a new impetus by showing that studying imageries and 1997, 154). The main contribution of this work, and
iconographies alone cannot bring answers to all the others that followed (e.g., O’Connor 2006), was putting
questions (Figure 1.4). This analytical ‘marriage’ of forward reliable arguments that would emphasize the
landscape and rock art has born numerous studies and importance of place and landscape for understanding
influential publications, and it may suffice to mention petroglyphs. Although only briefly, Bradley also took
here only some of those announcing this connection in into consideration a ‘symbolic’ dimension of rock art
their titles: Rock Art Research as Landscape Archaeology landscapes and their “many levels of significance” that
(Bradley et al. 1994), European Landscapes of Rock-Art would be synchronically and diachronically laid down on
(Nash and Chippindale 2002), The Figured Landscapes rock art and other landscape features (Bradley 1997, 218).
of Rock-art: Looking at Pictures in Place (Chippindale
and Nash 2004a), or Rock Art and Sacred Landscapes This old but newly re-conceived concept of the cultural
(Gillette et al. 2014). Of course, in view of the plurality of landscape, re-established with the onset of postprocessual
landscape definitions and methodologies in archaeology, archaeology (see above), has had a particular reverberation
as discussed above, one is confronted with a diversity of within the field of rock art research. The view that
understandings of the landscape–rock art relationship. landscape is an intangible mental construct, or a cultural

10
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

veil enshrouding nature, has led many scholars to conceive or enculturing power implicitly relies on this conviction
landscapes as socialised (Taçon 1994), inscribed, marked and may impede us from appreciating the role of other
(David and Wilson 2002; O’Connor 2006), signified (Nash factors and agencies in the whole process of landscape
2000), or signed (Bradley 1997) through the practice of unfolding.18
making rock art. In this line of thinking, rock art production
is often thought of as a mode of ‘place-making’ (e.g., A part of the story that we risk missing is agency of
Arsenault 2004; Harmanşah 2011; cf. Frederick 2014, 69). landscape in general and rock art in particular. This
is one of the motives of a growing body of scientific
In rock art studies this enculturing role of rock art can be contributions that try to find a better balance between
detected, among other themes, in the notion of ‘sacred human actors and their various non-human counterparts.
landscapes’ (e.g., Arsenault 2004; see also papers in In order to grasp a landscape’s constant change, i.e. its
Gillette et al. 2014). Petroglyphs and pictographs allow ‘motion’, some scholars explore rock art as a vital element
people to transform places into sacra; they become of ontologically different past worlds, in which images are
physical markers of an otherwise often impalpable sacred not mere representations but, literally, living and active
space. In other words, they have the capacity to anchor entities (e.g., Porr and Bell 2011; Zawadzka 2019). Still,
beliefs in the landscape, if only one is capable of decoding others seek for rock art’s agency in its qualities and traits
rock art’s meanings. In such reasoning, rock art images (such as visibility, texture, colours), either its ‘materiality’
are material signs referring to immaterial concepts, signs (e.g., Ljunge 2013; Polkowski 2020), or as derived from
that adhere to places and landscapes like magnets on a its emplacement in a landscape (e.g., Wallis 2009; Jones
refrigerator door. 2012). Despite some differences, all these approaches
tend to grasp a complexity inherent to landscape, in which
Suggesting that rock art could have acted as a powerful agency is not necessarily an essential but rather relational
tool in the hands of people helping them organize and attribute and thus cannot be reduced to sole human
negotiate their worlds no doubt was an important step enculturing activity. Although studies in this spirit are also
in recognising human agency. Yet, in line with a recent met with criticism (e.g., Helvenston and Hodgson 2010),
theoretical reflection (e.g., Wallis 2009; Jones 2012), one they nevertheless offer a dynamic vision of both past and
may object that this approach of emphasising a volitional present rock art landscapes.
nature of human action has had a side-effect in the form of
unintentional relegation or disregard of other sources of 1.4.2. “Drawings on rocks, the most enduring
agency. Hence, along with viewing rock art as something monuments”
fixed and immovable (see below), the offered vision
of rock art in landscapes appears at times as too static: This heading, borrowed from the title of David Edward’s
although people might be active and mobile, rock art itself (2006) article on Nubian rock art, encapsulates one of rock
remains anchored and passive (in the sense that it acts only art’s fundamental qualities. Not long ago, rock art started
according to its maker’s intention), or, as Robert Wallis to be particularly appreciated for its virtue of fixity and
(2009, 50) puts it, such an approach “tends to characterize the resulting durability (Chippindale and Nash 2004b).
humans as agents, landscape as a resource, and rock art as It would be difficult to disagree that the nature of most
an enculturing device”. rock art as (still) existing in situ is truly an asset, for a
researcher can directly study “pictures in place” – even if
Such an attitude is already detectable in the cited work this situs may have changed drastically since the time of
by Bradley (1997) and often explicit in other studies (e.g., rock art execution (Chippindale and Nash 2004b, 8). This
Döhl 2019). Here, rock art is perceived as occurring in a anchoring in landscape is then, apart from the imagery
given landscape for a particular purpose, namely enabling itself, often a major starting point in an endeavour of
communication between people. As Bradley puts it when interpretation (Figure 1.5).
discussing the Atlantic rock art: “Rock art could only
have functioned as a medium of communication if it had This fixity of rock art has proved to be an asset in all kinds
been distributed on a predictable basis” (Bradley 1997, of landscape or spatial studies that look for distributional
79). Therefore, in such an approach, rock art is first and patterns in a wider area (Bradley 1997; Hyder 2004).
foremost a conveyor of particular meanings. A tool in the Topography and geomorphology, considered particularly
hands of people, it becomes fixed in the landscape and
acts on behalf of its makers. Such a raison d’être and
‘function’ of rock art are, of course, probable, and in some changes of cultural associations and, usually, occurring diachronically.
In other words, although meanings can be multiple, both simultaneously
cases even certain, but one may get the impression that, and in time, they are nevertheless established and fixed by a group’s
once executed, rock art will statically endure conveying collective agency and will.
an encoded and unaltered message, as if it were universal
18
One has to note that Bradley (1997, 217) is flexible in his approach
to rock art as a place-making device, when he writes that: “There is no
to any spectator.17 The notion of its ‘place-making’ quality reason to suppose that the importance of a particular rock was created by
the addition of carvings; just as likely, these emphasised the meanings
of somewhere that was already significant [. . .].” This does not change
17
Of course, Bradley (1997, 155) acknowledges a fluid nature of rock the fact, however, that a place, in order to be significant or meaningful,
art’s meaningfulness, but he seems to conceive it as being determined requires a sole human agent who becomes a ‘place-maker’ single-
by shifts from one group of set meanings to another, prompted by the handedly.

11
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 1.5. An example of rock art ‘fixed in place’: a snake (?) motif in Mesa Verde, Colorado, USA (photo by Paweł L.
Polkowski).

‘unchangeable’ and thus factors still approachable today, integral part in GIS studies20 of rock art already for some
are often regarded as features that have been perceived time, another ingredient of this book’s title – motion – can
and experienced similarly by people in the past. If we be much better appreciated with a recent advancement
can neither date rock art precisely, nor easily access its of analyses such as ‘viewshed’21 (e.g., Fairén 2010;
meanings, we should at least be ‘sure’ of its physical setting for viewshed analysis in general, see Wheatley 1995;
and the various implications of this situation (like distance Wheatley and Gillings 2000; Brughmans et al. 2018). All
between sites, their elevation, or the type of rock in/on of this provides an opportunity to evolve a rather static
which images are placed). Distribution patterns, such as vision of various landscape patterns (e.g., rock art &
those showing associations of rock art with specific soils resources) into a more dynamic correlation of a virtually
(e.g., Bradley 1991), geology (e.g., O’Connor 2006, fig. moving observer and changeable visibility of analysed
3.13), water sources (e.g., Döhl 2019, fig. 4), or topography features – in this case rock art. In this way, a sort of ‘fixed’
(Hyder 2004), may tell us something about choices in rock visibility (like intervisibility between two different fixed
art placement and its significance. features) is exchanged for a ‘mobile’ visibility, which may
enhance our understanding of how rock art could have
Moreover, this seemingly fixed and exposed nature of been seen, perceived, utilised and, generally, experienced
rock art also allows for conducting analyses regarding its under various conditions. Viewshed analysis, together with
visibility, accessibility, etc. Applied already within early virtual reality modelling (e.g., Cassidy et al. 2019), builds
landscape studies (e.g., Bradley 1997), this kind of inquiry also a kind of a theoretical and methodological bridge
has been recently strongly enhanced along with a further between various computer-based analytical techniques
development of GIS-based techniques and technologies19 and the archaeologies practised ‘on foot’ (Wienhold and
(see above). And as much as landscape has been an Robinson 2018, 792).

20
Another type of movement-oriented GIS-based inquiry is the least-
cost path analysis; see for instance White and Surface-Evans 2012.
19
For a most recent and concise overview of various GIS-based analyses 21
For differences between ‘line of sight’, ‘viewshed’ and ‘visibility’
in rock art research, see Wienhold and Robinson 2018. analyses, see Popelka and Voženílek 2010.

12
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

Not surprisingly, such an experiential type of inquiry

as ‘phenomenology’ has quickly recognised rock art’s
embeddedness in place and landscape as a suitable field
of exploration (Tilley 2004; 2008; Firnhaber 2010;
Ljunge 2010; 2013; Horwitz 2017). Whereas GIS-based
studies, however complex, are usually about patterned
landscapes, phenomenological experiments tend towards
a re-enactment of past experiences through a bodily
engagement of a researcher. The latter approach would be,
thus, more about ‘discovering’ a uniqueness of qualities
of particular rock art places by means of ‘being out there’,
rather than about patterns discovered in maps and models.
Movement appears here as a paramount device.

We see, then, in one of Tilley’s (2008) studies how

walking from site to site, not to mention a movement
across a rock art locality itself, can influence the ways
in which pictures are perceived and understood (Figure
1.6). This field method appreciates movement not just as
a subject of study, but as a principal means of conducting
research (see above). It is, in Tilley’s (2008, 262) words,
“embodied kinaesthetic meanings” that can be unveiled
in a direct experience of rock art through a whole array
of a researcher’s movements, and even gestures, inspired
by rock art and other landscape features. Of course,
rock art studies have always been conducted ‘on foot’,
but the phenomenological apparatus has equipped this
Figure 1.6. Rock art images, as well as topography and
routine with a particular reflection on a subject’s bodily other features, may directly affect the way a visitor can
experience and the paramount role of movement in the move across the site. Naquane Park, Valcamonica, Italy
perception of landscape – even if most “phenomenological (photo by Paweł L. Polkowski).
walks” appear as subject-centred, considering mostly a
perspective of a perceiver. A partial criticism of Tilley’s
methodology comes, for instance, from Magnus Ljunge
(2013), who finds fault with it for taking insufficient or as a post-processual ‘gaze’ (observer in front of rock
account of the importance of ‘materiality’ of rock art, art in the field), rock art is always approached, perceived,
and consequently its agency, in explicating petroglyphic thought of, used, and ultimately abandoned by human
sites’ histories. Nonetheless, phenomenology-inspired agents, usually its creators. But can rock art be considered
studies weave into their narratives the three key notions itself in motion? And what would that mean for the
of this book: motion, landscape, and rock art. Despite this, research?
more and more rock art studies, even if not referring to
phenomenology at all, acknowledge today the importance 1.4.3. Fixed, but truly immobile?
of the researcher’s bodily engagement in the process of
fieldwork research.22 And of crucial importance for such A US-American action comedy film from 1984 entitled
bodily experience is movement, which is aptly summarized Top Secret! contains a particularly amusing scene that takes
by Michael Firnhaber (2010, 4): place at a train station. There, the protagonist, performed
by Val Kilmer, sits in a train, while his documents are
“Too often, researchers do not begin to record rock art being checked by German soldiers. After his papers are
until they are standing right there at the base of the rock. accepted, the train departs and the main character watches
Instead, we should consider a visit to a rock art site to the soldiers through the window as the train slowly passes
be a journey – one which may have had a significant them by. All seems to be in order, until a few seconds later
impact on the meaning of the site itself.” it turns out that it is the station that moves away and not
the train that remains in place. Apart from the fact that
As we can see, movement/motion in rock art research this unexpected turn has a comic effect on the viewer, this
is most often studied from an observer’s point of view. anecdotal scene can serve us here to introduce the question
Whether this is presented within a ‘palaeoeconomic’ of relational motion: for what appears to be static can be
framework (observer put in front of a distribution map) mobile.

To a large extent, the above refers to what Aldred (2014b)

22
For instance, Aldred’s claim that „contemporary archaeologists are
surrogates for past bodies, and quite literally through them it is possible calls ‘mobilising’ of material culture (see above). Even if a
to inhabit past movement” (Aldred 2014b, 31; his emphasis). given landscape feature is considered immobile (e.g., a rock

13
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

outcrop), in the process of a subject’s bodily engagement Sørensen (2015, 160) points out yet another mobilising
while moving within a landscape this feature becomes feature of rock art: “iconography as a technology of
mobilised when perceived from various directions and animation”. Of course, rock art as an animation device has
distances, and under changing circumstances. For Aldred been considered in various contexts before (e.g., Azéma
(2014b, 34), the cairns studied by him in Iceland are 2005; Azéma and Rivère 2012; Luis and Batarda Fernandes
mobilised when observed from different points on the 2010; Polkowski 2018), but mostly from the perspective
route (cf. n. 16). One can retort, of course, that to think of a ‘technological’ tool that enables rendering movement
of such features as being mobile means to succumb to through the use of a sequence of two-dimensional images.
illusions, but it seems to be more than just that: if someone What Sørensen seems to propose is to challenge the rather
follows a route, this route is also active, because our mutual traditional approach to rock art as pure representations
engagement is relational (cf. Gibson 2015, 426). This is or pure symbols, in order to identify qualities such as
how one can both mobilise rock art and be mobilised by it movement and transformation that these depictions refer
in the act of experience. to. A ship is not ‘just’ a ship – it is an inherently mobile
vehicle and this shows that a formally stiff depiction could
A project that appreciates motion(s) of rock art can address be apprehended as something inherently set in motion.
this issue at various levels and from diverse points of view. Sørensen (2015, 160) proposes that “[. . .] the continuity
One is mentioned above: rock art is not static as long as that is implied in the depiction of moving object suggests
an observer is mobile and moving, due to the relation that that any object in rock art is to be understood as a moving,
connects both. And when such a ‘mobilised’ environment transformative object”.
is inhabited by people sharing an ontology different from
the Western one, various agents may become relationally Iconography–place–mobility is a triad of notions that
mobilised. This is why a painting or a petroglyph can constitutes the core of Ursula Frederick’s (2014) reflection
become an agent acting volitionally – even capable of on Australian rock art. In her approach, the notion of any
moving – as it is understood in various parts of the world given place’s fixity is undermined. Instead, she refers
(e.g., Porr and Bell 2011) as already discussed above. to the concept of an ever-unfolding nature of landscape
(see above) and a “palimpsest of movement” that can be
Another perspective takes into account the environment equated with it. In her study, rock art plays a pivotal role
and its relation to rock art. Christopher Chippindale and because it has “an enormous range of motifs that express
George Nash (2004b, 8) consider some rock art places an awareness and attention to movement” (Frederick
as “stationary sites in a moving environment”, referring 2014, 69). But it is much more than ‘just’ depicting
in their example to Scandinavia where some of the once moving objects; this rock art, Frederick argues, can gather
sea-shore-situated petroglyphs are found today high above other places in one locale. Various motifs have certain
sea level, inevitably far from the water. This perspective, mnemonic values – they are in the capacity of embodying
however, emphasises the change and therefore motion of an particular places and stories – and as such, they actualise
environment and not so much of rock art itself; and this is those locales through an act that Frederick calls “drawing
a ‘movement’ observed in a rather longue durée. But, with from a distance”. Hence, if a place becomes inaccessible
Magnus Ljunge, one can also opt for a slightly different (as in Australia during the contact period when lands
approach that brings to the forefront a mutual relation available to natives were systematically taken away from
of environment and rock art, in which both ingredients them), it can re-appear elsewhere by means of rock art,
remain in a more pronounced motion. Ljunge, too, meaning that distance, movement, and the very ‘place’,
reports a Scandinavian petroglyphic locale, Karlsberget in are not fixed and stable entities but ones that are in flux.
Sweden, but one that features ship depictions still situated Rock art can move places.
at the water edge. Giving the voice to Ljunge (2010, 98):
“The ships, which are orientated in line with the direction What seems to be bridging the above approaches is their
of the inland ice, give the impression of being in motion as urge to contest notions of ‘sedentarism’, ‘stability’, ‘fixity’,
if they were sailing from the sea up onto the rock and vice ‘immobility’, and so forth. It is not the same as to say that
versa.” At some parts of the year, the lake waters raise and things cannot be immobile, but rather that in order to
physically interact with the petroglyphs. Hence one could fully grasp the complexity of things it is required that one
argue that they do more than just “give the impression”, as appreciates a mutual generative relation of their ‘mobility’
the ships are, in fact, literally sailing these waters. and ‘placeness’ (cf. Bolender and Aldred 2013). These
approaches seem to argue that the so much acknowledged
This observation can be compared to what Tim Sørensen ‘fixity’ of rock art is just one side of the story that can
(2015, 159–160) calls “mutually animating features” of become fuller only when rock art is set in motion.
objects and decorative schemes, including rock art. It
is, once again, a reference to relationality that mobilises This is, some scholars contend, because “mobility is a
all constitutive elements. As in Karlsberget the waves way of inhabiting the world” (Sørensen 2015, 157) and
appear to set ships in motion, also other objects and their “dynamism [. . .] is more normal than stasis” (Aldred
‘iconography’ can mutually lend themselves, or ‘enforce’, 2014b, 22–23). Even our archaeological practice is
a quality of mobility; they are in the capacity of mobilising movement-related and we cannot carry out excavations
each other. or surveys by not moving ourselves at the same time

14
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

(Bolender and Aldred 2013). We thus can, for instance, the course of the sun or other celestial bodies, and so forth.
approach rock art as an agent structuring, but not Especially the changing light of the moving sun could
determining, movement; or we can, the other way around, have had a strong impact on the perception, reception and
conceive rock art as materialised movement (cf. Aldred significance of rock art for individual observers – a well-
2014b, 26). Setting rock art in motion involves building known phenomenon to anyone who ever tried to trace
a dynamic context around it and making rock art itself more complex rock art on the spot. Similar effects can,
an active component, not just a receiver of meanings and for example, also be assumed to have taken place in
significance. It also means considering rock art places as prehistoric caves where painted or engraved images would
knots in a wider network or meshwork of paths. Finally, it have been ‘animated’ by a flickering camp-fire’s light, thus
is connected with some seemingly trivial issues, such as the exact position of rock art within a specific locality and
appreciation of rock art’s taphonomy, usually spanning a its (functional) setting should also always be taken into
long time, and a researcher’s influence on those destructive account.
processes that for both parts involve movement in different
spatio-temporal scales. To conclude, then, rock art is Turning from pictures in motion to motion in pictures, there
moving when we move; rock art is moving because the is of course the highly relevant and multifaceted subtopic
landscape moves; rock art can move places and ideas, and of how movement and motion are expressed through rock
what is depicted is either moving or capable to move; and art images by themselves. A running or jumping animal,
it is not all that rare that we ourselves are deeply moved a hunter persuading his prey, human footsteps or animal
by petroglyphs, paintings and places where they were tracks arranged in rows, a gesture indicating the movement
brought to life. of arms, or two or more consecutive images showing phases
of the latter in some sort of early cinematography, etc. –
1.4.4. Epilogue: rock art in the landscapes of motion there are many examples and possibilities, and the reader
will meet some of them in this book. The various attempts
Before closing with a very short outline of the following to capture motion in prehistoric, ancient or more recent
chapters, we would like to address briefly some aspects ‘rock art times’ certainly make up a most interesting art
of our general topic that were barely touched upon in this historical subject on its own (Figure 1.7).
introduction, all of them connected, in one way or another,
with motion and movement. Finally, it may be mentioned that the production of
public rock or wall art, including single motifs or larger
With repeated visits, already existing rock art at a specific compositions expressing (or implying) movement and
site or spot often stimulated new creations, sometimes even motion, is not restricted to the long-gone past. Even in
entering into some sort of dialogue with the former. Older modern, visually overstimulated times, the often excessive
motifs could have been erased, superimposed or elaborated ‘wall tattoos’ of houses, shops, or other buildings,
by new ones, creating or adding new meanings and including the ubiquitous graffiti of young, often socially
thereby contributing to what might be termed biographies or politically critical artists, such as in the streets of
of pictures in motion. Whether elements of destruction, Cairo during or shortly after the Arabic Spring (see, e.g.,
palimpsests or spin-offs of pictorial narratives, such rock Hamdy and Karl 2014), still have their expressive and
art extensions through time and space can be regarded as communicative lieu et raison d’être.
components of entities that are organically growing, like
offshoots of living plants. Some more aspects related to the general topic of this book
could certainly be added,23 but the ones highlighted so far
Also, the order of succeeding motifs at a number of may suffice to demonstrate its broad spectrum. Naturally,
individual sites that are connected by paths might have not all mentioned points of view and respective avenues of
been conceptualised as complementing each other and research are covered by the contributions outlined in the
making up their own narrative while moving forward. following. We nevertheless are convinced that they tackle
Hence, the study of spatial order and directional a good deal of them, either by exemplification or by taking
distributive patterns of rock art might prove rewarding a more holistic view.
in order to unveil such narratives or larger compositions
spanning several sites. With the movement of the observer, 23
E.g., the specific rock art of pastoral communities, focusing on nomadic
fixed images ‘come closer’ while others ‘move away’ ways of life, transhumance and the potential roles of rock art production
and finally disappear – unless the observer carries them therein, or the aspect of movements and the spread of images in a wider
with him in his memory. The perception of rock art can, sense, an avenue of research mainly to be tackled by distributional
analyses of specific rock art motifs or traditions. Another interesting
of course, also heavily depend on how one approaches it, aspect concerns mobile and movable rock art in the form of portable
both physically and mentally, and there might be an array decorated slabs, plates etc., which were either originally designed as
of possible ‘reading’ directions. Rock art may have been such (e.g., the famous, more than 25,000 years old art mobilier found
in the so-called Apollo 11 Cave in south-western Namibia, see Wendt
composed and individual elements of it arranged according 1974), or were later – i.e. usually in modern times – cut out of a rock
to (graded) visibility, taking into account the physical art tableau and moved to a private collection or public museum. In both
characteristics of rocks with their protrusions, cavities and cases, the curriculum vitae as well as cultural impact of such objects were
not restricted to their ‘place of origin’, but could develop elsewhere – and
fissures, the occurrence of scattered spots of vegetation, might even have encompassed rather extensive travels between various
elevations, slopes, the intervisibility of individual sites, museums worldwide.

15
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

1.4.5. A short outline of the contributions to this volume

After this highly theoretical introductory chapter, the

same authors take the reader to the Western Desert of
Egypt (Chapter 2). In their, this time, highly illustrated
contribution, they present two case studies from adjacent but
different areas (the Dakhla Oasis and its periphery, on the
one hand, and the deep desert to the southwest, on the other
hand), emphasising various aspects of motion, mobility
and movement involved in the processes of creating and
experiencing rock art in this remote region. They mainly
focus on pharaonic imagery of the third millennium BC,
found at various rock art sites around Dakhla and some
way-stations of a long-range donkey caravan route.

This is followed by a chapter by Gernot Grube that

bears a somewhat provocative title, given the context of
this book: Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock
Images (Chapter 3). Grube explores various cognitive
aspects of creating art and its consequences for large-scale
developments in Upper Palaeolithic Europe. He analyses
the notion of movement “frozen” in rock images, but
also the role of cave art in prehistoric mobile societies.
He concludes that rock art, necessarily “sedentary”, could
have played an important role in “a symbolic-cognitive
preparation for sedentism”.
Figure 1.7. Depicting movement: figure of a running human
on a rock in Naquane Park, Valcamonica, Italy (photo by Chapter 4 by Francisco Vergara Murua is dedicated to
Paweł L. Polkowski). Chilean Guaiquivilo rock art at Calabozos from 12th–16th
centuries AD. The author’s focus is on time-movement
relationships as reflected by petroglyphs located at this
The theoretical ‘quarrels’ of the 1990s often involved Andean site. He analyses “rhythms” that can be detected
radical stances, and for many scholars engaged in them, on various levels of rock art production and experience.
the main task was to disprove the arguments of their His study involves a bodily engagement down to the level
adversaries. It was either about accepting or rejecting of gestures that eventually helps to uncover a polyrhythmic
certain concepts in their totality. It seems that, a few nature of Guaiquivilo petroglyphs.
decades later, the theoretical landscape has changed
again and instead of forcing an overriding set of theories, A mountainous setting of rock art is also explored by
researchers are more willing to merge concepts and Daniela Cardozo, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash
compromise. The growing interest in mobility appears (Chapter 5). The authors present a study of rock art found
as having just such a background – it is inclusive rather at Mount Coto de Sabroso in northwestern Portugal, which
than preclusive. Of course, various, and sometimes very belongs to several chronological horizons. They emphasize
significant, differences in theory and methodology happen the longevity of certain places in the local tradition and
to exist, but they are less and less frequently considered trace rock art’s relationships with the landscape. The
insuperable obstacles. The idea behind this volume arises impact of movement and motion, related to this rock art in
from just such a spirit. various ways, can be exemplified in the ways some of the
motifs emerge and disappear in relation to movements of
The reader will find a collection of papers that deal the sun and other sources of light.
with rock art in landscapes, places and route networks
analysed from diverse perspectives. They differ both Daniela Valenzuela et alii take us back to the desert, but
methodologically and theoretically, and in this pluralism, this time to the Atacama in Chile (Chapter 6). They offer
we see one of the virtues of the book. Different theories the reader important insights into the role and function of
can help to appreciate different aspects of rock art and – geoglyphs in the complex system of desert caravan traffic
being juxtaposed in one volume – the chapters inevitably and navigation in the late prehistory of the Lluta Valley
also enter into a dialogue with each other. As there was (ca. AD 900–1535). These impressive stone constructions
(and still is) no overarching grand theory to which the were directly associated with the movements of people
contributors would have been advised to refer to, we leave and animals through the region, and the analysis of their
the readers in a similar position as in Val Kilmer’s movie visibility adds much to our understanding of the ways
scene: perhaps they expect a theoretical train to move in a in which the geoglyphs were involved as agents in this
familiar way, but it can be a station that eventually departs. ‘landscape of motion’.

16
 Of Theoretical Trains and Moving Stations

Chapter 7, by Kate E. Sharpe, is a study of “patterns of Aldred, O. 2014b, Past Movements, Tomorrow’s
movement”, and rock art is its major component. Sharpe Anchors. On the Relational Entanglements Between
analyses a corpus of Neolithic petroglyphs and other Archaeological Mobilities. In J. Leary (ed.), Past
materials from the Lake District, Umbria, in England. Mobilities: Archaeological Approaches to Movement
She explores possible relationships between extracting and Mobility, 21–47. Farnham/Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
particular resources, trails, and people travelling to
Anschuetz, K.F., Wilshusen, R.H. and Scheick, C.L. 2001,
procure the stone. It is suggested that rock art, particularly
An Archaeology of Landscapes: Perspectives and
numerous cup-marks, and its distribution could have played
Directions. Journal of Archaeological Research 9(2),
an important role in those journeys, both functionally and
157–211.
spiritually.
Antonites, A. and Ashley, C.Z. 2016, The mobilities turn
One more case study comes from Portugal, and again from and archaeology: new perspectives on socio-political
the country’s northwestern part (Chapter 8). This chapter, complexity in thirteenth-century northern South Africa.
authored by José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt, Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 51(4), 469–
discusses petroglyphs from the Bronze and the Iron Age, 488.
which mostly show footprints and shoeprints. The authors Anyon, R., Ferguson, T. and Colwell-Chanthaphonh, C.
interpret this distinctive rock art as involved in pilgrimage 2005, Natural setting as cultural landscapes: the power
routes and, perhaps, rites of passage. The role of celestial of place and tradition. In G.J. Gottfried, B.S. Gebow,
cults is suggested as religious background, especially L.G. Eskew and C.B. Edminster (eds.), Connecting
those connected to the summer solstice. Mountain Islands and Desert Seas: Biodiversity and
Management of the Madrean Archipelago II, 273–276.
The closing chapter of the book is the contribution by Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Jessica Joyce Christie (Chapter 9). She discusses a very Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
specific kind of rock art in the southern Titicaca Basin in
Peru: large rock niches considered by the Inka as wak’a/ Arsenault, D. 2004, Rock-art, landscape, sacred places:
shrines. Christie analyses the Kollasuyu road, which was attitudes in contemporary archaeological theory. In
a very active route in the 15th century AD. She discusses C. Chippindale and G. Nash (eds.), Pictures in place:
the imperial landscape of motion of the Inka, their The figured landscapes of rock-art, 69–84. Cambridge:
relationships with other peoples, and the paramount role Cambridge University Press.
of wak’a rock art, which should be understood as agentive Ashmore, W. and Knapp, A.B. (eds.) 1999, Archaeologies
and active. Christie refers to the concept of non-human of Landscape: Contemporary Perspectives. Oxford:
persons and shows in detail how wak’a participated in the Blackwell.
reality of the Inka society.
Azéma, M. 2005, Breaking down movement in Paleolithic
Acknowledgements art. International Newsletter on Rock Art 43, 14–21.
Azéma, M. and Rivère, F. 2012, Animation in Palaeolithic
We would like to thank George Nash for comments on a art: a pre-echo of cinema. Antiquity 86, 316–324.
first draft of the manuscript and for improving the English
of our chapter. This work is part of one of the authors’ Bailey, G. and Davidson, I. 1983, Site exploitation,
(PLP) research project funded by the Polish National territories and topography: Two case studies from
Science Centre (grant no. 2016/23/D/HS3/00805). Palaeolithic Spain. Journal of Archaeological
Science 10(2), 87–115.
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 2

Between Arrest and Movement: ‘Mobile’ and

‘Stationary’ People and Their Rock Art in the
Western Desert of Egypt (Third Millennium BC)

Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Abstract: The Western Desert of Egypt, today a barren and largely uninhabited region, is
nevertheless an area rich in archaeological remains from various periods of Egyptian history. In
this chapter, we take up the topic of routes crossing this vast desert (mostly) in the 3rd millennium
BC and discuss numerous rock art sites found along them. Firstly, we provide brief introductions
to the themes, such as rock art research tradition in Egypt, various aspects of the archaeology
of the Western Desert, and basic information regarding the oasis of Dakhla – the largest and in
many respects the most important oasis in Egypt during pharaonic times. The core of the chapter
comprises two case studies. In the first one, selected rock art sites and compositions found in the
context of minor internal oasis’ routes are discussed, while the second one focuses on petroglyphs
from way-stations distributed along the long-range Abu Ballas Trail, which used to connect Dakhla
with territories hundreds of kilometres to the south-west of it. Eventually, both case studies serve
us to illustrate various aspects of what we call rock art/movement entanglement. Apart from the
purely representational as well as symbolic dimensions of rock art, we thus discuss also the ways
in which one can comprehend petroglyphs (and rock inscriptions) as being involved in various
kinds of movement and mobility. We pose questions of both how rock art was affected by those
movements, and how it could affect them by itself. This way, we touch upon the issue of rock
art’s potential agency, its capacity to attract attention, and its other types of relationships with the
observers. We argue that much of the rock art along the Western Desert routes used to ‘function’
not only as representations and symbols but was much more integrated into the movement itself,
co-constituting the latter in many ways.

Keywords: rock art, Western Desert of Egypt, Dakhla Oasis, Abu Ballas Trail, movement,
agency, watch-post, way-station, route

2.1. Introduction (e.g., Petrie 1888; Weigall 1909). However, disregarding

the prehistoric corpora, pharaonic imageries – unlike
2.1.1. Rock art and epigraphy in Egypt many other rock art traditions worldwide – are abundant
with scripts, especially hieroglyphs with their pictorial
Let us begin with a truism: rock art research has character. This way, philologists interested in ancient rock
always been, and still is, about pictures. No matter the inscriptions have often been ‘forced’ to work with images,
geographical area, many early studies throughout the although the latter, not infrequently, have been considered
19th and much of the 20th centuries were predominantly as mere illustrations added to implicitly more important
occupied with describing and classifying images, treating texts.
them mostly as illustrations of the daily or religious life of
their creators.1 Such a focus on the representational (later The epigraphic tradition in Egyptology has developed
also semiological) aspects of rock art imagery, although strict precepts and standards2 that have inevitably
understandable, prevented scholars for a long time from influenced the treatment of studied pictorial material,
appreciating more contextual roles and meanings of rock including rock art. In particular, these affect which
art that can be understood as material culture rooted in research questions are posed. Translation and dating are
certain landscapes, and thus histories and social settings. among the major objectives when texts are analysed, and
Today, it seems to be part of the general research routine with images it is usually quite similar. However, rather
to ask not only ‘what is depicted?’, but also where, why, in than being ‘translated’, the latter are instead described and
what circumstances, and so forth.
2
For instance, epigraphic publications, including those with rock
Rock art in Egypt was a subject of scientific inquiries long art, have often been published in the form of a catalogue, in which
before ‘rock art studies’ became a separate field of research each document is usually treated separately and supplemented with a
description and/or commentary. For such recent works, see, e.g., Váhala
and Červíček 1999; Darnell et al. 2002; Jacquet-Gordon 2003; Cruz-
1
For example, in South Africa (Lewis-Williams 2006). Uribe 2008.

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Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

their features identified, while making reference to other writing and ‘drawing’ their own messages. Egyptian stone
(usually isochronal) iconographies (comparative analysis). and rock faces abound in images and this large palimpsest
has been in the making for at least 15,000 years.
This chapter, however, does not aim to contrapose and
substitute this traditional approach with another set The plurality of traditions and subject-matter is but one
of approaches; least of all do we wish it to berate the characteristic of Egyptian rock art. Another feature concerns
former. On the contrary, seeing certain advantages of a wide range of possibilities for the contextualisation of
the traditional Egyptological approach, manifest in often images. This especially applies to the predynastic and later
meticulous responses to the ‘what is depicted’ question, traditions, whose iconographies find numerous references
we offer a methodological and theoretical fusion: merging in other types of ancient Egyptian material culture. In other
the Egyptological appetence for description with other, words, both form and subject-matter of rock art images
not so commonly posed research questions pertaining to find parallels in the iconography that occurs in better-dated
the consequences of rock art’s presence in the landscape. ‘canvasses’, such as tomb walls and decorated objects of
We intend to take advantage of some unique traits of various kinds. When combined with inscriptional sources,
Egyptian rock art in order to see, when confronted with which are attested already from the late Predynastic Period
non-Egyptological concepts, if they can help us better (ca. 3200–3000 BC5) (cf., e.g., Stauder 2021), scholars
understand the places where the images exist, and the very are offered a significant range of data that is not so often
motion of which they have been a part. available for contextualising rock art elsewhere in the
world. This is particularly true for rock art of the Dynastic
2.1.2. Scope and range of the studied material Period (ca. 3000–332 BC), and thus rock imagery can
be examined in the context of extensive studies of past
Perhaps due to the public imagination of likely the ‘richest’ social, cultural and religious realms. Here, however,
archaeology in the world in terms of tombs, temples, and another paradox comes into being, because dynastic rock
‘treasures’ (i.e. Egyptology); perhaps because of hitherto art is markedly less often studied than various prehistoric
insufficient efforts of rock art researchers (as some might petroglyphs and paintings, including the ‘transitional’ rock
regard it); and possibly for both these reasons, Egyptian art of the Predynastic Period. There is, then, still large
rock art is not well established on the global rock art map. untapped potential in studies of dynastic, Graeco-Roman,
To some extent, this is a paradox, as Egypt is extremely Byzantine/Coptic and Islamic traditions, which seems
rich in petroglyphs and rock paintings. Several prehistoric to have become more fully recognised and exploited in
traditions have been distinguished by scholars, including recent scholarship (e.g., Brémont forthcoming).
the oldest rock art of northern Africa currently known,
dated to the Late Palaeolithic,3 as well as various Early and In this chapter, we develop two geographically distinct,
Middle Holocene ‘styles’ known from both the Western albeit connected, case studies, situated in the Western
and the Eastern Deserts and the Nile Valley in between Desert of Egypt as part of the Eastern Sahara (Figure
them.4 Some rock art groups seem to be – in a more or less 2.1). They occupy quite different environments and have
direct way – related to broader Saharan traditions, such been involved in different social settings and activities.
as Epipalaeolithic ‘geometric’ rock art in the Nile Valley We begin with selected rock art places and motifs in
(Huyge 2009a; Storemyr 2009) or polychrome paintings in and around the Dakhla Oasis – a kind of an ‘island’ in
the Gilf Kebir/Gebel Uweinat region of the central Libyan the desert, which has always been a hub, situated in a
Desert (Kuper et al. 2013; Riemer, Kröpelin and Zboray network of roads leading in all directions like the other
2017; Zboray 2009). Other rock art is purely regional, great oases in Egypt (Giddy 1987; Willeitner 2003). This
as is the case for predynastic iconographies that abound is followed by the case study of rock art found along a
especially in Upper Egypt and the Eastern Desert (e.g., Judd corridor-like, straight caravan route called the Abu
2009; Hendrickx, Darnell and Gatto 2012; Hardtke 2013; Ballas Trail (Förster 2013; 2015). This trail is formed by
Lankester 2013; Lippiello and Gatto 2012; Graff, Bailly a chain of way-stations, intermittent cairns used as road
and Kelany 2018). The end of prehistory by no means markers and remnants of trodden paths. From the late 3rd
marks the end of rock art production. Rock canvasses millennium BC onwards, this trail connected Dakhla, and
remained an important medium during pharaonic times thus the pharaonic realm based in the Nile Valley, with still
and served not only as a backdrop for textual inscriptions undetermined territories in the far south-west. We focus on
but also for purely figurative creations. This does not the 3rd millennium BC rock art, which in Egyptological
change in the Graeco-Roman (332 BC to 395 AD) and terms equals to the Early Dynastic and Old to early Middle
even Byzantine/Coptic (395–641 AD) periods. And when Kingdom periods. Despite various differences (e.g., in the
the Arabs eventually conquered Egypt in the 7th century repertoire of motifs and the general setting), we intend to
AD, they were well accustomed to the use of rocks for show that rock art was, in one way or another, part of a
landscape of motion in both these areas. Before turning to
our case studies let us briefly discuss the Egyptian Western
3
On this remarkable rock art found at Qurta, which has even been Desert in the 3rd millennium BC.
dubbed ‘Lascaux along the Nile’ (etc.), see Huyge 2009a; Huyge et al.
2011; Huyge 2018.
4
For the latest overviews of Egyptian rock art, see Huyge 2009b; 5
The chronology used here follows Shaw 2000 unless indicated
Varadzinová 2017; Polkowski 2018a. otherwise.

24
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.1. Map of Egypt’s Western Desert with major ancient desert routes and related sites. For the red inset, see Figure 2.2
(cartography by Heiko Riemer, digitally processed by Paweł L. Polkowski).

25
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

2.1.3. The Western Desert of Egypt: selected aspects and Bahariya oases to the north/north-west (Giddy 1987;
Willeitner 2003), on the other hand.7 In turn, many desert
Although it may be a simplification, one can say that routes connect the oases with various other entry points in
today, as well as in the past, Egypt has consisted of three the Nile Valley (Figure 2.1). These routes are often marked
major parts: the Western Desert, the Nile Valley and Delta, with road signs made of stone (alamat), still visible
and the Eastern Desert. Indeed, the River Nile has always linear pathways trodden by pack animals, an abundance
been a firm boundary between the two great deserts, while of pottery and other artefacts lost or deposited along the
also serving for millennia as the fastest highway between route, simple architecture (e.g., stone huts, walled rock
north and south. In both the prehistorical and historical shelters, facilities for watering pack animals) and, finally,
periods, these three major regions remained distinct in rock art and rock inscriptions (Riemer and Förster 2013).
many aspects, rock art being one of them. Of course, this It must be reiterated that the time depth of the use of these
is not to say that Western Desert rock art is completely routes is immense: they often bear evidence of having been
different from the rest of Egypt, as this would be simply used in Predynastic and Early Dynastic times,8 as well as
untrue. Dynastic petroglyphs especially are comparable to throughout the pharaonic period, often to be reused during
what we know from Upper Egypt, Nubia, or the Eastern late antiquity, the mediaeval era and even in modern times.
Desert, but still they may occur in contexts that are quite The rock art case studies presented here are drawn from
exceptional, or even unique, and therefore they maintain a some of the mentioned routes and paths encompassing
Western Desert specificity. both the Dakhla Oasis and the vast territories stretching to
the far south-west.
That this part of Egypt was, indeed, culturally distinct
from the rest of the country can be demonstrated through 2.1.4. The Dakhla region and the far south-west
referring to the ancient Egyptian perspective itself, for
the vast land to the west was clearly conceptualised as The exact date of Dakhla’s colonisation by Nile Valley
being different to that of the east. The latter was home dwellers is unknown, but the latest studies propose this
to the rising sun and was thus consociated with (re)birth, occurred at the beginning of the Old Kingdom (i.e. the
regeneration and repeated beginnings. Moreover, it was 3rd/4th Dynasties, roughly corresponding to 2700–2500
comparatively rich in mineral sources, gold, and various BC; see Hope, Pettman and Warfe 2018; Pettman 2019;
stones (mainly used in statuary and building), while cf. also Kuper and Förster 2003; Kuhlmann 2005;
the Red Sea coast, which was the entry port for further Kuper 2014/2015).9 Although remnants of this early
journeying and communication, was not far away. In turn, Egyptian presence can be unambiguously identified
the seemingly endless western land was always much (due to specificities of the Egyptian material culture),
more unharnessed, vast, waterless, and its horizon marked understanding the process of colonisation is by no means
the place where the sun, and thus the sun-god himself, as straightforward. This is because the Egyptians did not
would descend to the netherworld to fight battles with evil settle in a no-man’s-land, but in an area already inhabited
forces and ‘daemons’. The west was the realm of the dead, by indigenous people(s). The latter are named the Sheikh
just as it was the realm of chaos. That is why the major Muftah cultural unit in archaeological literature. They
deity believed to rule over the Western Desert was the god were primarily pastoralists who kept cattle and goats, and
Seth – a powerful trickster and master of disorder (te Velde who roamed the oasis and adjoining regions for most of
1967).6 Egypt proper was limited mostly to the Nile Valley the 4th millennium BC and until their ‘disappearance’
and the Nile Delta in the north, and we can reasonably sometime during the second half of the 3rd millennium
assume that for almost all Egyptians any journeys to the BC (McDonald 2001; Riemer 2011; Jeuthe and Linseele
west must have been associated with an ever-present 2019; Jeuthe 2021; Warfe and Ricketts 2019). Material
anxiety (but see Darnell 2021, 2). culture associated with both groups is clearly distinct, but
the nature of their coexistence, which apparently lasted a
This anxiety, however, must have been overcome regularly few hundred years, is still poorly understood. A great deal
in ancient times, as remnants of Egyptian activities in of evidence points to a peaceful cohabitation, although
the west are numerous, which various scientific projects walls with towers surrounding early Egyptian settlements,
within the last few decades have evinced (for an overview as well as the establishment of several watch-posts in the
of the latter, see Förster and Riemer 2013). Several ancient
routes and road-systems have been identified within Upper
Egypt’s Theban Desert, which is geographically close to 7
For various sections of these road networks, see essays in Förster and
the Nile Valley (e.g., Darnell et al. 2002; Darnell 2013). Riemer 2013.
8
See, for instance, the evidence of early official expeditions that left
The routes then continue further west, first connecting marks in the form of serekhs (angular royal symbols containing the
the valley with Kharga Oasis (Darnell 2021, map 1 and ruler’s name) in various areas, including the Western Desert (Ikram and
2), and then with Dakhla. From there, they lead towards Rossi 2004; Hamilton 2019).
9
However, physical evidence (mostly pottery) for the possible presence
the Gilf Kebir/Gebel Uweinat region in the far south-west of Egyptians in the oasis in slightly earlier times, that is the Early Dynastic
(Förster 2015), on the one hand, and towards Farafra, Siwa Period, has also been found (see Hope and Pettman 2012; Pettman 2019).
See also the pictorial evidence from site Meri 02/50, south of Dakhla,
dating to late Predynastic or Early Dynastic times (Hendrickx et al. 2009,
6
For representations of Seth in the rock art of the Dakhla region, see fig. 17), as well as another early proof of Egyptian exploration in the form
Förster 2015, 219–220, fig. 198; Polkowski 2019. of the serekh of king Qaa in Kharga (1st Dynasty; Ikram and Rossi 2004).

26
 Between Arrest and Movement

oasis’ peripheries in order to control its exit and entry and agriculture, and, ‘simply’, life of the settlers, were all
points (Kaper and Willems 2002; Riemer et al. 2005; adding to the busyness in and around Dakhla. A further
Pettman forthcoming), may indicate some conflict as well part of this process of Egyptianization involved creating
(cf. most recently Hope, Pettman and Warfe 2018; Pettman rock art.
2019). Thus, one witnesses at Dakhla an encounter of two
different worlds: the sedentary Nilotic culture, on the one 2.2. Case study 1: Dakhla Oasis
hand, and the mobile nomadic pastoralists, on the other
hand.10 Unfortunately, no Sheikh Muftah rock art has been When looking at the map (Figure 2.2) showing the location
identified so far with certainty. of major settlement sites and watch-posts in and around
Dakhla in the late 3rd millennium BC, one gets an inevitably
Archaeological work during the past four decades has static or ‘frozen’ picture of the spatial distribution of such
unearthed three major Egyptian settlements which were places. The map not only flattens considerable time-depth
established during the process of colonisation (overview in (several centuries), but the space between the locations
Pettman 2019). Possibly the largest, and surely politically appears to lack any significant human presence. Such a
most important until the Middle Kingdom, was Ain Asil map, inexorably, confines human presence and action
(modern name; cf. most recently Pantalacci 2019), which to those marked loci, while any other activity is at best
is located in the eastern part of Dakhla (Figure 2.2). Ain implicit. Yet, at the same time, it is precisely the existence
Asil was the local capital and administrative seat of the of those locations that spurred manifold human actions
oasis’ governors who served the royal court at Memphis and movements across the oasis in the past, as people had
in the Nile Valley. In the western part of Dakhla, another to travel for a myriad of reasons. While the map is silent
fortified settlement was established, Ain el-Gazzareen (cf. about some of these movements, they can nonetheless be
Mills 2012), which became a large food production centre detected archaeologically. This first case study presents
during the late Old Kingdom (Pettman 2019, 200–201). several pieces of rock art that not only evince these past
The third major settlement was located under the later movements, but also acted as inherent and inseparable
temple of Seth at Mut el-Kharab in the oasis’ centre, which elements thereof.
may have been established early in the Old Kingdom
(Hope and Pettman 2012). Our point of departure is one of the watch-post sites which,
due to a range of features, can be considered a model type-
These three major settlements, which grew significantly site. This site, which is known as Nephthys Hill (DOP
between the 4th and the 6th Dynasties, were certainly 30/450-D4-2), is in the south-eastern corner of the oasis
interconnected. They were also administratively linked and in a cluster of several similar outposts controlling
with many smaller estates, camps and other places (e.g., the Darb el-Ghubari route that connects Dakhla with the
cemeteries) that constituted a dense network and practical Kharga Oasis (Figure 2.2) (Kaper and Willems 2002). As
means of colonisation. This internal movement across the mentioned above, such watch-post sites, usually located
oasis must have been relatively easy, although distances on top of small or medium-sized sandstone hills, can be
between various localities were considerable (e.g., the found on the oasis’ periphery and seem to date mostly from
distance between Ain Asil and Mut el-Kharab is ca. 33 km the 4th to 6th Dynasties (ca. 2610–2160 BC) (Kaper and
as the crow flies). Willems 2002; Riemer et al. 2005; Pettman forthcoming).
Some of them are composed of simple horseshoe-shaped
The routes connecting Dakhla with other oases, the Nile stone huts situated on the top (and sometimes also
Valley and the Gilf Kebir/Gebel Uweinat region were on the slopes) of a hill that has been used as a vantage
monitored by means of watch-posts established at crucial point. Nephthys Hill preserved four such constructions,
entry or exit points of the oasis. These watch-posts are in which, among others, pottery and lithics were found
prevalent in the south-eastern, north-eastern and southern in significant numbers. Presumably, Nephthys Hill and
sandstone areas, across which branches of major roads other outposts hosted soldiers who had been sent by the
joined the oasis (Kaper and Willems 2002; Riemer et administrative centre in Ain Asil (Kaper and Willems
al. 2005). We can thus imagine a new cultural template 2002, 89).
brought in to Dakhla by the Egyptians, reified through
establishing settlements and creating vast farmlands – a Rock art constitutes an integral part of the Nephthys Hill
hallmark of sedentism – that must have been animated watch-post. Motifs found there include: feet, a hand, a
and reinvigorated by countless movements and activities pubic triangle, rows of strokes (notation marks?), animals
across the extended oasis. A constant influx and outflow (quadrupeds, birds), as well as hieroglyphic signs and so-
of people, animals and objects, thorough exploration of called identity marks (Kaper 2009, table). The most unique
the oasis and its surroundings, expeditions to more distant and telling, however, is a scene depicted on a flat stone
regions, as well as administration, trade, animal husbandry slab found in one of the huts (Hut A), which features a
figural depiction of a soldier and his equipment (Kaper and
Willems 2002, 85, fig. 4) (Figure 2.3). The anthropomorph
10
During the 4th millennium BC, the aridification process of the Eastern is depicted with a cross-band on his chest, which is a
Sahara had been already well advanced. Inhabited areas in that time were
mostly limited to the oases, where artesian wells were delivering water distinctive military feature, along with a backpack, a
from the underground aquifer(s) (Kuper and Kröpelin 2006). wrist-guard and a bow with arrows. The soldier is sniffing

27
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.2. Map of the Dakhla Oasis and its immediate surroundings (created by Paweł L. Polkowski on the basis of a map by
Heiko Riemer).

a lotus and is accompanied by an ankh-sign, which may and Willems 2002, 88; Kaper 2009, 176, sign corpus no.
have been his personal identifying marker (Kaper 2009, 5), which is the most plausible explanation suggested to
172). Moreover, the slab contains two more features date (for a different interpretation, see Morenz, Sabel and
of special interest: a foot and a hand, both of life-size Förster 2020, 130–131). For instance, it could be a sign
dimensions. We can thus say that part of the rock art at encoding identity of an individual, but also of a group of
Nephthys Hill constitutes a distinctive portrait of someone people. It seems, then, that both the soldier’s ‘portrait’ and
who was probably stationed there for a while (Kaper and the ‘foot + symbol’ group may have worked as identity-
Willems 2002, 85–88). encoding imagery. Carved into the hut’s boulders, they
must have embodied a specific relationship between its
The foot motif was carved on two more slabs at Hut A. This creator(s) and the place itself.
polysemic motif (see Polkowski 2018b) that, in addition
to other meanings, may further metonymically imply Although we have firm evidence for soldiers stationed at
‘movement’, is accompanied by a pseudo-hieroglyphic Nephthys Hill, certainly adding much to the picture of how
symbol (Figure 2.4). The motif strongly resembles the such outposts functioned, their activities and movements
composite hieroglyph O9 (this and other sign numbers are more elusive. It seems obvious that such (para)military
in the text according to the sign-list in Gardiner 1957, parties were regularly dispatched from the headquarters to
438–543), transliterated as Nbt-ḥwt – i.e. the name of the watch-posts, as well as directly between the outposts.
the goddess Nephthys, literally meaning ‘mistress of the And if we move our eyes to some less conspicuous places
house’ – and thus lending its name to the site (Kaper and in the oasis, we may get a chance to grasp some of those
Willems 2002, 82). Having no direct parallels, this motif movements, or their ‘material indices’ (sensu Bolender
has been interpreted as a potential identity mark (Kaper and Aldred 2013, 142).

28
 Between Arrest and Movement

The following argument is made on the premise that the

pseudo-hieroglyphic symbol from Nephthys Hill was,
indeed, a unique identifying mark of a person or a whole
group, and which, were it found elsewhere, would be
indicative of this person’s (or this group’s) movements.
For a long time, no other attestation of the discussed sign
or symbol had been known from the oasis (or elsewhere,
for that matter), until another discovery was made in the
central part of Dakhla (Polkowski 2016, 223–299).

The respective hill (Figures 2.5–2.6), recorded as CO193,

is located among similar sites, equally rich in rock art, on
the sandstone ridge that separates two huge cultivation and
settlement areas: the Kellis and the Balat-Teneida basins. In
contrast to those basins, however, there was no permanent
occupation anywhere on the ridge in dynastic times. Only
some watch-posts were temporarily occupied, which
were situated closer to the oasis’ southern margins (e.g.,
Riemer et al. 2005). The closest known outpost to CO193,
the so-called Meidum Hill (30/420-H10-3), is situated ca.
1.5 km to the south. Nevertheless, the site is surrounded
by similar hills, which were seemingly integrated into
a local route that crossed the ridge east-west (and vice
versa). This route, which could be better described as a
grouping of paths, as well as another, similar trail located
ca. 2.5 km to the north, gets past hills with exceptional
amounts of petroglyphs and a number of rock inscriptions
from various periods, including large numbers of dynastic
and post-dynastic images (Figure 2.6). The specific
Figure 2.3. Depiction of a soldier and his equipment, as well distribution of rock art and inscriptions, and abundance
as a foot and hand, found at the Nephthys Hill watch-post of pottery sherds, all suggest quite clearly an east/west
(after Kaper and Willems 2002, fig. 4). trajectory for those paths. Moreover, CO193 and the other

Figure 2.4. Another two decorated stones from Nephthys Hill showing feet petroglyphs and identity marks (after Kaper and
Willems 2002, figs 5 and 6).

29
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.5. Site CO193 in the Dakhla Oasis: (a) view from the east; b) the north-eastern rock wall (photos by Paweł L.
Polkowski).

30
 Between Arrest and Movement

It is quite likely that CO193 and the neighbouring sites

were ‘places of transit’ and temporary resting places for
people travelling on this route. These sites offered some
shade, which must have been a feature that attracted
passers-by. The existing rock images and inscriptions may
have similarly done so. The more rock art there was, the
more ‘arresting’ those places could become (Polkowski
2015; 2020). We can easily imagine people stopping there
for a while to wait out the hottest hour of the day and to
drink some water from a ceramic jar or waterskin. And
while doing so, some could have felt an urge or inspiration
to add to the ever-growing palimpsest of pictures (note
that petroglyphs are also engraved in spots that are never
shaded). Leaving your own images, or at least experiencing
the already existing rock art, would have become an
element of a journey itself, and an integral part of the
movement between departure and destination points.

This route’s rock art themes are diversified, but the

petroglyphs rarely possess sufficiently distinctive traits
that allow us to recognise two or more examples made by
the same hand. But the specificity of some ‘identity marks’
may put us on firmer ground, such as the already discussed
pseudo-Nephthys symbol.12 More figurative depictions
may also be informative in this regard. Examples of such
images come from a panel situated just a few meters from
panel 15 (Figure 2.10a–b) as well as another rock art panel
25 km away from it (Figure 2.10c).
Figure 2.6. Area of the rock art survey in the central parts
of Dakhla. Red squares indicate two areas where traces of The latter was found by Lisa Giddy (1987, 254, 277, no. 5)
routes crossing this sandstone ridge were discovered. Yellow in Halfat el-Bir, north of Ain Asil, where the ancient Darb
dots mark rock art panels (of any period) (cartography by
Paweł L. Polkowski). el-Tawil road begins.13 It is a very distinctive depiction of
an elephant. The figure is carved in outline and only the
most characteristic body features are indicated: a trunk, a
tusk, a tail, and perhaps an ear. It is a schematic depiction,
comparable sites are located near a hill (CO185) with a but with a touch of realism that reveals itself in the gentle
circular stone structure on top, from which a wide view in curvature of the animal’s back. This species is only rarely
all directions is granted (Figures 2.7–2.8). The feature has depicted in Dakhla oasis’ rock art of any period (Polkowski
not yet been investigated and the dating of the structure 2018c, 15, fig. 2), which, along with stylistic features,
cannot be confirmed. Nevertheless, a period ranging from made this petroglyph unique until a very recent discovery
the Old to the Middle Kingdom cannot be ruled out, and at CO193. At this location, a nearly identical image of an
the lookout function of the hill seems quite probable. elephant was found on panel 18, surrounded by at least
four pubic triangles and another potential identity mark
CO193 contains at least 57 rock art panels of diverse (Figure 2.10a–b). In fact, one of the triangles seems to
sizes and contents, the largest of which bear hundreds be superimposed by the elephant image itself. The latter
of engraved images (Polkowski 2016, fig. 6.22). The incorporated the triangle’s left side and two internal lines
Nephthys-like symbol is carved on a vertical surface to indicate the tusk and the front legs, respectively.
(panel 15) of the eastern rock wall vis-à-vis a large block,
detached from the hill as part of its rockfall (Figure The Halfat el-Bir example (Figure 2.10c) was not dated
2.5b). The panel contains some schematic zoomorphic by Giddy, although she noted that the area contained Old
figures, including a gazelle, at least three pubic triangles11 Kingdom rock inscriptions and many scatters of similarly
and several other motifs which are difficult to interpret dated pottery, as well as broadly dated pharaonic ‘graffiti’.
(Figure 2.9a–b). One pubic triangle is juxtaposed with the The style, particularly the way the legs and the underbelly
discussed identity mark (Figure 2.9b). Although we cannot are rendered, also suggests an Old Kingdom origin
be sure that both motifs were executed at the same time,
such a ‘sign + body part’ combination echoes the finds at 12
The mentioned symbol is just one of many other motifs that could
Nephthys Hill (cf. Figure 2.4). have been used as identity marks. Site CO193 contains several other
likely examples, such as an hourglass-shaped sign or a three-legged motif
in Figure 2.10a.
13
For the archaeology of the Darb el-Tawil, see most recently Riemer
11
On pubic triangles in Dakhla, see Polkowski forthcoming. 2020.

31
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.7. The so-called southern route (cf. Figure 2.6) with the major rock art sites containing dynastic and some post-
dynastic petroglyphs and inscriptions. On the hilltop site CO185 a small stone circle was discovered – perhaps a lookout
(cartography by Paweł L. Polkowski).

(cf. Brémont forthcoming). Can we say that the CO193 to something beyond itself and thus take on the role of
elephant is of the same date? Furthermore, can we risk a symbol. Of course, this may be an entirely deceptive
to say that both images were made by the same person? view, but we perceive a foot/sandal motif as providing less
The answers cannot be conclusive, but it seems probable information about the identity of the person who carved
to us that the elephant depictions were indeed created by it than a petroglyph of a soldier or of his equipment.16
the same hand – a person possibly engaged in policing Hence, although it is possible, or even likely, that many
activities in this region, although this at best remains an depictions of feet and sandals (or their imprints), pubic
educated guess. triangles, hands, zoomorphic figures, hieroglyphic signs
and other motifs in the area were created by soldiers and
Military-associated petroglyphs, like those at Nephthys other administrative personnel traversing the central part
Hill,14 seem to offer more explicit information about of the oasis at some point in time,17 such a military identity
their makers’ identities than other, markedly more can only speculatively be attributed to them.
ubiquitous, images in this area, such as pubic triangles
and feet/footprints or sandals/sandal prints.15 From the But the ‘military’ petroglyphs at Nephthys Hill find a
etic perspective, a depiction of a soldier appears to be possible parallel in the studied area, this time on the opposite
more ‘immediate’ in its meaning than a depiction of a end of the presumed route. Here, at site 10/08, a loose flat
foot or sandal, for example, which may presumably refer stone slab was discovered in 2008 on the lower part of

14
See also the depiction of an archer at Winkler’s site 68, another watch- 16
Note, however, that much later, in Graeco-Roman times, foot and
post in the eastern part of Dakhla (Winkler 1939, pl. XI.1): infra, Figure sandal petroglyphs are sometimes accompanied with their creators’
2.24. names, which makes such images very individualised and enhances our
15
The latter may include examples of Old/Middle Kingdom origin, but knowledge of their makers’ identities (cf., e.g., Förster 2010, 71, fig. 8).
in general they appear to be too generic and too ubiquitous to be used as 17
This area was surely visited also by people of other professions. See,
proxies for movements and presences of specific individuals. Moreover, for example, two New Kingdom inscriptions from the nearby site CO190
both motifs seem to have been used for millennia and well into late where two scribes, Seti and Sethhotep, carved their names (Polkowski
antiquity (cf. Polkowski 2018a; Verner 1973). 2019, 149–151).

32
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.8. Site CO185 in the Dakhla Oasis: (a) view from the east; (b) stone circle at the top of the hill (photos by Paweł L. Polkowski).

Figure 2.9. Petroglyphs at site CO193, panel 15 (photo and digital drawing [not collated in situ] by Paweł L. Polkowski).

33
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.10. Site CO193, panel 18: (a) elephant, pubic triangles and identity marks; (b) tracing of the elephant; (c) petroglyph
of an elephant found in Halfat el-Bir (photo [a] and digital drawing [b] [not collated in situ] by Paweł L. Polkowski; [c] after
Giddy 1987, graffito no. 5).

the north-eastern hillslope (Figure 2.11), among nine rock is characteristically broadened at the end, while the shaft
art panels containing various petroglyphs, including feet/ bends backward slightly. It is not entirely clear whether
sandals, pubic triangles, and prehistoric anthropomorphs. the two very short lines projecting from the top of the axe
Several elements of its complex figural decoration are blade are accidental or intentional. Although axes were
immediately apparent: an axe with a long handle, two feet, widely used, for instance, by woodworkers and carpenters,
a hand, and – the largest of all – a motif divided into six arc- as shown in many tomb relief scenes (e.g., Newberry 1893,
shaped components in the centre of the slab. The feet, which pl. XXIX; Smith 1942, 517, fig. 6), “[t]he axe occupied a
seem to be made by two different people, differ in size and prominent, if not pre-eminent, position among the tools
style. The larger one is angular and less lifelike, while and weapons of ancient Egypt. It was [. . .] the main hand-
the other one is naturalistic in shape, despite having what weapon of the Egyptian soldier up to the New Kingdom
looks like six toes. The latter and the accompanying hand and through the Eighteenth Dynasty” (Davies 1987, 22).
depiction strongly recall the ‘foot + hand’ scheme known It is probable, therefore, that the petroglyph of an axe was
from Nephthys Hill’s soldier panel (Figure 2.3). Moreover, created by a soldier, and its proposed raison d’être and form
they are juxtaposed with two motifs that resemble the can be compared to the equipment images left at Nephthys
pseudo-hieroglyph of Nephthys (cf. Figure 2.4), differing Hill.
only in the lack of a separate parallel line at their bottom and
of the line that would enclose their upper parts.18 There is While the motifs of an axe, two feet and a hand are fairly
no figure of a soldier like the one at Nephthys Hill, but there certain, the remaining petroglyphs are not so obvious. An
appear to be depictions of military equipment. The axe is
easily recognisable, even though its shape is schematically heads, so that, at least from that period’s iconography, some broad
rendered and doesn’t have exact parallels in Old to Middle parallels can be cited (e.g., Davies 1902, pl. XVI; Varille 1938, pl. XVI).
Kingdom material culture and iconography.19 The axe-grip Much stronger resemblance bear, however, both actual axes and their
depictions from the New Kingdom, the heads of which tend to be more
angular. Ideally, the upper and lower edges of the blade are slightly
concave, but in iconography this detail is not always rendered precisely,
18
Note that Figure 2.11 shows these elements upside-down. and this may also be the case for the petroglyph under discussion (cf.,
19
Its head is relatively small and angular, which differs from Old and e.g., Naville 1901, pls LXXXVIII–LXXXIX; Davies 1905, pl. XVII).
Middle Kingdom axe forms that tend to be rounded. Nonetheless, one For typologies of Egyptian axes, see Petrie 1917; Kühnert-Eggebrecht
finds several 6th Dynasty depictions of axes with nearly rectangular 1969; Davies 1987.

34
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.11. Slab with depictions of soldierly equipment (?), a pubic triangle, and feet. Dakhla Oasis, site 10/08, panel 4 (photo
and digital drawing [not collated in situ] by Paweł L. Polkowski).

35
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

element to the right of the axe’s grip is probably a pubic like religious activities (e.g., prayers; cf. Polkowski
triangle (with its lower part oriented to the left). This is 2018b; Förster 2010; Lazaridis 2015). In such a situation,
a motif also attested at the Nephthys Hill watch-post. It they would be more than just representations, becoming
partly superimposes one of two images that resemble also something more active and tangible, embodying their
simple headrests made of wood or stone. As they are creators in particular places. Finally, the ‘materiality’ of
pointing with their bases to the centre of the slab, they rock art would be impactful on both the landscape and
appear upside-down in Figure 2.11. Headrests of such a any future visitor. Regardless of their makers’ intentions,
shape were in use since the Old Kingdom onwards, being the respective routes and their surroundings were thus
known mostly from funerary equipment and iconography.20 increasingly ‘socialised’ and Egyptianized. This was
A headrest may also be the motif adjoining one of the feet certainly a part of the long process of the colonisation of
(Figure 2.11, lower right). It has a wide base, a short neck Dakhla.
and, unlike the two other examples, a narrow upper part.
Still, its overall shape resembles a headrest, unless the But this is not to say that those petroglyphs are only
supposed top is actually the bottom. If this were the case, ‘material indices’ of movement (Bolender and Aldred
the image may have instead represented a small table, 2013). This would still be too static a vision of rock art.
similar to offering tables well known from funerary and They not only prove people’s temporary presences, but
gods’ veneration scenes.21 That leads us, finally, to the they must have tangibly affected some of those presences
largest petroglyph in the slab’s centre, which is perhaps in the past. Individually, or as a certain totality, the images
the most ambiguous one. Composed of at least five arc- could have been perceived as landmarks and guiding
shaped elements (a sixth one may have been added later), devices for subsequent travellers. They may have invited
the image could show a set of throwing sticks,22 a weapon others to stop, or – on the contrary – encourage them to
widely used in Egypt from the Predynastic Period onwards continue the journey. It is in this way that petroglyphs
(Decker 1986). If this identification is correct, the image would be integral with travel and movement in general.
would be semantically associated with the axe and the Hence, a better understanding of this rock art cannot be
alleged military character of the assemblage. achieved without appreciation of all kinds of motion that
takes place in the landscape.
All our interpretational uncertainties concerning the
question ‘what is depicted’ should not prevent us from 2.3. Case study 2: Abu Ballas Trail
foregrounding this rock art’s being in the landscape. In
other words, these petroglyphs are active components From the oasis of Dakhla and the petroglyphs within
of the landscape regardless of whether we understand and around it, we turn to our second case study, which is
the intentions of their makers or not (cf. Ljunge 2013). devoted to the rock art found along a pharaonic donkey
It seems quite certain that the majority of them were caravan route. Covering almost 400 km of waterless
created by people who were on the move between various desert, the Abu Ballas Trail connected Dakhla with the Gilf
localities within the oasis. We argue that they acted in at Kebir Plateau close to the modern Libyan border (Figure
least three ways. On the iconographic level, they allowed 2.1). It must be presumed that the trail continued much
the travellers to depict particular motifs – they represented further: first to Gebel Uweinat as the nearest place with
things and ideas. We can expect that some of the water, some 200 km further south-west, and then toward
petroglyphs were made for more performative purposes, sub-Saharan regions in northern Sudan or Chad. The
establishment and maintenance of this long-range desert
route and its numerous way-stations – some of which
20
E.g., Patch 1990, 16, cat. 11 (late Old Kingdom). For an overview, see feature rock art – goes back to the late third millennium
Fischer 1980. Interestingly, five sandstone headrests were found at one BC. Thus, the trail constitutes the earliest evidence for
of the Old Kingdom watch-posts located south of Dakhla (Dachla 99/38;
Riemer et al. 2005, 316–317, fig. 12). According to associated pottery and trans-Saharan traffic and trade known so far, which is also
other archaeological evidence, they were dated to the Late Period, when confirmed by a hieroglyphic rock inscription discovered
the outpost must have been temporarily reoccupied. Nevertheless, this some years ago at Gebel Uweinat (see infra).
seems to indicate that policing and travelling desert areas in pharaonic
times at least occasionally involved using headrests.
21
Such forked legs of offering tables are widely attested in funerary In terms of logistics and organization, the repeated use
iconography (e.g., Arnold and Arnold 2015, 46, cat. 4). For different of this caravan route over many centuries (up to at least
variants of offering tables dating from the Old to the New Kingdom, see
Vandier 1964, 93–100, figs 26, 27. the late New Kingdom, around 1200 BC) certainly was
22
However, the petroglyph to some extent also resembles one of the most demanding, since in those times only the donkey
typical offerings so often depicted among other goods presented to the was available as a desert-adapted beast of burden.23 This
deceased in funerary iconography, namely the beef ribs. As headrests,
meat and weapons could all feature among offerings to the deceased, we necessitated the establishment of a chain of supply stations,
may perhaps be dealing with a rock art offering scene. A late Old placed at intervals along the route where sufficient amounts
Kingdom or First Intermediate Period rock art scene showing a repas of water (and probably also food) had been stored in large
funéraire, a person sitting at an offering table, is known from Halfat el-
Bir in Dakhla (Minault-Gout 1985), so a funerary-associated theme,
despite the lack of an immediate tomb context in both cases, would not
be unprecedented. For an example, see the Middle Kingdom stela of 23
For the range of activity and performance qualities of the donkey
Mentuwoser (MMA 12.184), Grajetzki 2015, 126, cat. 60. See also one compared to those of the one-humped camel or dromedary, introduced
of the variants of the hieroglyphic sign F42 (‘beef rib’), namely to Saharan desert travel and transport only considerably later, see Riemer
hieroglyph F42B (Grimal, Hallof and van der Plas 2000, 1 F-1). and Förster 2022.

36
 Between Arrest and Movement

pottery vessels (Hendrickx, Förster and Eyckerman 2013). representing an erect penis (Figure 2.12) (Förster 2015,
The trail appears to have been used only episodically as 249–251, figs 224, 228). The message of such abstract
an alternative when the traditional routes, which were motifs seems rather clear – in the words of Winkler (1939:
closer to the Nile Valley, were inaccessible or insecure 13): “This tells us probably that these men were far from
due to specific geopolitical situations in the south. There any women.”24 Although their number at a certain site
is reason to assume that, at least in the period of major use or resting place does not necessarily reflect the number
during late Old Kingdom or early First Intermediate Period of people who were present there at a specific moment
times (ca. 2200/2100 BC), sub-Saharan luxury goods such in time, they indicate that both the hilltop sites around
as incense, ivory, ebony, animal skins, ostrich feathers, Dakhla and the stations along the Abu Ballas Trail were
valuable oils, and perhaps even gold, were shipped on temporarily occupied by men, including soldiers and/or
donkey-back across this part of the Libyan Desert. This was other (para)military personnel (see supra).
probably achieved in cooperation with ‘Libyan’ nomadic
groups acting as middlemen or intermediaries, who were While the heavy traffic in and around Dakhla will have also
in contact with both the Egyptians and their trade partners certainly included travelling women,25 it can be doubted
in the south (the latter possibly including representatives of that this was also the case for the much more limited
the mysterious Yam country known from ancient Egyptian traffic along the Abu Ballas Trail. Apart from significant
records) (Förster 2013; 2015). After reaching Dakhla, the differences in terms of route lengths, travel time and risks,
imported commodities were transmitted further to the Nile it can be stated that none of the few human representations
Valley, most directly via the Darb el-Tawil, which covers found along the trail which might be regarded as ‘self-
ca. 260 km and has its end-destination in Manfalut, about portraits’ can be identified as that of a woman (cf. Förster
30 km north of Asyut in Middle Egypt (cf. Riemer 2020). 2015, figs 199, 205, 224–226). Rather, it is to be assumed
that both the long-range caravan traffic in Egypt’s far
Due to the infrequent, if not exceptional, use of this south-west (and probably even further), on the one hand,
perilous route over the centuries, it is not surprising to and the temporary occupation and surveillance of the
find only a limited amount of rock art at its way-stations, trail’s main supply stations, on the other hand, were, as a
most of which apparently date to the late Old Kingdom rule, men’s affairs.
or First Intermediate Period (cf. Förster 2015, 217–280).
The petroglyphs are usually found in the area near resting In this context, it is to be stressed that the preparation of
places where people had spent some time, such as rock these supply stations, previous to their use by passing trade
shelters and small stone huts. This comparative scarcity caravans, must have been an arduous task that involved
of rock art motifs, however, only concerns the sites and many donkey trains carrying sufficient amounts of storage
stations of the ‘inner’, i.e. more remote sections of the jars and water to be dumped therein. When all these ‘filling
trail. At the sites in the immediate surroundings of Dakhla stations’ were prepared, the provisions were guarded by
(Figure 2.2) there is, naturally, some overlap in their use some men who stayed there as long as the supplies would
with the much more frequented hilltop or watch-post sites be needed. It is this specific group of guardians, to some
mentioned above. The rock art imageries at these latter extent comparable to the military personnel at Dakhla’s
sites, situated rather close to the trail’s starting point at watch-posts, who probably left behind most of the rock
Ain Asil (during the late Old Kingdom/First Intermediate art at those sites, rather than the donkey drivers of the
Period), respectively Mut el-Kharab (during the New trade caravans passing by. While the latter’s intention will
Kingdom), are of course much more complex and attest have been to cover the distance to their final destination
numerous visits from predynastic up to modern times as fast as possible, the guardians had to stay at their posts
(cf., e.g., Förster 2010). Even if it remains difficult, if for a considerable period of time.26 There are only a few
not impossible, to allocate certain motifs at these sites to rows of notches scratched into the rock face of some of
the pharaonic use of the Abu Ballas Trail, it nevertheless the stations, probably representing the number of days
seems worthwhile to compare some characteristics, both spent there (Förster 2015, 256–263, figs 232–237, tab. 11),
in terms of similarities and differences, of the two rock but some of them are rather long, consisting of up to 26
art groups. or even 39 (+ x) strokes (Figure 2.13). Comparable rows
of notches are also known from the hilltop sites around
Rather astonishing, for example, is the fact that no
depictions of feet or sandals (or their imprints) are known
from the trail’s inner sections, while they abound at 24
Cf. also Verner 1973, 109: “A carving of a vulva in such cases cannot
the hilltop and other rock art sites in or around Dakhla certainly be considered a document of obscenity. On the contrary, it
represents a meaningful symbol which is likely to have had a sympathetic
(Figures 2.3, 2.4, 2.11; Polkowski 2018b). On the other and magic background: by means of the symbol of femininity the man
hand, pubic triangles as well as rows of strokes probably wanted to reserve for himself something he missed, i.e. a woman.” A
used for counting occur in both areas (Förster 2015, 247, fertility-related significance of pubic triangles cannot be ruled out, too
(Polkowski forthcoming).
249–251, 256–263, figs 221, 224, 226, 228–229, 232–240; 25
For written and pictorial evidence of travelling women in pharaonic
Polkowski forthcoming). At site Jaqub 99/34, at a distance Egypt, see Köpp-Junk 2015, 227–230.
of ca. 105 km from Ain Asil as the crow flies, there is even
26
Some of them spending their time playing the senet board game, see
Förster 2015, 289–292, figs 251–253. Cf. also Kaper and Willems 2002,
a cluster of 11 pubic triangles, each connected or touched 82 (7) for two senet game boards carved into the rock of a hilltop site
at the lower centre by a long straight line most probably south of Dakhla (DOP “Trig Point Hill” 30/420-H3-1).

37
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.12. A cluster of 11 pubic triangles, each combined with a long, straight connecting line (presumably stylised phalli),
on a block of stone at site Jaqub 99/34 (drawing by Heiko Riemer).

Figure 2.13. Two rows of notches at site Jaqub 99/31, probably representing the number of days spent there by a group of
guardians (photo by Peter Schönfeld).

38
 Between Arrest and Movement

Dakhla, among others from Nephthys Hill, where they

have also been interpreted as the counting of days (Kaper
and Willems 2002, 87–88, figs 8–10, pl. 68). At another
hilltop site close to Teneida in the oasis’ south-eastern
part (DOP 30/450-E4-6), more than 60 notches have
been added to the representation of a donkey. In this case,
these notches might rather be regarded as the counting of
pack animals of a caravan departing from, or arriving at,
the oasis (Figure 2.14) (cf. Förster 2015, 260, fig. 238).
Despite close structural similarities between the latter type
of sites and the stations of the Abu Ballas Trail, there is of
course a main difference in terms of distance and general
setting. While the watch-posts could easily be provisioned
from Dakhla, the guards at the trail’s main supply stations,
placed at intervals of three marching days27 (cf. Förster
2015, 435–447), had to rely on the provisions available on
Figure 2.14. Representation of a donkey with rows of
site. Moreover, at least occasionally the latter probably had
notches, possibly representing the number of pack animals
to stay at their lonely desert-outposts for longer periods of a caravan, at hilltop site DOP 30/450-E4-6 near Teneida
of time when compared to the soldiers at the hilltop sites, in the south-eastern part of Dakhla (photo by Lech
who could easily be substituted after a while (perhaps Krzyżaniak; © Poznań Archaeological Museum).
with regular changes of shift after every ten days – i.e.
an Egyptian week – or so, cf. Kaper and Willems 2002,
89–90; Riemer et al. 2005, 348–349).

This general situation, i.e. spending a considerable amount Gardiner 1957, 458). Since this motif is the only one that
of time in the barren, hostile desert far from home, is to had been carved on the respective rock wall at Abu Ballas
some extent mirrored in the rock art left behind at the and therefore is completely isolated, it must have had
trail’s stations. Apart from the aforementioned sexual a symbolic meaning, referring to the values mentioned
motifs that probably attest to the loneliness and desires above.28 This is also evidenced by its occurrence on more
of the men stationed there, a good deal of the carved or less contemporaneous button seals, a sort of amulet used
images can be classified as either nostalgic or apotropaic/ to magically protect its owner (e.g., Keel 1980, 75, fig. 35;
protective. A good example of the former category is Wiese 1996, 68–69, 163, pls 10 [nos 215–216], 20 [no. 420]).
the rather detailed motif of a cow suckling its calf at the
eponymous site Abu Ballas 85/55, situated more or less Most interestingly, a number of other rock art motifs found
at the midpoint of the trail, at a distance of more than along the Abu Ballas Trail can indeed be traced back to –
200 km from Ain Asil (Figure 2.15). This motif is widely and explained by – the protective and/or apotropaic imagery
attested in ancient Egyptian art and occurs, for example, known from contemporaneous amulets: a double spiral at
often in tomb scenes showing agricultural activities or site Jaqub 99/31 (Figure 2.16) and loop-like (Figure 2.17)
animal husbandry as basic elements of an ‘ideal world’ to as well as swastika-shaped motifs (Figure 2.18) at sites
which the deceased would like to belong (Förster 2015, Meri 99/37, Jaqub 99/35 and Jaqub 00/21 (Förster 2015,
231–232). Hence, in this desert context, the image might 235–246). All these motifs are, in turn, originally related,
simply have reminded its creator and his comrades of in one way or another, to hunting and trapping as an age-
the, comparatively speaking, idyllic life in either the Nile old iconographic theme to represent human control over
Valley or oasis they longed to return to as soon as possible. chaotic forces, both natural and supernatural (cf., e.g.,
A similar rock art motif in a comparable context, roughly Staehelin 1978; Altenmüller 1980; Decker 1992, 147–167;
dated to the late Old Kingdom/early Middle Kingdom, Hendrickx 2006). While the double spiral and the loops
has been found at Bir Nakheila, between the oases of represent traps or snares for catching various animals,
Kharga and Dungul in Lower Nubia. Here the figure of the swastika-shaped motif is an abstract version of the
a cow, with a strongly accentuated udder, is accompanied combination of two or four antelopes’ foreparts joint in the
by a short semi-hieratic inscription mentioning “the good middle (and thereby ‘bound’ and rendered harmless). The
day of going back (namely to the Nile Valley)” (Darnell latter motif is again known from contemporaneous button
and Darnell 2002, 150, fig. 23). However, there may be seals, including those found at the governors’ residence
an additional layer of meaning here. The motif of a cow in Ain Asil and their nearby necropolis at Qila el-Dabba
suckling its calf also occurs as a hieroglyph, which was (Förster 2015, 242, figs 215–216) (Figure 2.18d–e). This
used as a classifier or determinative for words expressing abstract version also occurs in the rock art of the hilltop
welfare, solicitousness, provision and care (sign-list E5;
28
An isolated, very similar image of a cow, but without a calf, has also
27
Corresponding to the ability of the donkey to go without water for been found at site Jaqub 99/35, at a distance of ca. 110 km from Abu
up to three days (Förster 2015, 406, with further literature; Riemer and Ballas. Although heavily weathered, it might even have been created by
Förster 2022). the same hand (cf. Förster 2015, 238, fig. 212).

39
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.15. The isolated motif of a cow suckling its calf at site Abu Ballas 85/55 (photos by Laurent Bavay, drawing by Bieke
van Gompel).

Figure 2.16. (a) Double spiral motif at site Jaqub 99/31 (photo by Peter Schönfeld) and (b) similar motifs on scarabs dating to the
First Intermediate Period or Middle Kingdom (1–3 after Ward 1978, 42, fig. 7.3, pl. 10, no. 263, and Dunham 1967, 68, no. 71).

sites, for example at Winkler’s site 68 close to Teneida circumstances, not only carried such amulets with them,
in the eastern part of Dakhla (Winkler 1939, pl. IX.2). but also reproduced their motifs on the rock faces of the
Here two of these motifs are combined, next to two other stations where they had to stay for a couple of days or
abstract signs or symbols, with life-size representations weeks. In a sense, in view of their spread, meaning and
of feet (Figure 2.19). It can be assumed that the men in significance, such ‘moving motifs’ could be labelled as
charge, in order to feel as safe as possible under the given rock art of both motion and emotion.

40
 Between Arrest and Movement

2015, 233–235). Immediately above the bird approaching

the net from above, there is a spiral line which most
modern observers, familiar with similar representations in
comic strips, would tend to interpret as the indication of a
circular, spinning movement downwards. However, such
an artistic means was, as far as we know, never applied
in ancient Egyptian art, so that the interpretation of the
strange motif – or at least this detail – must remain an open
question, as well as its dating.

By far the most elaborate single rock art motif of the trail
is the hunting scene at Abu Ballas, not far from the cow
with calf motif discussed above (Figure 2.22). Executed
in detailed rendering, it shows a bearded hunter with a
feather in his hair who, accompanied by two dogs, chases
a gazelle while holding a bow in his left hand and a bundle
of arrows in his right hand. The scene is dynamic and
truly narrative, with the hunter shown as running towards
his dogs that already stopped and surrounded the gazelle
which in turn is already hit by one of the hunter’s arrows.
Due to a number of painted bowls excavated at Qubbet
el-Hawa near Aswan as the closest iconographic parallels
both in terms of general composition and some details
(Figure 2.23), the scene can be dated rather precisely to
ca. 2200/2100 BC, corresponding historically to the late
Old Kingdom or early First Intermediate Period (for full
discussion, see Förster 2015, 220–228). The standardised
imagery on these painted bowls obviously features the
basic role of the man as conceived in those troubled times,
who, regardless of ethnic identity, was represented as a
strong, successful hunter and dominator of various wild
species surrounding him and his dogs. Interestingly, this
more or less circular arrangement of wild animals around
a hunter with bow and a bundle of arrows has also been
found in the rock art of one of Dakhla’s hilltop sites,
Winkler’s already mentioned site 68 near Teneida (Winkler
1939, pl. XI.1) (Figure 2.24). This not only attests, again,
to the wide spread of such cultural motifs or iconographic
Figure 2.17. (a) Loop-like motifs on a stone slab found at patterns which, in this case, are much more complex than
site Jaqub 00/21 (photo by Stan Hendrickx) and (b) similar the pictorial designs of amulets. It also raises the question
motifs on First Intermediate Period button seals (after whether a complex rock art motif that includes circularly
Wiese 1996, pl. 50, nos 1040, 1041). arranged elements, such as the weapons, headrests,
feet etc. on the loose stone slab at site 10/08 discussed
above (Figure 2.11), can also be interpreted along these
Against this background, it hardly comes as a surprise lines. Despite a missing human figure in the centre, the
to see that the trail’s rock art imagery also encompasses latter composition may be regarded as some sort of self-
hunting scenes, ranging from rather abstract, symbolic representation of a proud (or anxious?) man who was
renderings to much more detailed and lively compositions. active on the spot during that specific period of time (see
For example, at site Meri 99/37, there is a highly stylised also supra, Figure 2.3).
representation of what can be regarded as an animal, the
hind legs of which are fixed by a rope to a bow trap (Figure In any case, it must be assumed that most, if not all, of the
2.20) (cf. Förster 2015, 246, fig. 222). Immediately above men stationed at both the watch-posts around Dakhla and the
the animal, a was-sceptre has been carved as a symbol trail’s main way-stations were illiterate and therefore had
of power and control, referring to the (desired) human to express themselves by means of images if they wanted
domination of desert animals as manifestations of evil to leave any obvious sign of their presence.29 This however
forces. The same may be said about a rather enigmatic was not arbitrary. Their cultural background provided
motif carved on a large block of stone at the foot of a hill
neighbouring the eponymous Abu Ballas site (Figure 2.21). 29
Cf. Kaper and Willems 2002, 88–90; Kaper 2009, 174; Förster 2015,
It may show the catching of a bird by means of a clap-net 278. On the low rates of literacy in pharaonic Egypt in general, see
spanned between two pegs fixed in the ground (cf. Förster Baines and Eyre 1983, 67, 70.

41
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.18. (a–c) Swastika-shaped motifs found at sites Meri 99/37, Jaqub 99/35 and Jaqub 00/21 (photos by Peter
Schönfeld) and (d) similar motifs on late Old Kingdom/First Intermediate Period button seals (after Wiese 1996, pl. 27,
nos 546–557), including (e) some specimens excavated at the governors’ residence and necropolis at Balat/Dakhla (after
Soukiassian, Wuttmann and Pantalacci 2002, 415, no. 3340; Castel and Pantalacci 2005, 417, 420, fig. 266, no. 3814, fig. 267,
no. 3816). The motif appears to be an abstract version of two or four antelopes’ foreparts joint in the middle.

them with a mobile set of conventional signs, symbols and latter, it can be observed in many cases that the new motifs
motifs by which they were able to communicate, be it with were not aimed to erase or substitute the older ones, but
other humans or the divine sphere, or just to express their to add to them or even to interact and communicate with
feelings, wishes and desires. By scratching an individual them across time (cf., e.g., Gates-Foster 2012; Polkowski
identity mark, a protective/apotropaic sign or a more 2020). While palimpsests are helpful in defining the
complex figural self-representation on the rock face or a relative chronological sequence of rock art ‘layers’, such
stone slab of their resting places, they also socialised and agglomerations of motifs that respect, i.e. avoid touching,
cultivated a part of the savage desert landscape they had their predecessors are revealing in terms of general
to stay in for a while (cf. Darnell 2021, 41–42).30 Once a attitudes towards older images at a given place. In this
motif was there, it often attracted and inspired others, left regard, it is interesting to note a few cases where pharaonic
behind by comrades or later visitors of the site. As for the Egyptians demonstrably had encountered considerably
older, i.e. prehistoric, rock art at sites along the Abu Ballas
Trail.31 This rock art presumably was created in a time
30
Darnell 2021, 41: “Rock art and inscription sites represent points of
human engagement with the desert landscape, an interaction between
humans and desert landforms creating places in the vastness and thereby 31
Of course, such encounters must have happened much more often than
socializing the desert (. . .). The ancient Egyptian creators of these inscribed can be proven by direct archaeological evidence (i.e. the juxtaposition of
places, and the later visitors who literally wrote their presence into the old and new rock art at a given site or spot). For an example of a rich corpus
desert landscape, sought both to memorialize themselves, and to interact of prehistoric rock art that must have been noticed by the Egyptians but did
with the memorials of their predecessors, resulting in abundant inscriptional not prompt own creations, see Förster 2015, 217, fig. 194 (several well-
evidence of ancient activities in the Eastern and Western Deserts.” preserved representations of giraffes and antelopes at site Jaqub 00/22).

42
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.20. Stylised representation of a trapped animal below

a was-sceptre at site Meri 99/37 (photo by Peter Schönfeld).

Figure 2.19. Swastika-shaped motifs and other signs or

symbols added to depictions of feet at Winkler’s site 68 near
Teneida in the eastern part of Dakhla (after Winkler 1939,
pl. IX.2).

when the process of aridification of this part of the Sahara,

setting in around 5300 BC, had either not yet started or
was still not well advanced, i.e. long before channelled
traffic along some feasible corridors through the desert
completely replaced the former widespread movements
through savannah-like, still inhabitable country (cf. Kuper
and Kröpelin 2006). When the aridification process was
completed, only a few favourable areas, such as the
oases and the Gilf Kebir and Gebel Uweinat massifs in
the south-west, remained for settling or more permanent
occupation, and these areas became important nodes and
hubs for caravan traffic.

At site Meri 95/5, an eye-catching landmark some 30 km

southwest of Dakhla (Figure 2.25), a short semi-hieratic
rock inscription has been carved in the immediate vicinity
of prehistoric representations of antelopes and other
Figure 2.21. Enigmatic motif on a large block of stone at the
figures (Figure 2.26). On palaeographic grounds, the foot of a hill neighbouring the eponymous Abu Ballas 85/55
inscription can be dated to the 12th Dynasty of the Middle site, possibly showing the catching of a bird by means of a
Kingdom (1985–1773 BC), when the Abu Ballas Trail clap-net (photo by Peter Schönfeld).

43
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.22. Hunting scene at site Abu Ballas 85/55 (photo by Rudolph Kuper).

Figure 2.23. Drawings of two painted bowls with similar hunting scenes excavated at Qubbet el-Hawa near Aswan, First
Intermediate Period (after Edel 2008, figs 271–272).

44
 Between Arrest and Movement

in, say, 100 or 200 years, or maybe even earlier, when it

might be considered as just another testimony of human
presence in this desert region (see also Polkowski 2020,
266–267). Attitude and appreciation may change simply
with the amount of time passing by, and ethics seems to be
anything but stable, also in this regard.

Returning to Abu Ballas (85/55), more or less at the

midpoint of the trail, a representation of a single archer
is most interesting in this context (Förster 2015, 229–230,
figs 204–205). It has been drawn on the same rock wall
as the pharaonic hunting scene discussed above, and is
only some 40 cm apart from it (Figure 2.28).32 Like the
hunter in the hunting scene, the man also holds a bow
and a bundle of arrows in his hands, but he is shown as
standing and there are no other pictorial elements around.
Moreover, compared to the hunting scene, the single figure
is heavily weathered, especially in its upper parts, and also
significantly different in terms of style. Features such as the
elongated legs, the triangular shape of the upper body and
the position of the head on the shoulder line point rather
to prehistoric human representations – including those of
archers with bows and bundles of arrows – known from
the Gilf Kebir/Gebel Uweinat region (see discussion and
references in Förster 2015, 230). If this affiliation proves
to be correct, the creation of the pharaonic ‘rock artist’
might well have been inspired by a much older motif,
which presumably was better preserved and recognizable
in his days.

Concerning pharaonic rock art in the Gilf Kebir/Gebel

Figure 2.24. Rock art motif at Winkler’s site 68 near
Teneida, showing various wild animals around a hunter with Uweinat region, this area has been completely silent in
bow and arrows (after Winkler 1939, pl. XI.1). this regard until recently. With the surprising discovery,
in November 2007, of the hieroglyphic rock inscription
of king Mentuhotep II (11th Dynasty; 2055–2004 BC)
and its figural elements, engraved on a conspicuous
as a long-distance donkey caravan route seems to have rock in the Sudanese part of Gebel Uweinat, things have
been fallen out of use (cf. Burkard 1997; Riemer 2011, changed considerably (Clayton, De Trafford and Borda
215–219; Förster 2015, 269–276, 488–490). It mentions 2008; Förster 2015, 479–487) (Figures 2.29–2.30). This
the steward Meri, an official who was on his way, in discovery not only proved that ancient Egyptian desert
regnal year 23 of an unnamed king, “to search out the expeditions had at one point reached this remote mountain
oasis dwellers”. Whatever the exact aim and background massif, situated some 700 km from the Nile Valley as the
of Meri’s reconnaissance mission as a literate member crow flies, but also threw new light on the raison d’être
of the Egyptian society, it was most probably he himself and function of the Abu Ballas Trail. The message of
who left this physical message on the rock face. In doing the inscription – apart from Meri’s testimony the only
so, he must have been aware of the much older images hieroglyphic rock inscription that can be attributed to the
on the same rock wall, which may even have inspired ancient use of the Abu Ballas Trail – is clear: Pharaoh
him to leave his personal mark, ‘I was here’. According Mentuhotep II, enthroned in a pavilion-like structure
to pottery found at this prominent landmark, the site had with his name written in a cartouche in front of him, is
also been repeatedly used as a short-term camp site by the powerful Egyptian ruler who receives goods from two
indigenous Sheikh Muftah pastoral nomads of the 4th/3rd foreign lands. The one is the well-known Yam country
millennium BC (Riemer 2011, 218–219), but these people situated somewhere in the far south, perhaps in the area
do not appear to have left any rock art images at this of Darfur in western Sudan. The other is a land called
spot. Nevertheless, there is, unfortunately, still another Tekhebet or Tekhebeten, a toponym attested here for the
‘layer’. In the spring of 2006, Meri’s inscription, as well first time and possibly referring to the Gebel Uweinat
as the prehistoric drawings above it, were damaged by the region itself (see discussion in Förster 2015, 482–487; cf.
carving of an image of a half-naked woman (cf. Riemer Cooper 2012). Both countries are not only mentioned, in
2011, 216–217, fig. 196) (Figure 2.27). Although most
regrettable from the viewpoint of today’s archaeologists,
this modern rock art addition might be perceived different 32
For the spatial relation of the two motifs, see Förster 2015, fig. 204.

45
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.25. Site Meri 95/5, a conspicuous rock formation ca. 30 km southwest of Dakhla (photo by Laurent Bavay).

Figure 2.26. Semi-hieratic rock inscription left by the official Meri at site Meri 95/5, 12th Dynasty (photo taken by Rudolph
Kuper in 1995).

the right portion of the inscription, as bringing their goods who were visiting the locality. The latter appears to have
– incense in the case of Yam and desert animals in the case been an important trading hub or trans-shipment center in
of Tekhebet(en) – but they are also shown as doing so in those times.33 Compared to all other rock art motifs that
the accompanying pictorial scenes, in which small human have been discussed above, this composition is clearly not
figures act as personifications (or representatives) of the personal but highly formal and official in nature, if not
foreign lands. Without any doubt, these unambiguous to say purely ideological-propagandistic. Grammatically,
illustrations ensured that the message would be the act of bringing goods – which are rather presented
understood by anyone around, certainly aiming first and
foremost at illiterate non-Egyptians (natives, nomads and/ 33
Due to political and military restrictions, the archaeological potential
or intermediaries or middlemen engaged in trade affairs) of the site has not yet been scientifically explored.

46
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.27. Modern graffito partly superimposing Meri’s rock inscription as well as prehistoric figures on the same rock wall
at site Meri 95/5 (photo taken by Paweł L. Polkowski in 2013, cf. Riemer 2011, 216, fig. 196; Förster 2015, 276, fig. 245).

as ‘tributes’ – is here expressed in a continuous verb

form (ḥr ms), so that the foreign deliveries, and thus
movements, are labelled as everlasting and perpetual, with
the accompanying images to be understood in the same
performative way.

Most interestingly, the figural elements of the Mentuhotep

inscription reappear as single motifs on various rock faces
on a natural terrace about 50 metres above the inscription
(Zboray and Borda 2010, 187–188, figs 35–40; Zboray and
Borda 2013, 215–216, fig. 5) (Figure 2.31). They appear as
rather crude copies of the former and therefore might well
be attributed to non-Egyptian hands. Moreover, there is also
a representation of a loaded donkey (Zboray and Borda
2013, 216, fig. 7) (Figure 2.32) that finds a close parallel in
the depiction of a small donkey caravan, consisting of three
pack animals and their drivers (Figure 2.33). The latter
has been found, among several other ‘prehistoric’ rock art
scenes, at a location near the mouth of Karkur Talh (one
of the wadis in south-eastern Gebel Uweinat), situated
between the Mentuhotep site and the last known way-
station of the Abu Ballas Trail (Cambieri and Peroschi 2010,
176–177, figs 10, 12). As a unique motif in the indigenous
rock art tradition of the central Libyan Desert, it is tempting
to regard this depiction of a train of pack animals as the
Figure 2.28. Prehistoric (?) representation of a human with
bow and bundle of arrows at site Abu Ballas 85/55, close to exceptional record of a person who eye-witnessed the actual
the hunting scene on the same rock wall (cf. Figure 2.22) arrival (or departure) of an Egyptian trade caravan. At any
(photo by Frank Förster). rate, this rock art interplay may provide firm evidence for

47
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.29. Large boulder with hieroglyphic rock inscription of Mentuhotep II (11th Dynasty) discovered in 2007 in the
Sudanese part of Gebel Uweinat (photo by András Zboray).

Figure 2.30. Close-up and drawing of the Mentuhotep inscription and its figural elements (photo by András Zboray; drawing
after Pantalacci 2013, fig. 7).

48
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.31. Crude copies of the figural elements of the Mentuhotep inscription found on a natural terrace about 50 m above
the inscription (photos by András Zboray).

49
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

Figure 2.32. Representation of a single loaded donkey at the Mentuhotep inscription site (photo by András Zboray).

Figure 2.33. Representation of a small donkey caravan at Karkur Talh in south-eastern Gebel Uweinat (photo by Flavio
Cambieri).

cross-cultural contacts in this remote region. Compared periods.34 The motif (Figure 2.34) shows a sitting cat with
to the single figure of an unloaded and comparatively a collar that holds the tail of a mouse or jerboa (Jaculus
static donkey at the hilltop site close to Teneida in the south- jaculus), which is desperately trying to escape (Riemer et
eastern part of Dakhla (supra, Figure 2.14), which was al. 2005, 322–323, fig. 15 [A1], pl. 46a). Without much
probably used for counting the pack animals of a caravan, imagination, this can be regarded as a humorous rendering
the lively scene at Karkur Talh obviously aimed at capturing of the capture – or arrest – of a human or group of humans
a specific caravan on the move. who were not allowed to pass by, certainly one of the duties
of the soldiers or paramilitary personnel stationed there
This leads us back to Dakhla and a final, exceptional rock (for full discussion, see Förster forthcoming). This brings
art motif at another of its hilltop sites (Dachla 99/38; cf.
Riemer et al. 2005). Although probably dating to the Late
Period (26th Dynasty, 664–525 BC), it gives reason to
34
The title of this chapter is loosely based on that of H. A. Groenewegen-
Frankfort’s seminal and most influential book “Arrest and Movement. An
briefly address another aspect of our specific ‘between Essay on Space and Time in the Representational Art of the Ancient Near
arrest and movement’ topic, which is also relevant for earlier East” (Groenewegen-Frankfort 1951).

50
 Between Arrest and Movement

Figure 2.34. Cat-and-mouse motif at hilltop site Dachla 99/38, about 20 km west-southwest of Dakhla Oasis (photo by
Laurent Bavay).

to mind earlier textual evidence according to which the art found along the Abu Ballas Trail as a long-range
distant oases at times were places of refuge for criminals desert route, on the other hand, share many similarities.
or other disagreeable persons from the Nile Valley. For However, they also reflect different attitudes towards
example, the Middle Kingdom official Kay reports on his people’s movements – here to be controlled and there to
stela that “I reached the western oasis, sought all its routes be enabled – in this part of Egypt’s Western Desert.
and brought back all fugitives I found there”; while, in
the early 12th dynasty, king Sesostris I even had to send 2.4. Recapitulation and final discussion
a military expedition from Thebes “in order to secure the
land of the oasis dwellers” (Anthes 1930; Schäfer 1905; cf. No doubt the reader will have noticed that in both case
Giddy 1987, 56–58, 61). Another reason to arrest people studies the emphasis is still on the representational
may have been due to smuggling, aiming to bypass state dimension of rock art. Whether we spoke of the motifs
authorities and taxes by using inconspicuous routes through found at watch-posts or way-stations, or the petroglyphs
the desert (cf. Kuhlmann 2002; von Dumreicher 1931). in less well-defined places along the routes, we first of all
Whatever the exact reasons for monitoring and, where attempted to identify the images: what do they show or
appropriate, stopping the movements of certain people in represent? Thus, reappraising the question about the more
Dakhla’s periphery across time, the cat-and-mouse motif dynamic approach that was announced at the outset of
clearly expresses Egyptian supremacy and control. It can this contribution seems to be justified. What new can be
be equated with the iconic scene of a bound captive led said about this rock art, and what would otherwise remain
away by an Egyptian soldier as represented, for example, untapped, were the representational and symbolical
on Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period dimensions to remain the sole focus of the studies?
boundary stelae found in Lower Nubia (Knoblauch 2012).
Like the figural elements of the Mentuhotep inscription, We postulate that these images can reveal some aspects
both these motifs are immediately understandable, even of their ‘functioning’ that are not inherent to their
by people without an Egyptian cultural background, let subject-matters alone, and instead they must be properly
alone knowledge of writing. contextualised. To put it another way, even if we know how
to identify a given motif and recognise its broad cultural
In sum, the pharaonic rock art left behind at the watch- set of possible meanings, this motif – when deployed in
post sites around Dakhla, on the one hand, and the rock a particular context – becomes an idiosyncratic entity, in

51
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

a sense. Its roles, meanings, significance, perception and easily encounterable (Darnell 2021). Only if we become
experience, all arise from its particular situation, both in cognisant of the potential circumstances in which
terms of ‘situatedness’ (landscape) and mode of existence. people moved, we can better situate the rock art in our
An overarching context for the above-discussed images, interpretations and narratives. Were the images of a soldier
which we favour in this chapter (the abovementioned and his equipment (Figure 2.3) partly resulting from their
mode of existence), is the context of movement and creators’ awareness of, and the concurrent anxiety caused
mobility. We argue that this offers avenues to examine by, the supposed or real presence of indigenous desert
rock art images and their locations in finer detail. Nihil inhabitants in the 3rd millennium BC? Could producing
novi sub sole, one surely can counter, but a departure from the petroglyphs, including identity marks, on various
the sole vision of stable and fixed rock art towards a more hills along the paths be one of the ways to transform the
dynamic approach is anything but self-evident, especially landscape into something more tamed and familiar, no
in the Eastern Saharan research context. matter if achieved consciously or not? All these examples
of rock art found along the routes and at watch-posts were
The presented rock art was closely related to routes of created on purpose and in some context of movement; as
diverse scales, from small internal paths in and around such, the chosen motifs were surely in attunement with the
Dakhla to the long-range and official road of the Abu interim needs of their creators and the particular powers of
Ballas Trail. Regardless of a pathway’s character, however, the desert landscape.
our case studies reveal that the petroglyphs worked as
elements of individual practices inextricably linked to Movement, in this case travelling along desert routes, can
being on the move. Most of them were created precisely thus be treated as a major context in which the studied
because people were travelling or were temporarily rock art was brought into being and the context within
stationed at such lonely desert-outposts, away from home. which the rock art’s meanings were emergent. We can also
The petroglyphs were to become means to interact with approach this entanglement of petroglyphs and movement
the surroundings, and these particular motifs, with their from yet another perspective, namely through considering
culturally-defined range of meanings, were chosen to a tangible influence of rock art on various aspects of
work in always singular and specific ways. From this point movement. Rock art would not be a mere outcome of
of view, such images should be regarded as meaningful people’s mobility, nor a mute witness to their activities:
only if considered in place and in context. The Nephthys a thing affected (and effected), but not affecting. It seems
Hill image of a soldier (Figure 2.3), the axe and throwing certain that the discussed images could take on active roles
sticks from 10/08 (Figure 2.11), the hunter and his prey in numerous ways, and it is in this sense that movement
from Abu Ballas 85/55 (Figure 2.22), or the cow-and- and Western Desert rock art can be viewed as entangled.
calf motif from the same site (Figure 2.15): all of these
motifs meant more than they represented and far beyond Both case studies intend to show that, regardless of rock
their generic symbolism. Whether they were expressions art creators’ intentions, these images become material
of certain identities (e.g., soldiers, hunters, guardians) or manifestations of their presences. A single petroglyph or
emotions (e.g., longing, anxiety) that their creators felt a composition solidifies into such a footprint. However,
when peregrinating across the desert, or whether they were when several sites are taken together, like the Abu Ballas
protective, thus performative, signs, these rock art motifs Trail’s way-stations, rock art marks and mirrors not so
held individual, although often largely intersubjective, much disconnected presences, but rather continuous
meanings, which emerged in these particular contexts. movements. In the Western Desert, such rock art places
can be viewed as rhythm-conceiving elements (cf. Aldred
We can also think of a peculiar modality of desert travel, to 2014, 38–41). They separate long journey intervals and
which rock art belonged. This modality would afford any arrest the movement of travellers, even if only temporarily.
travellers various experiences that resulted in both rock art Such pauses, deployed in regular intervals, would possibly
creation and frequent moments of encountering it. We do generate in travellers a certain expectation of rock art to be
not find rock art wherever some rocks exist, but we do found there, as well as provide the opportunity to join this
find petroglyphs and inscriptions along nearly all major practice by themselves. Hence, even for new travellers,
and minor routes, if geological conditions allow it (cf., such a trail, with its intrinsic rhythm(s), may quickly
e.g., Goyon 1957; Darnell et al. 2002; Lazaridis 2017). become intelligible. It is well conceivable that the Dakhla
Moving along these routes must have been, in a sense, watch-posts performed in a similar way, albeit on a much
tantamount to experiencing rock art. This was not only smaller scale. Here, however, any movements between
because the travellers wished to mark their presence with such outposts and other destinations did not need to be
a simple ‘I was here’ statement. Rather, this was connected so linear and clear-cut as in the desert proper. The above-
to being exposed to intrinsic elements of any desert presented petroglyphs, such as the pseudo-Nephthys sign
journey, including the sensing of supernatural presences in or the elephants (Figures 2.3, 2.4, 2.9, 2.10), index people’s
the landscape. This may explain the deployment of various movements spread between quite distanced places, but the
apotropaic symbols (Figures 2.16–2.18), as well as feet rhythms of those peregrinations remain elusive.
and sandals (Polkowski 2018b), among other imagery.
This was surely a movement across dynamic surroundings, There is more to this picture than the rock art being just
saturated with powers and entities, both implicit and an index of movement, as it could also be co-constitutive

52
 Between Arrest and Movement

of this mobility. This latter aspect refers, for instance, to motifs is a further form of movement through time. This
rock art’s strong capacity to attract attention (Polkowski ‘magnetism’ of rock art resides strongly in its form, or
2020). Many of our petroglyphs may have functioned as what some scholars have termed ‘materiality’ (cf. Ljunge
guiding elements on the desert roads, either as mnemonic 2013). The petroglyphs, always interpreted by a given
devices, or as culturally recognisable elements of routes. visitor through his/her cultural prism, were capable of
As (usually) conspicuous landscape elements, rock art persuading others to respond to them with their own rock
figures, compositions, or even sites, could have become art or other actions (cf. Figure 2.5) (Polkowski 2020). This
‘waymarkers’, to borrow Oscar Aldred’s expression is, of course, a global phenomenon, although one that is
(Aldred 2014, 30). The mentioned travellers’ anticipation particularly common in Egypt. Whether a pubic triangle
to arrive at successive way-stations could have caused reworked into a figure of an elephant (Figure 2.10), a
them to strain their eyes in the hope of not only seeing the modern depiction of a half-naked woman carved across
alamat, stone huts and large pottery vessels, but also the a pharaonic inscription (Figure 2.27), or the copies of the
figures, signs and symbols carved into the rocks. This is figural elements of the Mentuhotep inscription (Figure
not to say that any of such petroglyphs were made with the 2.31), all these petroglyphs testify to the agency of images
intention to communicate the presence of a stopping point, to provoke reactions. The attraction of rock art must have
but rather that a certain cultural and practical knowledge thus generated a lot of movement, especially in the micro-
of travellers could have allowed them to ‘read’ those signs scale confines of the way-stations and watch-posts.
in such a way.
Finally, movement and rock art converge in the dimension
Rock art’s attracting powers and people’s movements of a single picture. What is obvious is that images may
should be considered interdependent. It is obvious that depict movement. Take the hunter and his dogs chasing
various factors are at play here: the distance between a gazelle at Abu Ballas 85/55 (Figure 2.22), the potential
rock art productions; travellers’ knowledge and mental fowling scene at the neighbouring hill (Figure 2.21), or
condition; their means of locomotion and travelling speed; the depiction of a small donkey caravan on the move at
as well as factors such as weather, hour of the day and Karkur Talh (Figure 2.33): all of these petroglyphs show
lighting conditions at a specific moment in time. The things in motion. The cat-and-mouse scene at site Dachla
phenomenological potential of this rock art has yet to be 99/38 (Figure 2.34) even explicitly shows the arrest of a
explored in the case of both discussed studies. It is worth movement (with an obvious additional layer of meaning
mentioning because it appears as a useful framework behind the figural representation). What is arguably less
for understanding how rock art could visually interact apparent is that motifs could travel too. The examples of
with people, and thus in what ways, and to what degree, protective (de)signs from the Abu Ballas Trail (Figures
it could affect their choices, decisions and activities. We 2.16a, 2.17a, 2.18a–c) can be imagined as transported
can imagine that petroglyphs appearing sequentially, as a symbols, which would have initially travelled on amulets,
traveller gets closer and closer, could easily direct him or to be later transferred onto the rock walls deep in the desert.
her on the right path. On the mentioned pathways in the In this way, pharaonic symbols and their related concepts
central parts of Dakhla (Figures 2.6–2.7), the distances moved across the land in a manner not dissimilar to people.
between the consecutive hills are relatively short, while Moreover, like the cow-and-calf motif from Abu Ballas
many of the latter’s rock faces are so crowded with (Figure 2.15), these symbols, found also at watch-posts
petroglyphs that spotting them from afar is often quite around Dakhla (Kaper 2009), are capable of referencing
easy. One ‘inscribed’ rock art hill seems to lead to another, places and landscapes (cf. Frederick 2014), in this case the
guiding a traveller (as well as a researcher today) in a Nile Valley. They do not only ‘recall’ the distant valley in
fairly linear way. Of course, the petroglyphs located on desert places, they also reify the former in the boundaries
top of a hill, or in other ‘hidden’ spots, cannot be seen from of the latter.35 Travellers, as they journeyed, were thus to
a distance; but an approaching person, guided by rock art some extent capable of moving the landscapes with them
panels appearing in succession, may start exploring the by means of rock art production and by interacting with
place, climb rock walls and boulders, and discover other the already existing petroglyphs and inscriptions.
pieces. Moreover, the way petroglyphs are distributed at
a place, along with its topography, probably also largely We can conclude that rock art can do much more than just
determines visitors’ movements (cf. Tilley 2008, 181–254; represent things. This chapter presented two open-ended
see also Vergara Murua, this volume). To use Christopher case studies that, first and foremost, intend to show the
Tilley’s words and adapt them from the Swedish to the potential for such a path of interpretation(s). A lot, however,
Egyptian context: “[...] these images had a direct influence, remains to be done, both in terms of fieldwork and the
agency, and power in themselves: they set people in domain of conceptualisation. More phenomenologically-
choreographed motion around them” (Tilley 2008, 17). oriented studies may be one way of approaching the
issue of entanglement of movement and rock art (e.g.,
The power of attraction often results in accumulations of Tilley 2008; Ljunge 2013). The Abu Ballas Trail way-
images in places (cf., e.g., Polkowski 2015; 2020) and stations, as well as the Dakhla watch-posts, offer, in
this may be considered in terms of movement as well. It
is the visual attraction that moves people towards rock art 35
See Darnell 2009 for a similar concept of the ‘Neolithicization of the
in the first place. Secondly, such a gradual accretion of desert’ in the case of Predynastic Period rock art.

53
Paweł L. Polkowski and Frank Förster

turn, the opportunity to rethink the very ontology of such Bolender, D. and Aldred, O. 2013, A restless medieval?
desert places and the movement between them. Perhaps Archaeologies and saga-steads in the Viking Age North
instead of conceptualising these places solely in terms Atlantic. Postmedieval 4, 136–149.
of ‘transportation’, we should shift our understanding
of them towards ‘wayfaring’. This is a major distinction Brémont, A. forthcoming, Beyond “Pharaonic”: Non-
advocated, for example, by Tim Ingold, by which he Hieroglyphic Animal Engravings of Dynastic Date
differentiates between ‘transport’, which is ‘destination- – Towards a Chronological and Interpretational
oriented’ and somewhat detached from the surroundings, Framework. In P. L. Polkowski (ed.), Stone Canvas:
and the traveller’s (or wayfarer’s) movement, which is Towards a better integration of ‘rock art’ and ‘graffiti’
“continually responsive to his perceptual monitoring of the studies in Egypt and Sudan. Cairo: Institut français
environment that is revealed along the way” (Ingold 2007, d’archéologie orientale.
77–78). Ancient Egyptians were surely very attentive to Burkard, G. 1997, Inscription in the Dakhla Region. Text,
the landscape surrounding them (see, e.g., Darnell 2021),
Translation and Comments. Sahara 9, 152–153.
and the rock art they produced is one of many testimonies
to this. In their desert travels they no doubt were genuine Cambieri, F. and Peroschi, M. E. 2010, Report on new rock
wayfarers. art sites in the area of Jebel Uweinat, Eastern Sahara.
Sahara 21, 175–177.
Acknowledgements
Castel, G. and Pantalacci, L. 2005, Les cimetières est
For providing various images and allowing us to reproduce et ouest du mastaba de Khentika, Oasis de Dakhla.
them in this contribution, we are most grateful to Laurent Balat VII. Fouilles de l’Institut français d’archéologie
Bavay, Flavio Cambieri, Stan Hendrickx, Rudolph Kuper, orientale du Caire 52. Cairo: Institut français
Laure Pantalacci, Heiko Riemer, Peter Schönfeld and d’archéologie orientale.
András Zboray.36 Furthermore, we express our gratitude Clayton, J., De Trafford, A. and Borda, M. 2008, A
to Julia Hamilton for checking the English of, and her Hieroglyphic Inscription found at Jebel Uweinat
invaluable comments on, the chapter. Work on the rock mentioning Yam and Tekhebet. Sahara 19, 129–134.
art in Dakhla conducted by Paweł L. Polkowski has been
funded by the Polish National Science Centre (project no. Cooper, J. 2012, Reconsidering the Location of Yam.
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der Ägyptologie 6. Leiden: Brill. Egypt Exploration Society.
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landscape phenomenology 2. Walnut Creek, CA: Left edition. Newbury: Fliegel Jezerniczky Expeditions.
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Vandier, J. 1964, Manuel d’archéologie égyptienne, tome Sudan). Sahara 24, 214–218.
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Methodological Achievements and Perspectives of
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el-Mayetîn. Mémoires publiés par les membres de
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Institut français d’archéologie orientale.
Verner, M. 1973, Some Nubian Petroglyphs on
Czechoslovak Concessions: Rock Drawings of (I) Foot
and Sandal Prints, (II) Symbols and Signs, and (III)
Erotica from Czechoslovak Concessions in Nubia. Acta
Universitatis Carolinae Philologica Monographia 45.
Prague: Charles University.
von Dumreicher, A. 1931, Trackers & Smugglers in the
Deserts of Egypt. London: Methuen.
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Dynasty Scarab Amulets. Warminster: Aris & Phillips.
Warfe, A. R. and Ricketts, S. M. 2019, The Sheikh Muftah
cultural unit: An overview of oasis/desert habitation
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 3

Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock Images

Gernot Grube

Abstract: At the centre of an investigation of the phenomenon of rock images are space-time
relationships and the relationship between movement and locality. This includes, among others,
the following aspects: a) that it has been possible to solve a paradox, i.e. to establish movement
in the picture, without ‘erasing’ it; b) that a new type of expression, not easily integrated into the
nomadic way of life, has been employed, in stark contrast to the handy (portable) figurines; c) that
through these rock images, Upper Palaeolithic individuals produced something that branched out
of their traditionally mobile way of life, generating signs of ‘crystalized’ identities, with a sense of
history. We should consider the possibility that the settled way of life of agricultural societies was
preceded by the locality of the rock images as a symbolic-cognitive preparation for sedentism.

Keywords: phenomenon, historical consciousness, space-time relationships, sedentism, iconic

expression, frozen movement, Upper Palaeolithic, Chauvet cave.

3.1. Introduction the transition from a hunter-gatherer way of life to an

agrarian one. Even if the transition from a nomadic to a
The spectrum of methods with which to examine rock primarily sedentary existence evolved over a long period
paintings is rich. Among the most important are certainly of time and in various small steps, in several regions, the
the procedures for dating the representations, the analysis development as a whole – in which the human species
of the materials used, and that of the painting techniques. apparently replaced its repertoire of genetically fine-tuned
A systematic recording of the various figurative and interactions with the environment with new forms having
abstract motifs, which occur in different places and date no historical precedent – appears surprising. It seems safe
to different times, is particularly important; the attempts to say that the favoured explanation for the beginning of
at stylistic analysis provide a further perspective. Another the Neolithic Revolution comes from natural history and
promising, but perhaps still neglected, approach to pictorial holds that it was brought on by climate change. Higher
representations are careful descriptions of what we see.1 temperatures led to certain regions like the Fertile Crescent
A further large group of scientific efforts concerns the simultaneously experiencing a decrease in the population
interpretation of the representations. of wild animals and improved conditions for growing wild
plants that could be domesticated. Thus, humans were able
From all these methods and strategies differs our approach to compensate for the decline of food supply available
here, which attempts to grasp the rock paintings as a from hunting by developing a completely new strategy of
phenomenon of its own. A first step to advance here is agrarian subsistence. Even far more sophisticated models
to use a basic feature of phenomenological reflection, still work under the assumption that the climate was the
namely, viewing what is self-evident, from a distance. triggering factor. For example: “The current trend to
This involves removing an object from its usual context view climatic fluctuations as a mechanism for triggering
of understanding in order to highlight qualities that have cultural change is based on the growing understanding that
remained inconspicuous precisely because they seem so environmental impacts are ‘screened’ through a cultural
self-evident. In the case of rock images one such largely filter” (Bar-Yosef 1998, 173). Other authors invoke the
overlooked quality is the fact that they are iconic artefacts climate model when they argue that the climatic conditions
firmly attached to a particular location. It is this feature of of the Pleistocene would not have allowed agriculture at
being place-bound that I propose to explore as a crucial all (Bettinger et al. 2009, 628).2
trait of rock images.
Some researchers have downplayed the role of climate
Perhaps this quality of rock images is revealingly linked change and stressed the significance of cultural history.
to what may well be the most consequential turning point Findings from the extensive excavations at Göbekli Tepe
in the cultural development of Homo sapiens, namely
2
A number of contributions (including the present), which themselves
take other directions, confirm the dominance of the climate model by
1
This approach was first applied by the art historian Max Raphael to explicitly distancing themselves from it. In this sense Rosen and Rivera-
Palaeolithic cave paintings (Raphael 1945; 2013) and was partially taken Collazo write: “We argue that the YD [Younger Dryas] did not initiate
up by André Leroi-Gourhan (Leroi-Gourhan 1965) and Annette Laming- the eventual collapse of foraging systems that lead to the earliest cereal
Emperaire in her PhD dissertation (Laming-Emperaire 1962; see Grube cultivation in the southern Levant.” (Rosen and Rivera-Collazo 2012,
2013). 3644).

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Gernot Grube

in southeastern Turkey, for example, prompted Klaus hand, like small sculptures, weapons, and tools; speaking
Schmidt to hypothesise that cultural requirements could or dancing could not exist at all without bodily activity.
have provided the impulse to develop a more localised and We might call them body-bound types of expression in
controllable food supply (Schmidt 2012; Dietrich et al. contrast to the location-bound expressions of rock images.
2012). The key factors on which he based his theory are, The latter are – to use a cautious formulation – connected
firstly, the dating of a temple complex to the beginning of to the human body only by means of the eye and appear to
the Neolithic transformation; secondly, the fact that it was foster a sense of distance, a dissociation from the movable
a purely religious site whose significance was exclusively body. Should they also have been touched, for example in
symbolic and social; and, thirdly, the assumption that the performance of certain rituals, as some authors assume,
the creation of a fixed symbolic and architectural this use would have no influence on the visual interaction
complex was deliberate. Before Schmidt, Jacques between viewer and image. It is not possible to see the
Cauvin (2007) developed the thesis that the Neolithic image with the hands, apart from its sculptural elements.
Revolution, although economic in nature, could have been Perhaps we ought to include other site-bound objects in
preceded by a cognitive shift. Cauvin relied on his own an inventory of expressions, such as objects manufactured
excavations (especially conducted at Mureybet, Syria, from organic materials used in large-scale rituals; these
today buried under Lake Assad), but also on the many would have been too large to be moved from place to
iconic expressions that James Mellaart had previously place. In such cases, rock images would have shared the
uncovered in Çatalhöyük (Mellaart 1967). Although some quality of immobility with other types of expression.
important details of Cauvin’s argumentation should be
viewed critically, particularly where based on Mellaart’s The list of commonalities between rock images and other
interpretations3, good reasons still exist to maintain the types of expression is long and includes particularly
foundation of his thesis, namely that the impulse for the important characteristics. Thus, figurative representations
Neolithic transformation was a cognitive change brought and abstract symbols that appear as rock images are also
out by new strategies in the use of symbols.4 It is possible found on plaques, weapons, and tools. A sculptural element
that a more elaborate view on the phenomenon of rock characterises both rock images as well as miniature
images may provide insights that support Cauvin’s figurines or weapons like spear-throwers. Narratives that
argument. could have served as a basis for pictorial compositions in
caves would have also found expression in stories, chants,
3.2. Confronting the phenomenon of rock images and dances. The rock images do not have a monopoly on
many of their characteristic features. It is their quality
To begin with a closer view at the phenomenon of rock of being site-bound alone that differentiates them from
paintings we can compare them as a type of expression5 almost all other types of expression. Furthermore, the
with other types employed during the Palaeolithic; this influence is mutual, since the place to which the symbols
will enable us to identify differences and similarities. In are tied acquires a special status from their presence.
this process, we should also consider types of expression
that did not leave any archaeological traces, such as body Even before the culture of rock images came into existence,
painting or singing, which were very likely in vogue at the human beings occupied particular locations and endowed
time. The range of types of expression from the Palaeolithic, them with meaning. Setting up a campsite, for instance,
which have basically remained alive to the present day, requires a group to organise the space; they must choose a
may include: speaking, chanting, dancing, meaningful place for the campfire and pitch their tents, activities that
gestures, rituals, music, body painting, mutilation, hair inevitably demarcate comparatively public versus private
styles, jewellery, clothing, small sculptures, weapons and areas. By converting a natural setting into structured space,
tools decorated with symbols or markers, symbolically people endow it with meaning, i.e. social organisation.
fashioned plaques, perhaps painted animal skins, and rock
images both outdoors and inside caves (Figure 3.1). With the help of objects that primarily serve practical
purposes (for example, hunting), they create meanings
Almost all of these expressions are movable. Like the that have a dominant influence on the group’s communal
humans that produced and used them, they are not bound life. Such objects, thus, have a social as well as a practical
to a certain location. They are, however, particularly well function. Symbolic objects with a primarily social function
suited to the human body since they either directly include as, for example, a sandstone figurine, or objects with
it, for example body painting, or fit well in the human combined functions, like a richly ornamented weapon,
may raise the status of a space and endow it with meaning
3
For example, Mellaart’s view that some symbols represent goddesses temporarily through their presence within it. Rock
or that some buildings containing rich iconic expressions are addressed images, by contrast, are objects with a primarily social
as shrines (cf. Hodder 1999; 2014). function, intended to transform a space permanently;
4
“The diffusion of the Neolithic is not just a circumstantial response
to some sort of crisis. It is a phenomenon of long duration, on a scale they are examples of spatial ‘design’. Their extraordinary
of several millennia, whose amazing diversity only appears coherent by durability sets them apart from other types, for example,
reference to the ‘symbolic system’ which governs it” (Cauvin 2007, 208). installations for the performance of large-scale rituals
5
A ‘type of expression’ is nothing other than a certain group of
expressions that can be meaningfully categorised under one or more or grave markers of organic materials. Rock images are
criteria, such as body painting, jewellery, sculpture, or rock art. unaffected not only by motion but also by time. When these

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 Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock Images

Figure 3.1. Types of expressions presumably used in Palaeolithic times and some of their characteristics. Prepared by the author.

representations coalesce with a rock surface, they become fixed in place, but exposed to decay. Rock images, alone,
basically immutable. They resist movement and decay. resist both dimensions of mutability. Even after some
They can then be further altered, revised, supplemented or generations, the same representations and marks can still
completely erased by humans, but the last state into which be observed, although after the passage of several hundred
humans have put the representations remains. years their symbolic meaning may need to be deciphered
anew. The combination of these qualities, site permanence
The experience of a place is conveyed through particular and durability, means that such symbols can achieve quite
characteristics, for example, an unusual feature in the different things (for example, creating a sense of history).
landscape that attracts attention and impresses itself on
memory; or by way of markers, which – if they are not 3.3. Things to do with rock images
engraved on rock surfaces – are exposed to the elements
(weather) and, therefore, of limited duration. Hunter- Rock images are not only fixed at their site; the site itself
gatherers remembered landscape features because they is also consciously included in their design. Rock images
did not alter easily and provided the benefit of orientation make space itself part of the iconic expression. This point
as the group travelled. The fixed location is experienced of view was originally emphasised by Max Raphael
as a point of reference for ongoing movements. Finally, it (1889–1952) (Raphael 2013); later it came to play a central
is people’s own movement that allows them to experience role in the research of André Leroi-Gourhan (1911–1986),
a striking location as immobile. Thus, any fixed location to name only the most influential scholar (Leroi-Gourhan
serves as a link between the changeable and the 1965). If we take a look at the ‘End Chamber’ in the
unchangeable. The rock image happens to be positioned famous Chauvet cave, for example, it is hard to escape the
precisely at such a junction. impression that, in spite of all reservations, the rock art
creators deliberately introduced tension by decorating the
Rock images are removed from spatial and temporal left wall elaborately and placing only a few representations
change in more or less equal measure. A sculpture made and symbols on the wall to the right (Figures 3.2 and 3.3).
from ivory endures, too, but it remains spatially mobile. The Palaeolithic artists must surely have perceived the
A complex construction built from organic material is space in its entirety and attached significance to how motifs

63
Gernot Grube

Figure 3.2. Chauvet cave, End Chamber, left wall. Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, France (https://
archeologie.culture.fr/chauvet/fr/visitergrotte/salle-fond).

Figure 3.3. Chauvet cave, End Chamber, right wall. Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, France (https://
archeologie.culture.fr/chauvet/fr/visitergrotte/salle-fond).

64
 Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock Images

were distributed in this section of the cave. By taking the Leroi-Gourhan suspects – nothing in the pre-human realm
overall space into account they could merge symbols into that is comparable to the creation of images.”7 In a section
large compositions or systems of expression and convey on ‘planarity’, Krämer draws attention to another often
significantly more complex meaning than with other types neglected aspect of representation on a two-dimensional
of expression. We do not yet know whether a rich supply surface, namely the ‘spatiality of the pictorial’ (Krämer
of images, like those in the Chauvet cave, represents 2016, 65). The two-dimensionality of the surface onto which
a cohesive narrative, but the type of expression of rock the motif is applied integrates it into a specific spatial order,
images does, at least, offer that option. The possibility of because the viewer now sees a top and a bottom, a right and
constructing a more complex symbolic overall expression a left, and directional relations among the pictorial elements.
is particularly facilitated by the closed space of a cave. On This aspect applies in particular to abstract representations,
the one hand, it was possible to create motifs on a large but also to figurative representations, including those that
scale, while on the other hand, any number of symbols create a spatial depth on the two-dimensional surface.
placed at various positions in this space could be placed Therefore, the rock drawing not only consciously shapes
in relation to each other. Raphael was right to insist that, and takes possession of the natural space, but also invents a
when Palaeolithic artists created a representation, they completely new dimension of space, a spatial organisation
were aware of the adjoining images, or those on a different within the artificially created space of an image.
wall at the same location.6
The two-dimensionality of representation was not
In their analyses of image areas in the Chauvet cave, Carole exclusively limited to rock images either, as two-
Fritz and Gilles Tosello provide support for the assumption dimensional representations and markers are also found
that Palaeolithic artists created entire scenes, or at least on mobile objects, including the human body. Independent
intentionally connected motifs, even if the latter were not of the results yielded by chronological considerations of
scenically linked (Fritz and Tosello 2007). Two differences two-dimensional representations, however, the qualitative
emerge when we compare these iconic compositions with difference between a motif on a small plaque and a
other complex symbolic designs that also include the composition like the panel of horses in the ‘Hillaire
element of space, such as rituals or choreographed dances. Chamber’ at Chauvet cave is relevant here. The latter
One is the fixed position of the rock image; the other is its consists of a greater complexity of iconic expression
tendency to expand across the two-dimensional surface. as well as its heightened iconic effect emanating from
If we further consider that the Palaeolithic artists made the large format. Because people were creating a huge
extensive use of the three-dimensional surface topography canvas on the rock, they could draw figures intended for a
of the cave walls in producing the images (Grube 2020), dramatically different impact on the spectator, as opposed
it is likely that the act of creating rock images played a to figures on a mobile plaque of stone or bone.
significant part in the discovery of the two-dimensional
surface as a new symbolic tool. David Lewis-Williams Apart from communicative and other social uses of rock
took a completely different view of the development of paintings, the most powerful use of them is to develop
two-dimensional pictorial expressions. He wrote: “People a historical consciousness with their help. For the
did not ‘invent’ two-dimensional images; nor did they consciousness of history to emerge, the events constituting
discover them in natural marks and ‘macaronis’. On the such a history, or narrative, must be separated from the
contrary, their world was already invested with two- continuous course of events. One occurrence has to be
dimensional images; such images were a product of privileged over other occurrences. The first means for
the functioning of the human nervous system in altered constructing history are stories and human memories. If,
states of consciousness and in the context of higher-order in order to produce a historical consciousness, these means
consciousness” (Lewis-Williams 2002, 192–193). are extended by symbolic artefacts which are neither
internal, such as memories, nor fleeting, such as stories,
Although in her work on the culture-creating power of but rather as visible and durable as rock images, then
the two-dimensional surface the philosopher Sybille that history is granted its own ‘eternal’ body. A history
Krämer concentrates primarily on phenomena such as becomes manageable because people can relate to material
drawings or mathematical formalisms, she refers to Leroi- objects that represent it. They become able to reflect upon
Gourhan to emphasise the exceptional status of paintings it because they have created some distance between it and
as a phenomenon on the two-dimensional surface (Krämer themselves; in the case of rock images they have placed
2016, 15): “While linguistic communication knows at least history right before their eyes.
signal-linguistic precursors in the animal world, there is –
3.4. Paradox of frozen movement
6
One of the conditions to understand Palaeolithic art, Raphael writes, By creating rock images, Palaeolithic people clearly
is “to recognize the existing material for what it is – and very often we
have to deal not with single animals, but with groups”, and another succeeded in mastering a paradox, namely, to express
one is “to interpret the parts in relation to the whole” (Raphael 1945, movement by means of a still representation. We are so
4). His ‘space’-argument is interesting in our context: “The fact that the
existence of such groups and other compositional forms were negated,
came as a result of the premature assertion that the Palaeolithic artists did
not represent space” (Raphael 1945, 24). 7
Translation by the author.

65
Gernot Grube

familiar with this strange phenomenon that we must

consciously call to mind its extraordinary nature. Let us
take the famous depiction of the so-called hunting lions
in the ‘End Chamber’ of the Chauvet cave as an example
(Figure 3.4). Even though nothing is actually in motion
here – on the contrary, a moment is forever frozen in time
– what we see is movement. If we focus on this scene long
enough, we may even begin to hear them. Interestingly,
the psychology of perception has no explanation for the
phenomenon created by the artists here, which appears to
depend solely on the communicative power of the image.
The technique of showing change or movement in front of
our eyes, although nothing is moving, once again expands
the possible repertoire of iconic expressions considerably.

Here, two basic ways of representing movement can be

distinguished, both of which can be realised by fixed image Figure 3.4. Chauvet cave, End Chamber, left wall, hunting
carriers, present in Palaeolithic caves: on the one hand, lions. Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication,
animation, on the other, ‘frozen gesture’8. In an animation, France (https://archeologie.culture.fr/chauvet/fr/
visitergrotte/salle-fond).
several phases of a movement process are combined
pictorially, either by pulling them apart, as in a comic, by
showing the process in successive image sequences, or by
pulling them together, as in a representation in which a or isolate a single detail, “which, like a trigger, can call
lowered and a raised horse’s head are shown at the same up an extensive context of action” (Koschorke 2013,
time. Marc Azéma has produced the most thorough works 72).10 Here, too, the crucial factor is that the rock image,
on animated rock paintings (Azéma 2010). which does not change, can take something out of time,
withdrawn from change. It can hold a certain narration
One of the first to concentrate on the ‘frozen gestures’ in against the flow of time.
rock paintings was Max Raphael. He drew attention to
the connection between a gesture and an action of which Once again, this expressive possibility is not reserved to
it is an element. In this way, a frozen gesture reactivated rock images. Leaving aside chronological considerations,
by a viewer may depict an associated context of action. we can compare the hunting lions to the so-called
For example, Raphael saw a farewell scene in the two swimming reindeer from Montastruc (Bruniquel) (Figure
affectionate reindeer depicted in the Cave of Font-de- 3.6), or to the scene of two reindeer on a baton from
Gaume (Figure 3.5).9 It is precisely with this potential, that Petersfels (Figure 3.7). The reindeer of Montastruc appear
the frozen gesture expressed in rock paintings becomes a to be striving forward, one swimming behind the other.
possible beginning of historical consciousness (Raphael The reindeer of Petersfels appear to be walking one behind
1945, 38–51). Historical consciousness manifests itself the other. In both cases, the interaction of two animals
where people work in imagination against time. They creates a scene.11 The moment of the action that a scene
attempt to retrieve and preserve events that have long depicts has lost none of its fleetingness. It seems to be an
since happened. The earliest and most important medium action on which the viewer’s eye falls at a certain moment.
for creating history is narration. In his theory of narration, Here we are dealing with a specific quality of visual
Albrecht Koschorke (2013) emphasises that narration is an representation, for what differentiates the image gesture
anthropological, cross-cultural constant, and that narration from a live gesture is precisely this paradoxical aspect, that
always temporises its subject. It is true for every narrative, its movement, although frozen, is retained as movement.
even for the historical one, which designs its object against The image gesture lifts the movement it captures out of
the progress of time, that it takes place itself in time and time without destroying it. Rock images achieve this on a
projects its object, dynamically, as action. Images, on the very complex level.
other hand, present “scenically condensed turning points”
It remains to be determined in detail what can be achieved
through heightened complexity in symbolic expression.
8
‘Frozen gesture’ is my translation for the German term ‘Werkgebärde’. One notable aspect is surely greater outsourcing of content,
While a living gesture takes place in time and space, the gesture is frozen
in a work of art. The art historian Fritz Saxl delivered an instructive thereby relieving human memories. In principle, humans
lecture about this aspect (in 1923), and pointed out that these ‘frozen are able to work in several ways with content that has been
gestures’ are able to store and integrate the earliest phases of human transferred to a symbolic medium. These distinct options
cultures into history (Saxl 2012, 102).
9
“The surviving animal stretches its neck downwards until its snout
almost touches the root of the staghorn of the collapsed animal, while the
head itself is too tired for an answer – a tenderness of farewell between 10
Translation by the author.
two equally abstract and living masses, between two animals that do not 11
In this text I distinguish a scene from a narrative. Certainly, one could
mime, do not represent, but are the nuanced intimacies between humans” interpret a scene as a narrative in a nutshell, but on the other hand it is a
(Raphael 2013, 68; translation by the author). constructive part of a narrative.

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 Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock Images

Figure 3.5. Cave Font-de-Gaume, two reindeer. Sketch by Henri Breuil (after Capitan et al. 1910, pl. XXVIII).

increase markedly, however, with the complexity of • they expand the iconic use of two-dimensional surfaces;
expression, that is, with the complexity of the outsourced • they create an artificial space within a two-dimensional
thought content. This connection is made particularly clear surface;
to us by writing systems. In caves it is possible to create • they preserve symbolic expression from decay;
an entire image program that captures different layers • they bring complex narratives into visibility;
of content such as a superficial and a metaphorical one • they preserve narratives independently of human
– and combines many scenes into larger narratives. Leroi- memories.
Gourhan wrote that “the images in a cave all hold together
as a single block, from the entrance to the end” (Leroi- This list of aspects could be enlarged and refined, and time
Gourhan 1965, 78).12 A second aspect is the possibility of and again it would become apparent that it is the quality
cognitively more ambitious justifications. There is every of being site-bound that, in combination with the other
reason to assume that Palaeolithic people also used all qualities, allows new possibilities of expression to arise.
types of expression to organise their communal life, and to Even if we have no access to Palaeolithic interpretations of
ensure that it was free of friction. Rock images would thus rock images, or whole groups of rock images, we can still
have played a role in cognitive strategies of justification. recognise their potentials for expression, which were also
If a particular social norm is to be enforced, there must be accessible to the artists who created them.
a proper rationale for it. More complex rationales can be
created with the aid of more complex types of expression. We are very familiar with timeless places characterised
by expressive objects. We only need to think of sacred
3.5. Sedentary images or official buildings that structure urban space. However,
when cave spaces were first developed as architecture,
Let us here summarise some of the essential aspects of the so to speak, they were the only such spaces. It remains
phenomenon of rock images: uncertain whether it really was the first time, but long
before the Neolithic Revolution, these spaces gave rise to
• they are bound to a specific site; symbolic-social effects created by the amalgamation of
• they successfully address the paradox of holding a place and symbols: certain symbols received a special
movement; status by being distinguished by a certain place. And
• they are significantly more complex than other symbolic because these symbols are spatially organised, they can
expressions, such as sculptures or body painting; be combined into a greater fabric of expression. Such a
• space becomes a constitutive part of iconic expression; fabric may contain comprehensive content independent of
individuals’ memories. People can draw on this content
12
In an article from 1958, Leroi-Gourhan illustrates his reconstruction because it is placed before their eyes. Whatever the
of complex relationships of images for a number of caves (Leroi- content of a narrative may be, it thereby becomes visible
Gourhan 1958, plates I–V). Even if one does not follow Leroi-Gourhan’s as a narrative. By conveying a special status to the place,
interpretation in detail, his attempt shows the potential of rock paintings
for complex contexts. I myself have attempted to unlock parts of the this narrative, in turn, receives its own extraordinary
extensive image program in the Chauvet cave (Grube 2020). status. Thus, the rock images’ quality of being site-bound

67
Gernot Grube

creates the option of presenting prominent and timeless cave, shows that they have simultaneously brought about
narratives, in order to provide a rationale for certain social two innovations. Firstly, the dependence on a certain
norms, for example. We have become familiar with this place, and secondly, an increase in complexity. Both
sort of timeless validation from dealing with sacred texts; aspects are closely linked, because a larger composition of
although they have to be interpreted, it is only ever within expression is difficult without a fixed canvas, and because,
the context of a fixed corpus of religious writings, a stable on the other hand, the discovery of such a potential
collection of expressions holding narratives. canvas led Palaeolithic pictorial artists to create more
complex representations. Since there is much to suggest
A narrative or, more generally, a system of symbolic that the groups that created rock paintings already had
meanings, acquires an objective character when we can narratives that helped control essential social concerns
look at the symbols it contains; that puts it on course to (conflict resolution, gender relations, external relations),
become an entity independent of the observer. By means it can be assumed that the main reason for the new type
of rock images, humans were able to create a fixed of expression of the rock paintings was their enormous
reference, an Archimedean point, or an origin, so to say, narrative potential.
for a Cartesian system of narrative coordinates. A fixed
reference is an effective and powerful instrument for the In short, it was the discovery of a new medium that would
cognitive organisation of a group’s social life. In contrast pay off, because it had the potential of a greater influence on
to other types of expression that offer fixed reference the shaping of social life. In this respect, the breakthrough
points as, for example, oral narratives of myths of origin, of rock painting was not different from a breakthrough of
rock images could become extraordinarily effective by a new medium in later times, or today. In order to achieve
virtue of being site-bound and visible. Here, too, it is the social influence, disadvantages or difficulties may be
combination of two aspects that make the rock painting a worth the risk. It is possible that the local nature of the
powerful symbolic tool. However, the outstanding aspect rock paintings was perceived as a problem for the nomadic
for a group of hunters and gatherers remains the site-bound way of life, but was accepted for the sake of the more
nature of the depictions, because this does not fit into the complex narrations, and that this, in turn, could bolster a
routine of a nomadic life. Especially in front of the large completely new impulse to reorient the organisation of a
representations, as we find them in the European rock art community. The sedentism of the new images would have
caves, it can be understood that the deliberate symbolic been, therefore, by no means intended, but rather a side
conquest of a place can have completely new effects on effect.
a viewer.
Perhaps, however, this side effect triggered an ideological
Because the people using these symbolic tools were able to reorientation, to put it provocatively, towards narratives that
elevate existing routines such as the justification of societal reckoned with an exceptional and fixed place, deliberately
norms to a more complex level, they could be employed selected by people. The ideological options offered by an
more successfully in the service of tradition than other exceptional and permanent site may have been experienced
types of expression. Simultaneously, as new site-bound for the first time in the design of a cave. The construction of
iconic expressions, they provided possibilities to counter a particular site not only allows for more complex narratives,
tradition and to prepare the ground cognitively, as it were, as in the case of the designed caves, but also for narratives
for a change in the way of life. One such example is the that can use a fixed site, reaching beyond generations, as an
heightened appreciation of a particular place because objective point of reference.
the group has invested in it symbolically. Along with the
expanded possibilities for social design, the rock images Spatial references, provided with iconic expressions, give
introduced the principle of place-bound iconic expression. rise to new types of narratives. On the one hand, narratives
When the first place-bound sites of worship such as can be developed to have a completely new scope, not
Göbekli Tepe were built, these possibilities of social design limited to a group, or an association of groups manageable
might have needed to be rediscovered or invented for a by oral communication, but which can be perceived by a
second time. At an opportune climatic stage, some 12,000 large number of groups which perhaps meet only once a
years ago, and as a consequence of considerable social year. Fixed places that are symbolically upgraded function
implications, however, the use of ‘enduring’ narratives as ‘propaganda machines’. They can gather a lot of people,
made possible by fixed architectural complexes could and promote their stories. In this sense, the caves would
have led people to grasp the economic opportunities of a not have differed much from later sacred buildings.
sedentary way of life. In this case, the driving force would
not have been a bottleneck in supply as often thought, On the other hand, rock paintings may have produced a type
but rather complex iconic expressions that demonstrated of narrative that helped unfold historical consciousness.
particular social effectiveness, as with rock images. The prerequisite for this is the resistance of the rock images
to spatial and temporal change. They hold themselves and
3.6. Conclusion their meanings over spatial and temporal distances. People
may move and stay away from them for long periods of
A look at the phenomenon of rock paintings, in particular time, but as soon as they are back, they find the same
the representations in the special spatial structure of a constellation that was left behind: a perceivable, human-

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 Off the Move: On the Phenomenon of Rock Images

made ‘permanence’; a symbolic tool that surpassed all without the factor of human imagination or inventiveness.
others by its immutability. For example, Derek Hodgson and Paul Pettitt (2018) try to
explain the phenomenon of large naturalistic depictions of
The difficulties in explaining why people produced animals in European caves by explaining that it was mainly
rock paintings in caves at some point of time might be a supersensitive visual perception needed by hunters and
comparable to the difficulties in explaining why people gatherers for hunting and protection that was responsible
invented alphabet writing or book printing at some point for seeing these animals under dim light conditions on the
of time. It could be caused by a mixture of psychological rock surfaces. This constitution of the visual apparatus,
needs, inventiveness and expectations. The basic need of combined with the production of handprints and abstract
different individuals within a community to control social marks, prompted Palaeolithic people to paint the animals
life may have been the engine to unfold the new narrative they saw on the walls (Hodgson and Pettitt 2018).
options of location-based images. It would be interesting
to specifically investigate whether there is a continuous The assumption that Palaeolithic people saw animals on
line from caves to buildings, such as at Göbekli Tepe, in the cave walls is very plausible. It is still the same today.
the use of site-bound iconic expressions. Everyone is familiar with the experience of confusing a
shrub with an animal at dusk, or recognising shapes in
The important thing is that the interest in certain narrations cloud formations. But the point is not that our Palaeolithic
dominates all other factors. An attempt of explanation ancestors could also see figures on rock walls, but that
based on the primacy of socially effective narratives they made animal figures visible, and fixed them on the
differs from an explanatory approach that tries to do walls in order to achieve social effects.

Figure 3.6. Montastruc (Bruniquel), swimming reindeer. Reproduction courtesy of the British Museum, London.

Figure 3.7. Petersfels, scene of two reindeer (above: rendering by Peter Florian; below: photo of the object by Hans Lumpe).
After Adam and Kurz 1980, 93, fig. 66. Reprint by permission of the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart.

69
Gernot Grube

Acknowledgements Krämer, S. 2016, Figuration, Anschauung, Erkenntnis.

Grundlinien einer Diagrammatologie. Berlin:
I am grateful to the editors for very valuable suggestions Suhrkamp Verlag.
for improvement and careful corrections. My thanks for
Laming-Emperaire, A. 1962, La signification de l’art
creating the English version of this chapter go to Marcus
rupestre paléolithique. Méthodes et applications. Paris:
Perrenoud, Niels Barmeyer, and Alice Lagaay.
Éditions A. & J. Picard & Cie.
References Leroi-Gourhan, A. 1958, Répartition et groupement des
animaux dans l’art pariétal paléolithique. Bulletin de la
Adam, A. D. and Kurz, R. 1980, Eiszeitkunst im
Société préhistorique de France 55(9), 515–528.
süddeutschen Raum. Stuttgart: Konrad Theiss Verlag.
Leroi-Gourhan, A. 1965, Préhistoire de l’art occidental.
Azéma, M. 2010, L’art des cavernes en action. Les
Paris: Édition d’art L. Mazenod.
animaux figurés. Animation et mouvement, l’illusion de
la vie. Paris: Éditions Errance. Lewis-Williams, D. 2002, The mind in the cave, London:
Thames & Hudson.
Bar-Yosef, O. 1998, The Natufian Culture in the Levant.
Threshold to the Origins of Agriculture. Evolutionary Mellaart, J. 1967, Çatal Höyük: A Neolithic Town in
Anthropology 6(5), 159–177. Anatolia, London: Thames and Hudson.
Bettinger, R., Richerson, P. and Boyd, R. 2009, Constraints Raphael, M. 1945, Prehistoric cave paintings. The
on the Development of Agriculture. Current Bollingen Series IV. New York: Pantheon Books.
Anthropology 50(5), 627–631.
Raphael, M. 2013, Ikonografie der quaternären Kunst. In
Capitan, L., Breuil, H. and Peyrony, D. 1910, La Caverne M. Raphael (edited by G. Grube), Die Hand an der
de Font-de-Gaume aux Eyzies (Dordogne). Monaco: Wand, 11–142. Zürich/Berlin: Diaphanes.
Imprimerie Veuve A. Chêne.
Rosen, A. M. and Rivera-Collazo, I. 2012, Climate
Cauvin, J. 2007, The Birth of the Gods and the Origins of change, adaptive cycles, and the persistence of foraging
Agriculture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. economies during the late Pleistocene/Holocene
transition in the Levant. Proceedings of the National
Dietrich, O., Heun, M., Notroff, J., Schmidt, K. and
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Zarnkow, M. 2012, The role of cult and feasting in the
109(10), 3640–3645.
emergence of Neolithic communities. New evidence
from Göbekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey. Antiquity 86, Saxl, F. 2012, Die Ausdrucksgebärden der bildenden
674–695. Kunst. In F. Saxl (edited by P. Schneider), Gebärde,
Form, Ausdruck. Zwei Untersuchungen, 95–107.
Fritz, C. and Tosello, G. 2007, The Hidden Meaning of Forms:
Zürich/Berlin: Diaphanes.
Methods of Recording Paleolithic Parietal Art. Journal of
Archaeological Method and Theory 14(1), 48–80. Schmidt, K. 2012, Göbekli Tepe. A Stone Age Sanctuary
in South-Eastern Anatolia. Berlin: ex oriente e.V/
Grube, G. 2013, Raphaels Ikonographie jungpaläolithischer
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Kunst. In M. Raphael (edited by G. Grube), Die Hand
an der Wand, 145–173. Zürich/Berlin: Diaphanes.
Grube, G. 2020, An Image Description Method to Access
Palaeolithic Art: Discovering a Visual Narrative
of Gender Relations in the Pictorial Material of
Chauvet Cave. In T. Meaden and H. Bender (eds.),
Anthropomorphic Images in Rock Art Paintings and
Rock Carvings, 33–48. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Hodder, I. 1999, Symbolism at Çatalhöyük. In J. Coles,
R. Bewley and P. Mellars (eds.), Proceedings of the
British Academy 99, 177–191. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Hodder, I. 2014, Çatalhöyük: the leopard changes its spots.
A summary of recent work. Anatolian Studies 64, 1–22.
Hodgson, D. and Pettitt, P. 2018, The Origin of Iconic
Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual
Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal 28(4), 591–612.
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Fischer Verlag.

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 4

Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers:

A View from Guaiquivilo Rock Art, Southern Andes, Chile

Francisco Vergara Murua

Abstract: This chapter explores the relationship between movement and time in prehistoric
hunter-gatherer societies. It does so by analysing the rhythm involved in the production of rock
art, at a place called Calabozos, located in the southern Andes of Chile. The results show that
the movements involved in making rock art were embedded in seasonal and circadian cycles,
which provided a general rhythmic structure to the productive process. The results also reveal
that, beyond this general rhythmical structure, the making of each motif was a rhythmical unity in
itself. Following these results, it is argued that Calabozos was a polyrhythmic assemblage, a place
characterised by a multi-layered temporality composed by a general rhythmical structure and
multiple individual rhythms. These findings challenge the validity of a distinction between ritual
and mundane time, and support thinking about the archaeological record in terms of palimpsests.

Keywords: rock art, Chile, archaeology, rhythm, palimpsest

4.1. Introduction to movement in itself, such as sequences of footprints

and dots (Figures 4.1 and 4.2). On the other hand, the
Guaiquivilo rock art is a set of petroglyphs made by great extension of these petroglyphs in addition to their
groups of hunter-gatherers that inhabited the Andes succession along elongated panels implies an extended
Mountains (35° lat. S) between the 12th and 16th century body movement along these rocks. Finally, to engrave
AD (Niemeyer and Weisner 1971; Fernández 1977; these images, people had to travel from their residential
2000). These petroglyphs present a high iconographic camps towards these sites.
variability composed of animal and human footprints,
an exuberant number of parallel lines, figures of axial These aspects not only indicate the relevance of movement,
symmetry, sequences of dots, frets, circles and triangles. but also a relationship between movement and time. In the
To archaeologists Hans Niemeyer and Lotte Weisner first place, the fact that these petroglyphs remain under
(1971), all this variability was part of a single style, which snow during winter shows that the practice of making rock
they labelled the Guaiquivilo style. Other archaeologists, art was related to annual seasonal cycles. Secondly, the
like Jorge Fernández, proposed that the Guaiquivilo style practice of making these petroglyphs and walking across
represented a merging of various imageries including and along these rocks, implies the succession of different
other rock art styles, such as the fret-style and footprint- moments and phases. Consequently, in the rock art of
style defined earlier by Argentinian archaeologist Osvaldo Guaiquivilo, both movement and time seem to be related,
Menghin (1957). and the aim of this chapter is to explore that relationship.
In order to do so, this contribution analyses the ‘rhythm’ of
In spite of the stylistic variability, these images share five rock art production at Calabozos, one of 19 rock art sites
common aspects. Firstly, a big portion of them share an dispersed in the region (Figure 4.3). It contains 30.7% of the
astonishing size, often surpassing three metres. Secondly, total number of motifs assigned to the Guaiquivilo style and
these images were engraved on enormous semi-horizontal also displays the widest iconographic variability recorded to
rocks, sometimes reaching 60 metres in length. Thirdly, date (Niemeyer and Weisner 1971; Romero 2019).
within these ‘rock carpets’, images succeed one another
following the same elongated orientation of the panels. Approaching the rhythm of rock art production through
Fourthly, these rocks are located in the Andean mountain the case of Calabozos is promising, because it allows us
gaps above 1600 m a.s.l., meaning that they remain under to explore the ways in which hunter-gatherers of the late
snow during winter. Fifthly and lastly, these rocks are Holocene moved across the Andean landscape, and to
situated at a distance from the residential and logistical discuss the temporality of that movement. This is important
camps that hunter-gatherers or horticulturalist groups because up until now, most of the debate about hunter-
used. gatherers and time has been concentrated on seasonality,
on the one hand, and on the problem of history vs
Altogether, these aspects suggest that, independently of structuralism, on the other hand (e.g., Levi-Strauss 1971;
the stylistic variation, movement must have constituted an Fabian 1983; Gell 1992; Munn 1992; Abercrombie 1998;
important element in the making of this rock art. On the Fausto and Heckenberger 2007). Although I do value the
one hand, we find a high frequency of images that allude contributions made within that debate, I think that we have

71
Francisco Vergara Murua

Figure 4.1. Images that allude to movement. Photo taken by Hans Niemeyer at Calabozos in 1968. Niemeyer’s Archive,
National Museum of Natural History, Santiago, Chile.

Figure 4.2. Dots in succession. Calabozos rock art site.

left unattended other ways in which the temporal dimension among hunter-gatherer societies is tackled from a different
of life is expressed. Indeed, recent anthropological studies angle, specifically from the perspective of the rhythm of
have demonstrated that for hunter-gatherers time matters rock art production.
and that it is a dimension generally embedded in wider
economic, political and ideological aspects of social life Seen in this way, the Guaiquivilo rock art is related to
(Santos-Granero 2007; Brightman 2012; Sinha et al. 2011; two types of rhythm: one general, the other particular.
Ohnuki-Tierney 1973). In this chapter, the issue of time As this contribution will show, the first one consists

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

Figure 4.3. As the map shows, Calabozos (12) is part of a larger occupation by hunter-gatherers of the Andean landscape, in
which we can find residential and logistical camps, obsidian quarries and other rock art sites distributed across the lower,
medium and high Andean zones.

of seasonal and circadian cycles, the general flow of Gourhan 1992, 309). To him, technical actions, movements
movement through the site, and shared techniques of rock and rhythms were connected. As he observed, developing
art production. The second one consists of many different a technical action entails the repetition of movement, and
paths of movements, invested energies, and different sizes therefore, duration. As You (1994) has noted, duration
seen in every motif. Both rhythms are usually contrasted implies a personal experience of time, and consequently it
with a view that explains temporal multiplicities according evokes an understanding of time as a lived process. Thus,
to a division between ritual and mundane time. Instead, when we think of time in terms of rhythms, we are not
in this chapter it is argued that Calabozos reveals itself reducing it to a mechanical conception, like a clock-based
as a polyrhythmic palimpsest. As noted by Lucas (2005), system, or a succession of points. Rather, we are relating
a palimpsest results from the overlapping of multiple time back to practice, movements, and the body.
events, each of them having many layers of temporality
and different echoes or retention lengths. According to Goodridge (1999, 25), rhythm in human
movement can be described as “consisting of the
4.2. Analysis of rock art and rhythm arrangements of components into a sequential pattern or
series of patterns”. She recognises that “there are in process
As various authors have noted, the production of rock art a number of influences and different features in the bodily
is, first of all, a technical process (e.g., D’Errico 1992; use of time elements that create rhythm [. . .] that the total
Bednarik 1998; Chippindale 2004; Sepúlveda 2011; Fiore pattern emerges as [. . .] a complicated many-layered mesh
2018). This means that to produce a motif, people have to of relations between components” (Goodridge 1999, 39).
employ a set of tools, apply specific techniques and use
certain materials. It also implies that in making rock art a To analyse this mesh, Goodridge distinguishes components
series of body gestures unfolds through a flow of energy. and features of movement and timing occurring at three
Leroi-Gourhan (1992, 310) referred to this as “technical levels: body and space, development of action, and
rhythm”. He argues that “manufacturing techniques environment. These levels allow someone conducting
developed from the beginning in a rhythmic setting [. . .] participatory observation to perceive such components
born of the repetition of impact-making gestures” (Leroi- and features. However, when looking at rock art we do not

73
Francisco Vergara Murua

see people performing actions. Instead, all we can observe Representative Trend, represent stylistic variations of the
are the material remains of the components and features former styles (Schobinger 1956; Fernández 1974–1976;
of time and rhythm. In other words, in rock art we see the 2000; Boschín and Llamazares 1992; Gradin 1997–1998;
lines of those movements. This is a crucial distinction and Belleli et al. 2008; Boschín, Fernández and Arrigoni 2016).
requires us to translate some of Goodridge’s elements into
archaeological variables if we are to use her scheme. An Fernández has argued that the Guaiquivilo style had
attempt to translate these elements is found in Table 4.1. appeared in Guaiquivilo (Chile) and in Colomichico
(Argentina) in the form of parallel lines. Later on, in
Following Goodridge’s proposal, this chapter conducts a the Guaiquivilo area, it was influenced by the footprint
three-scale analysis. Firstly, it focuses on the participants, and fret styles, whereas in Colomichico it remained
which is part of what Goodridge considered body and unchanged (Fernández 1977; 2000; cf. Vega et al. 1996).
space. Then it turns into the analysis of the environment In chronological terms, Fernández (1977; 2000) agrees
and movements along Calabozos rock art site. After with Niemeyer and Weisner (1971) in that the production
that, this paper analyses the rhythms associated with the of the parallel lines took place between 1100 and 1500
production of motifs. This section gathers what Goodridge AD. However, the author suggests that influences of the
called development of action, but it also incorporates footprint style, at first, and later of the fret style, had an
components of body and space such as body structure, impact after 1300 AD.
position in space, space of action and movement path. To
assess these aspects, a number of 322 motifs is analysed, In terms of ethnic assignations, Niemeyer and Weisner
which represents 14.4% of the total number of motifs (1971) suggested that the Guaiquivilo style was produced
at Calabozos. This sample was selected according to a by the Chiquillanes people, i.e. hunter-gatherer groups that
proportional stratified random method.1 Stratifications inhabited both sides of the Andes (approximately between
were made according to the motifs’ iconographical latitudes 33° and 37° S) at the time when the Spaniards started
aspect and to the different sectors in which they appear. their conquest campaigns. The Chiquillanes were part of a
Regarding iconography, this article follows Romero’s larger Andean tradition of hunter-gatherers culturally linked
(2016) proposal which distinguishes between visual to northern areas and traditions, such as the Huarpe people
elements, such as lines, circles, and dots, and motifs which in Cuyo (Latcham 1927; Michieli 1977; Madrid 1983).
can be an aggregation of more than one of those elements The southeast of the Guaiquivilo area was inhabited by the
(concentric circles, parallel lines, assemblage of dots). Guenena-Kene people, groups of hunter-gatherers related to
Southern Patagonian traditions, part of what Casamiquela
4.3. Body and space (1969; 1972–1973) considered the northern Tehuelches. To
the south, ethno-historical documents suggest the existence
4.3.1. Participants and chronology of the Pehuenche people, hunter-gatherers that inhabited the
Andean mountains (Silva 1990).
After analysing and comparing 18 rock art sites distributed
along the Guaiquivilo and Achibueno basins, Niemeyer and By following those ethnic categories and their spatial
Weisner (1971) defined the Guaiquivilo style. According to dispersion, the footprint and fret styles were assigned
them, this rock art shares three aspects: a) it is predominantly to the Guenena-Kene people, whereas the parallel lines
abstract; b) it is always located near waterfalls and the were assigned to the Chiquillanes (Menghin 1957;
engraved rocks are enormous semi-horizontal polished Fernández 1974–1976; 1977; Gradin 1999). Therefore, the
platforms; c) it is spatially circumscribed to the northwest Guaiquivilo style is situated in what Lagiglia (1977) refers
of the Neuquén region (southeast), to the Andean area of to as the “southern Andean area”, an intermediate space
the Maule Region (centre), and to the Cipreses river, in the where Andean and Patagonian traditions met. The valleys
Cachapoal basin (north). located west of the Guaiquivilo area were inhabited
by horticulturalist communities that lived in more
Later contributions made by Fernández (1974–1976; permanent settlements, described by Bibar (1966 [1558])
1977; 2000) suggested that rather than one style, the as Pormocaes. Thus, the Guaiquivilo style is also close
Guaiquivilo rock art is a bundle of imageries that gathers to historical processes that had their own developments in
what some other authors have defined as different styles. the fertile plains of central Chile.
The most representative motifs are the footprint, parallel
line and fret styles defined by Menghin (1957) (Figure Later on, Fernández (2000) noted that dividing the north
4.4). Other suggestions and denominations, such as of the Neuquén region according to ethnic labels was
TAGC, Neuquénico A, B and C, MALB, EFE2 or Abstract- unproductive, since the region was a “temporary variable
human mosaic” (Casamiquela 1972–1973, 487; author’s
translation). Taking these considerations into account,
1
For an explanation of the sampling method, see “A Dictionary of
Zoology” by Michael Allaby (2009). current archaeologists prefer to assign these petroglyphs
2
TAGC: Tendencia abstracto geométrica compleja (Abstract geometric to hunter-gatherer groups who had extensive networks of
complex tendency); MALB: Modalidad del Ámbito Lacustre Boscoso interaction across the Andean and Patagonian areas during
del Noroeste de Patagonia (Modality from the lakes and forest area of
the Northwest of Patagonian); EFE: estilo de formación étnica (style of the late Holocene. Along these lines, there is agreement in
ethnic formation). that the last 1000 years witnessed an increase of population

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

Table 4.1. Translation of Goodridge’s (1999) model into archaeological variables.

Body and space Development of action Environment/Rock art site

Components Features Components Features Components Features

Period Location

Social Pauses Size Area

Occurrence
organisation

Depth of the
Size number Shape
groove
Participants
Engraved area Height

Time and energy Continuity of the Configuration

Sectors
Ethnicity line

Cortex
Surface
Aggregation

Parts engaged in
Progression Sequence Entrances
the action Connections
Body structure
Techniques Exits

Tools Luminosity

Standing Weather

Kneeling
Position in space
Lying

Orientation
Repetition of
Successive Seasonality
events Setting
Juxtaposition
Landscape
Type of action Superposition

Separate

Discrete

Changes of
Movement path
direction

and an intensification of social interactions (Aschero the high mobility of these groups, their houses, clothes and
1988; Belleli et al. 2008; Romero and Re 2014; Acevedo ceremonies. Regarding this last aspect, he mentions ritual
2015; Re et al. 2015; Scheinsohn et al. 2016; Barberena animal sacrifices taking place on marked rocks, after which
et al. 2017; Berón et al. 2017). Both impacted the ways in people would venerate the rocks (Bibar 1966 [1558], 137).
which rock art was produced, generating an increment in Bibar also noted that the people from the mountains used
the number of motifs and rock art sites, or as Fiore (2006) to come down to the valleys in summer, between February
and Crivelli Montero (2006) noted, on the rhythm of rock and the end of March, bringing with them llunques (hide
art production. blankets), ñandú feathers and other products for exchange,
and used to return afterwards with corn and other food
4.3.2. Interaction and social organisation products. These interactions were not always peaceful, and
people from the valleys feared them because they used to
Geronimo de Bibar (1966 [1558]) describes that during raid villages, steal food, women and children. According to
the 16th century the Andean area of the Maule region Bibar, during these instances the ‘Puelche’3 gathered together
was populated by a group of people who had dispersed in larger units, reaching 150 people or more.
settlements of 15, 20 or 30 individuals. Bibar mentions
that they did not farm the land, and that their economy was
mainly based on the hunt of guanaco (Lama guanicoe), puma
3
The Chilean historian Osvaldo Silva (1990) argues that Puelche was
an indigenous vernacular category, also used by the Spaniards, which
(Puma concolor), small deer (Cervidae spp.), ñandú (Rhea denoted the people that lived in the mountains and to the east of it. Thus,
pennata) and various other birds. The chronicler mentions the author stresses that Puelche was never an ethnic category.

75
Francisco Vergara Murua

Osvaldo Silva (1990) tells us that the people from the tightly bound at the top, like a trident; another [captain]
mountains had territorial affiliations with the place brought a toque, which is a stone emblem which resembles
where they were born, which gave them rights to use an axe, that the regües use and that are always possessed
and exploit the resources within those territories. This by the most senior of the caciques, to whom they refer
territorial affiliation also generated restrictions related to as toques.” (Núñez de Pineda 1863 [1673], 40; translation
the environmental and seasonal fluctuations that make and italics by the author).
the higher parts of the Andes uninhabitable during winter.
Ethno-historical documents suggest that to overcome The three knives attached to the top of the spear were
these restrictions, these hunter-gatherers developed a set of representative of the utammapos, a conglomeration of
social mechanisms, like maloqueo, exogamy and extended regües of which the indigenous world, from the coast to
networks of exchange. the Andes, was composed. The knives and toque were
given to each regüe leader, the toque (which had a higher
Maloqueo refers to the practice of assaulting and raiding status than the cacique). Juan Ignacio de Molina (1788)
farms, capturing women, children and obtaining economic also mentions that the ‘Puelche’ were divided into aduares,
resources (e.g., livestock) (Figure 4.5). Another form each of which led by a head or captain that was known as
of maloqueo, as described by Solis (1990), was not ulmen.
exclusively restricted to obtaining economic resources,
but to provide human and material support to the groups 4.3.3. Settlement patterns
that were resisting the Spanish invasion. This form of
‘military’ maloqueo implied a periodic trans-Andean On the one hand, ethno-historical sources mention that
circulation of people from the Argentinian plains and the area where this rock art is located was inhabited by
the Patagonian region towards the west of the Andes and highly mobile groups of hunter-gatherers. When talking
vice versa. Previous chronicles, like the “Chronicle of the about their houses, Bibar mentions that they used tents
Chilean Kingdom” by Mariño de Lobera (2003 [1563]), made of the leather of hunted animals. Juan Ignacio de
“Happy Captivity” written in 1673 by Núñez de Pineda, Molina (1788, 384–385) noted that the ‘Puelche’s’ tents
and the later “Tratado importante para el conocimiento de were easily transportable, and that these people constantly
los indios pehuenches” written by Luis de la Cruz (1953 moved, seeking places abundant in grasses. Luis de la Cruz
[1806]), also provide a rich contextualisation of how (1953 [1806]) confirms this information, but also adds that
maloqueo operated and suggest that it was an integral part their settlements were located near water resources and
of social organisation and interactions. that after having cleared the ‘fields’, people moved to a
different site; this practice was named quillantu.
For instance, Núñez de Pineda tells us that he was taken
captive after an assault that took place in the fertile valleys On the other hand, archaeological evidence of the Late
of Chile, near the contemporary city of Chillan. On the Period (1300–1700 AD sensu Rees, Seelenfreund and
15th of May 1620, 800 indios confronted a group of Westfall 1996) confirms that the mountains were inhabited
Spanish soldiers and captains, after raiding and destroying by hunter-gatherers, but it also shows that horticulturalist
farms and settlements. During the battle, Núñez de communities lived in the lower areas (Sanhueza et al.
Pineda was taken captive by Maulican, a local cacique 1994; Massone et al. 1994; Jackson and Massone 1994).
(temporary chief). Once the battle ended, Maulican had Evidence used to argue in favour of the existence of agrarian
to argue among his peers for keeping Núñez de Pineda societies relies on the presence of pottery and shovel
alive. Maulican’s intentions were to display his captive lithic tools. However, anthropological and archaeological
and get social recognition and prestige among his people. studies have shown that neither of those elements of
Francisco Núñez de Pineda was the son of a well-known material culture is exclusive to a horticulturalist economy
Spanish captain that had led many of the previous attempts (Hommel 2014). Furthermore, according to the ethno-
to destroy and colonise local communities. historical descriptions, we know that hunter-gatherers in
this area used pottery to boil food and to store fermented
A few days later, when Maulican was taking Núñez de liquids (Núñez de Pineda 1863 [1673], 71; Luis de la
Pineda to his regüe (an inter-band conglomeration of Cruz 1953 [1806], 18). Poeppig (1960 [1826–1829], 394),
hunter-gatherers in the same territory), they encountered commenting on the Pehuenche people, informs us that
two other caciques who asked them to attend a parlamento they produced ceramic pots when settling in a new camp.
(meetings or parliaments for resolving conflicts, creating Other ethnohistorical accounts mention the interaction
alliances or organising warfare, between multiple bands between hunter-gatherers that lived in the mountains and
and regües). Núñez de Pineda wrote: horticulturalist communities that lived in the valleys.
Therefore, this section considers archaeological sites
“[. . .] we followed the two cacique messengers and we that yielded pottery and those that did not as possible
reached the place where the other ministers and soldiers hunter-gatherer settlements on the Andean and pre-
were waiting for us; and then they started to form according Andean zones.
to the customs [. . .] of their lands [. . .]. At the centre, they
placed a tied up soldier [. . .] for sacrifice, and one of the To date, 89 archaeological sites that have been recognised
captains took a spear with his hand, which had three knifes in the Andean and pre-Andean zones of the Maule region

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

Figure 4.4. Rock art at Calabozos site showing the interaction between parallels, humans’ and animals’ footprints, motifs of
axial symmetry and other geometrical motifs.

Figure 4.5. Mauricio Rugendas’ early 19th century paintings of maloqueo: “Los fugitivos, araucano y cautiva” and
“El rapto”. https://www.profesorenlinea.cl/imagenbiografias/rugendas020.jpg and https://www.profesorenlinea.cl/
imagenbiografias/rugendas021.jpg (accessed 5 March 2020).

can be assigned to the Late Period (1300–1700 AD) zone (above 1700 m a.s.l.) and those located in the low
(Figure 4.3). Out of them, 66 can be assigned to residential Andean zone (above 700 m a.s.l.). In the former, they
or logistical camps, 19 to rock art sites, and 4 to obsidian identified three types of camps: a) transitory camps related
quarries. After analysing some of the sites located in the to the exploitation of obsidian quarries, in which the first
Melado and Maule basin, Sanhueza et al. (1994) noted steps of obsidian reduction have occurred (Alero del
differences between the ones located in the high Andean Tunduco, Alero la Cascada Cueva de la Mariela, Cueva

77
Francisco Vergara Murua

de la Laguna); b) camps related to the movement across For instance, in Piedra de los Platos, Medina, Vargas and
territories in Chile and Argentina towards obsidian and Vergara (1964) and Medina and Vergara (1969) report the
other lithic quarries, in which a poor stratigraphy was presence of fragments of orange, grey and black pottery,
found (Puente Campanario, Cueva del Salto de Bobadilla, and ochre pigment clusters. Regarding the latter, it is worth
Refugio del Risco Bayo, Casa de Piedra del Risco Bayo, noting that both, Juan Ignacio de Molina (1788) and Luis
Cueva del Campanario); and c) camps associated with the de la Cruz (1953 [1806]), mention that people that lived
exploitation of local resources, such as Lama guanicoe in the mountains painted their bodies in red, black, blue
and woods (Casa de Piedra Galaz, Casa de Piedra Cajón and white. All these colours, as noted by de la Cruz (1953
del Guanaco). [1806], 31), were obtained from stone pigments and were
used to “look better” or to hide people’s identities.
In the lower zones, camps like Vega Estero la Turbia,
Alero Melado 2 and Alero Melado 3 were used for more In residential camps, such as Piedra de los Platos (1300 m
prolonged periods than the ones on the high zones. A higher a.s.l.), Ta 2E-8 (1032 m a.s.l.), Ta 2E-7 (1106 m a.s.l.) and
frequency of pottery fragments and lithic artefacts, such as El Camino (810 m a.s.l.), it is very common to find small
scrapers and hand planes, suggests that these camps were fragments of brown, red and orange pottery and abundant
devoted to the exploitation of local woods and meadows. obsidian and andesite debris. Arrowheads’ shapes vary
For Sanhueza et al. (1994), these sites were related to more from triangular with straight and convex base to almond-
permanent settlements like Pehuenche. like ones, and their sizes usually range from 15 to 45
mm in length. Lithic cores are scarce, whereas rounded
Pehuenche is located in the lowlands, at 448 m a.s.l. Part pebbles, scrapers and choppers are more frequent. Most of
of the pottery found there proved to be locally produced these sites yielded obsidian debris and tools, and in some
and exclusive to this site, whereas other portions proved of them, archaeologists have recognised material from La
to be produced from clay from the coastal mountains Plata quarry, located close to the Maule Lake (Hermosilla
(Seelenfreund et al. 1994; Rees et al. 1996). Most of 2006).
lithic evidence corresponds to the entire process of lithic
reduction, although a large number of finished artefacts, The above information suggests that the Andean landscape
such as rock mortars, knives, scrapers, hand planes, was used by hunter-gatherers communities in various ways.
shovel blades and arrow heads, were also found. The It is interesting to note that all the residential camps are
raw materials used to produce lithic artefacts are varied, located on the lower and intermediate Andean zones (from
although the most employed ones were four types of Pehuenche at 448 m a.s.l. to Piedra de los Platos at 1300
andesite and obsidian from La Plata quarry (1600 m a.s.l.). m a.s.l.), whereas logistical camps can be found at higher
The site’s stratigraphy shows repeated usage of the site, altitudes. This information suggests that it is very likely
and chronological information suggests that Pehuenche that the hunter-gatherers that inhabited this landscape
started to be used intensively from 1050 until 1700 represent one of the modes of mobility distinguished by
AD (Figure 4.6). According to the authors cited above, Binford (1980), namely the ‘collectors’. This model would
Pehuenche represents a residential camp. explain the presence of residential camps surrounded by
logistical ones from which people brought resources back
For a region very close to the Maule Lake (2173 m a.s.l.), to their residential places. However, the above referred
Miranda (2006) reports a set of semi-circular structures evidence also invites us to think of places where wider
made of simple accumulations of rocks. Although Miranda networks of interaction occurred, especially between
did not find other archaeological evidence, it is possible hunter-gatherers and horticulturalist communities, as
that structures like these were used by hunter-gatherer probably evidenced in Pehuenche and in Ta 2E-8.
communities to pin down their tents. It is interesting to
note that although one of them has a single structure (LM- 4.4. Environment: site, size, configuration, connection,
B01), the other sites consist of groups of three (LM-B02) and setting
and 16 (S/N) structures, respectively, which is consistent
with the ethno-historical information cited above. Their Apart from the above-mentioned archaeological sites,
location suggests that these sites were related to the we also know about the existence of at least 19 rock art
obsidian quarries situated nearby, but also to a seasonal sites, all of them located between 1200 and 1900 m a.s.l.
occupation of that area. (with the exception of Paso Valdes, which is above 2000
m a.s.l.). One of these sites is Calabozos (36° S, 70°59
Other archaeological sites, which have been dated to the W, 1686 m a.s.l.). It is located near the beginning of
Late Period, display similar archaeological evidence and the Calabozos stream, eight kilometres upstream from
spatial conditions. Sites like Piedra de los Platos, located a its mouth at the Guaiquivilo River (1100 m a.s.l.). Its
few kilometres north of Pehuenche but at a higher altitude, location at a high altitude implies that during winter (from
the ones in Radal Siete Tazas, especially Ta 2E-8 and Ta May until late September or October), most of the area
2E-7, and those in the Ancoa basin, are all located near remains under snow. This aspect was confirmed during
water sources and can be assigned either to residential a visit made by the author in early May of 2016, which
or to logistical camps (Massone et al. 1994; Jackson and reinforces the seasonality associated with rock art
Massone 1994; Hermosilla 2006). production.

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

Figure 4.6. This graph shows that during the Late Period the whole Andean and Pre-Andean landscape was inhabited by
communities of hunter-gatherers.

A survey of the surface around the Calabozos basin, which Calabozos a landscape of spatial alternations, an aspect
covered an area of 19 km², showed no other archaeological evident in how interspersed the rock platforms, water
evidence apart from rock art. During the survey, a big streams, vegetation spots, and slopes are. Of course, much
rock shelter used by contemporary herders was detected, time has passed since hunter-gatherers used the site for the
but with no archaeological remains on its surface. This last time, and multiple processes might have influenced
absence of cultural remains near rock art sites was noted what we see today. For instance, during my visit to the
earlier by Niemeyer and Weisner (1971) and by Fernández site, I could not find the motif shown in Figure 4.1. In fact,
(2000) in most of the northwest of the Neuquén region. our analysis of the conservation of the site suggests that
In fact, the closest distance between rock art sites and the main factors and agents that affect the whole site are
residential or logistical camps is 13.7 km (between El lichens, small vegetation, water runoffs, and the freezing of
Toro and Hornillos), followed by 22.5 km (between El water which produces fractures and fissures on the rocks.
Toro and Melado 4), 38.3 km (between Piedra de las Nevertheless, it is still possible to suggest that the general
Marcas and Pehuenche) and 25.4 km (between Piedra de picture referred to above (cf. Figure 4.7) has not changed
las Marcas and Vega Estero la Turbia). Both the absence drastically. In this sense, it is likely that the distribution/
of archaeological remains and the distances between rock layout of the above features were also present when these
art and residential sites suggest that in order to produce rocks were engraved.
petroglyphs people had to leave their camps and move at a
considerable distance. Another attribute of Calabozos rock art site is its location
in the open space, which implies that the luminosity on
In Calabozos, the motifs are concentrated in seven sectors the site is relational to the sunlight and the seasons. When
(Figure 4.7). They are separated either by the Calabozos registering the petroglyphs (January, 2017), although dawn
stream, areas with vegetation in which no rock art is found, was around 5 a.m., the area was covered by sunlight almost
or by a rocky slope and an enormous rock formation. Both two hours later. During morning, noon and afternoon, the
extremes of the site (sector 1 and 7) coincide with small path of the sun resembled the course of Calabozos basin
waterfalls and ponds. Six of these sectors (sectors 1, 2, 3, (Figure 4.8). At noon, when the sun was just above the rock
4, 5 and 7) are elongated semi-horizontal rock platforms platforms, the visibility of the motifs was reduced, whereas
varying from 20 metres (sector 1) up to 142 metres in during the morning and the afternoon, grazing light effects
length (sector 3). Sectors 1 to 5 are located on the south facilitated recognising them. Dusk occurred around 7 p.m.,
bank of the Calabozos stream, whereas sectors 6 and 7 lie followed by the sun setting behind the Melado Mountains
on the north bank of the river. In total, the estimated size of towards the north-west: the same direction as sector 7. In
the site reaches approximately 15 ha and it is 770 m long. this sense, both the spatial arrangement of the sectors and
In relation to the site’s shape, the above features make people’s movements along them mirror the sun’s pathway.

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Francisco Vergara Murua

Figure 4.7. Spatial distribution of sectors at Calabozos rock art site.

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

Figure 4.8. Sunrise seen from the site.

The surface of the site varies as one moves from one sector 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. This direction of movement implies a
to another. For example, rock platforms can be described as south-east/north-west axis, and it resembles the course of
carpet-like (Figure 4.9). Their almost horizontal surfaces the Calabozos stream and the sun’s path. Moving along
are polished and smooth. A big portion of these platforms this axis, one also crosses shrubs and rocky slopes. The
has been eroded, full of fissures or cracks. In some of these second direction implies a south-west/north-east axis.
cracks, small vegetation can appear. Between sectors, one Moving along this direction, one traverses the elongated
crosses patches of small vegetation. Finally, some of the rock platforms, crosses the Calabozos stream and reaches
surface of Calabozos’ terrain, especially the slopes, is sector 6.
covered by small rocks and loose sediments that are a
result of erosion in the surrounding mountains. For movement along the first axis, the following progression
of moves can be suggested. People first reached sector 1
When moving from sector 1 to sector 7, one covers almost (1664 m a.s.l.). From here, one has a panoramic view of
100 metres of altitude difference. Changes of elevation most of the Calabozos site, excluding sector 7. This spot
also occur while moving within each sector. For instance, also offers a panoramic view of the Calabozos stream and
the highest point in sector 3 is 1687 m a.s.l., whereas the of the Andean mountains that delimit the Guaiquivilo basin
lowest is 1650 m a.s.l. These differences of elevation make (south-east). To reach sector 2, it is necessary to cross an
the visibility of the Calabozos site and the surrounding area devoid of petroglyphs for about 50 metres, covered
landscape variable. with grasses and shrubs. The view from this sector is very
similar to the previous one. However, as it is closer to the
4.5. Development of action: flow of movement, stream, one can hear the water running, and clearly see
progression, energy and pauses in moving along sector 6.
Calabozos
Further on, one crosses a second patch of vegetation, about
The spatial distribution of sectors suggests that the people 30 metres long, before reaching sector 3. A small gap of
that made this rock art moved in two main directions. six metres separates sector 4 from sector 3. From sector 4
The first one is related with moving across sectors 1, to 5, it is necessary to walk a distance of 110 metres where

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more vegetation is found. All these sectors are visually cross them, to reach the succeeding rock platforms, so that
interconnected, and from sector 5 towards the northwest one can continue engraving or looking at the engraved
(where sector 7 is located) one can notice an enormous motifs. In this sense, these pauses imply the activation
rock formation. To reach sector 7, one has to cover about of a different set of body movements than when making
380 metres across a stony slope, until arriving at a small petroglyphs. It can be argued that these gaps contributed
waterfall near which one finds rocks with engravings. to the embodiment and reinforcement of the spatial
These rocks are located at the riverside, at the base of architectonics of the site, at least in the sense that people
a huge rock formation that can be accessed only after moved differently than when making rock art. In particular,
crossing the water stream (Figure 4.10). Finally, sector these gaps reinforce the existence of the different sectors
6 is located on the north side of the Calabozos stream; and spaces between them.
therefore, it is necessary to cross the river. From sectors
1, 2 and 3, one needs to descend to the stream and then Although we did not conduct any investigation of the
climb the rock walls of sector 6. Alternatively, one can stratigraphy of these gaps, the possibilities of having a
walk down from sector 1 or 2 for about 180 metres, and canvas with rock art beneath the surface remains very
then approach sector 6 from the east. poor, especially when considering that the shrubs found
here need an appropriate substrate to grow not offered by
According to the cardinal orientations of the rock’s canvas the rocks on which we find rock art. Having said that, six
within each sector, it is also possible to suggest two other gaps can be found between engraved rocks.
directions of movement. The first is one, in which people
moved on a north-east to south-west axis, or vice versa. 4.6. ‘Rhythms’ of making petroglyphs at Calabozos:
This movement allowed people to traverse the whole body structure, position in space, space of action,
elongated panels. The other direction of movement is movement path, time and energy
exclusive to sector 6. Here the spatial distribution of the
motifs follows a circular path that surrounds a natural Guaiquivilo rock art displays a large iconographic
cavity of approximately 30 metres in diameter, which diversity. At Calabozos, all types of petroglyphs can be
stores rain water. found. However, their distribution differs from sector to
sector. Parallel lines, human footprints, linear grids, lines
The above sectors differ from each other in terms of and series of dots are present in all sectors, although they
the average number of motifs per square metre. Sectors tend to concentrate in sector 3 and 4. Motifs of axial
3 and 4 contain a higher number of motifs on average, symmetry are similar to the above, but they are not present
whereas sectors 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 contain less (Table 4.2). in sector 5. Sector 7 contains most of the iconographic
This suggests that a higher amount of energy was invested categories, except for zoomorphs. What is remarkable is
in the production of petroglyphs in sectors 3 and 4 than that sectors 1 and 5 have the least diversified rock art: we
in the remaining sectors. It also suggests an architectural do not find hooks, pins, frets, and hand-like motifs.
distinction of the site in general, which ranges from low
investment of energy in the making of petroglyphs in In terms of techniques, motifs were almost exclusively
sector 1 and 2 towards a high amount of energy in sector produced by direct percussion using pointed stones that
3, reaching a peak in sector 4, and then starts decreasing are available on the site’s surface. Exceptions include a
in sectors 5 and 6. Sector 7 is the area in which the lowest small number of representations of bird footprints as well
average number of motifs per square metre was recorded. as some historic names and figures that were all produced
Such an architectural distinction, or ‘spatial architectonics’ by incisions. One of the most distinctive aspects of the
in the words of Lefebvre (2008), is produced by people’s production of the rock art at Calabozos is that to engrave
movements and actions within the Calabozos area and the rocks people had to kneel or lie on them. There are only
suggests a curved flow of energy along the whole site, two cases in which people could stand in front of the rocks.
starting from low, passing through high, and then returning Similarly, most of the analysed motifs (n=218) present
to low energy again. the same cardinal orientation as the rock canvases and
they are considerably long (more than one metre). These
As mentioned above, between individual sectors we find observations suggest that to engrave most of the motifs,
places with shrubs, slopes, loose sediments, and patches nearly the whole body of the engraver had to be in direct
of small vegetation, like Andean grasses, but no rock contact with the rock surface, either lying or kneeling on
art. From a rhythmical perspective, these gaps can be it, and the engraver had to move their entire body along
understood as pauses, at least in the sense that no rock the rock’s surface. Motifs like parallel lines, those of ‘axial
art was produced here. Within these gaps, people had to symmetry’, frets, and series of dots and footprints provide
employ different body movements than when walking some illustrative cases.
along the rock platforms and when making rock art.
Instead of using a stone hammer and kneeling or lying on Another line of evidence that we can use to analyse the
top of the rocks to produce a motif, people had to use their movement and rhythm of rock art production has to do
bodies to pass through these gaps, taking care not to fall with the physical distances that exist between motifs. At
down, or stumble, thus avoiding any potential accident. Calabozos, it is possible to observe five types of action:
The intention of people moving around these places is to superposition, juxtaposition, adjacent, separate and

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Figure 4.9. Rock canvas used at Calabozos. As shown in this figure, these rocks resemble horizontal smooth carpets.

Figure 4.10. Panoramic view from sector 7 towards the west. At the horizon, the high peaks of the Melado Mountains are visible.

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Table 4.2. Average number of motifs per sector at Calabozos.

Sector Number of motifs Area (m²) Average (m²)

1 41 1224 0.0334967

2 78 1109 0.0703336

3 1129 9770 0.1149437

4 654 3105 0.210628

5 36 901 0.0399556

6 170 4763 0.0356918

7 132 9419 0.0140172

Total 2240 30291 0.0739494

discrete. Superposition is observed when one motif or part

of it is placed on top of another. Juxtaposition is when
the contour of a motif is used as part of a new motif, or
when the contours of two motifs touch each other without
provoking a superposition. An adjacent type of action is
observed when motifs are engraved very close to each
other, but not juxtaposed. A separate type of action is when
the physical spaces that separate individual motifs placed
on the same rock are larger than in the case of adjacent. A
discrete type of action is when a motif is placed alone on
the canvas.

A clear tendency observed at Calabozos was to engrave

motifs adjacent to each other, regardless of iconographical
type (n=188) (Figure 4.11). This tendency resulted in a
succession of motifs towards the same elongated axis of
the rocks (north-east to south-west axis). This must have
invited those who were making and/or looking at motifs to
navigate and move along and across the rocks.

The discrete type of action occurs less frequent than the

adjacent one (n=58). In visual terms, this involves, in
most cases, lines (n=23), circles (n=9), parallel lines
(n=9), and motifs of axial symmetry (n=4). Motif types
that do not form part of this group are human footprints in
succession, a particular animal footprint (Lama guanicoe),
fitomorphs,4 hooks, and linear grids.

Cases of a separated type of action are even less frequent

(n=48), whereas cases of superposition and juxtaposition
are rare (n=12 and n=16, respectively). Regarding
superposition, representations of animal and human
footprints are found overlying lines and circles. The latter,
in turn, are placed on top of motifs of axial symmetry and
fitomorph motifs. In one case, parallel lines are found
above a series of triangles, and in another case an incision
is found placed over motifs of axial symmetry.

Besides the type of action, it is also to be noted that the

production of these motifs involved different paths of
Figure 4.11. Parallel lines, triangles, motifs of axial
4
In the Spanish literature on rock art, the word ‘fitomorph’ is used to symmetry and lines adjacent to each other at Calabozos
refer to a plant-shaped motif. See, e.g., Niemeyer and Weisner 1971. rock art site.

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

movement. According to Goodridge (1999), a path of to twenty-five changes. In this group, we find human
movement is a trace-form that has a rhythmical component footprints and hands, circles with lines, series of triangles,
according to the angles and the changes in the direction of grid-like motifs, pins, and fitomorphs. Finally, the third
the gestures. At Calabozos, it is possible to distinguish five group consists of motifs that were produced with more
paths of movement: curved, straight, zigzag, angular and than twenty-six changes, in which we find motifs of axial
dotted. The majority of the motifs were executed through symmetry, frets and parallel lines. It is important to note
one of these paths of movement, which can be designated that the above classification also includes some cases that
as single movement motifs. Within this group, the most overlap into two or more groups. For instance, there are
frequently observed movement was curved (n=89), then a number of parallel lines, motifs of axial symmetry and
straight (n=33), followed by zigzag (n=21). Dots and frets that were produced with six to twenty-five changes.
angular movements are less frequent. Another big portion However, we do not find animal footprints with more than
of motifs was executed through a combination of two six changes.
paths of movement, which can be referred to as dual.
Within this group, the most frequent combinations are The importance of the above distinctions lies in that
curved and straight (n=89), angular and straight (n=25), they illustrate some of the rhythmical differences and
curved and zigzag (n=11), and straight and zigzag (n=7). similarities among the most representative iconographic
Other combinations were used in very low frequencies, motifs of the Guaiquivilo style. For instance, there are
amounting altogether to eight cases only. Examples that more similarities between frets, parallels, and motifs of
involved multiple paths of movement are scarce, and axial symmetry than between them and animal and human
the most frequent combinations would involve curved, footprints. This is relevant in the sense that in terms of
straight and angular movements. In iconographical terms, rhythms and, specifically, in relation to the amount of
motifs of axial symmetry are the motif type that shows changes of direction used to produce a motif, the fret style
the highest variability. A small number of them (n=3) and the parallel style have more in common than what has
were made through single paths of movement, whereas been noted elsewhere (e.g., Menghin 1957).
the remaining ones (n=23) were executed through
dual or multiple movement paths. Grid-like motifs and In terms of time and energy spent on rock art production,
human footprints were executed mainly by dual paths of it should be mentioned that all the analysed petroglyphs
movement, combining curved and straight, whereas for present superficial grooves (less than 5 mm deep), which
frets mainly straight and angular movements were used. do not require large amounts of time and effort. However,
when we look at the engraved area of each motif, we
At Calabozos, motifs also vary in terms of the amount of realise that some petroglyphs required much more time
changes in the direction of the movements used to produce and effort than others. As shown in the histogram (Figure
them. Overall, it is possible to suggest the existence of 4.12), motifs can be grouped in 17 classes. In the first
three main groups. The first one consists of motifs that class, we find motifs with engraved areas ranging from 7.4
were produced with one to five changes of direction. to 39.8 cm², whereas in the last class we find a motif which
In this group we find circles, animal footprints, ovals, presents an engraved area of 1856 cm². According to the
zoomorphs and the majority of single lines. The second above classification, it is possible to suggest that motifs
group consists of motifs that were produced with six like parallel lines, motifs of axial symmetry, frets and grid-

Figure 4.12. The histogram shows 17 classes of motifs based on the size of their engraved area.

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Francisco Vergara Murua

like motifs required the investment of higher amounts of The case of Calabozos illustrates this biogeographic
energy and time than the production of human or animal condition and supports Barberena’s et al. (2017)
footprints. interpretation. However, this study reveals new evidence
that suggests the necessity of adjusting part of Barberena’s
Another way of approaching the question of the amount of et al. model.
effort and energy invested in the production of rock art is by
measuring the averages of continuity/discontinuity of the Firstly, our results show that, apart from Paso Valdés, rock
engraved line, and the amount of cortex within the groove art sites like Calabozos are not directly associated with the
(bits of the rock’s surface that were not removed from the natural routes that allowed trans-Andean communication
groove). At Calabozos, there was a tendency to engrave or the access to obsidian quarries. Conversely, Calabozos,
motifs with no cortex. Regarding the discontinuity of the as well as many of the other rock art sites in the area, are
lines, most motifs (n=191) are grouped in a range that physically distanced from these routes (for instance the
varies from 0 to 10% of discontinuity, which means that Guaiquivilo river basin). In this sense, sites like Calabozos
they have high continuous lines. The highest frequency indicate that the seasonal trans-Andean routes taken by the
of circles, circles with lines, parallel lines, single lines, communities of hunter-gatherers during the late Holocene
human footprints, series of dots, and series of triangles were more complex than hitherto assumed. According to
are part of this class. The following class in which motifs our results, we can suggest that these routes incorporated
show between 10 and 20% of discontinuity is less frequent places located away from the main natural corridors.
(n=70), and contains less types of motifs. Here, we do not
find pins, hooks or animal footprints. Motifs that present Secondly, it indicates that neither Calabozos, nor the rest
50% or more of discontinuity are scarce (18.9%, n=61), of the rock art sites in the Guaiquivilo basin, again with the
and here we only find circles, one fitomorph, one line, one exception of Paso Valdés, are located in the high Andean
parallel line, one motif of axial symmetry and one series zones (above 1700 m a.s.l.). In fact, all rock art sites are
of triangles. located in the intermediate zones (between 1000 and 1700
m a.s.l.). Archaeological sites located above 1700 metres
4.7. Movement, rhythm and time among hunter- a.s.l. are logistical camps related either to the extraction
gatherers and circulation of obsidian from quarries located at the
Maule Lake or to the procurement of other local resources.
As mentioned above, the Calabozos rock art site is located This means that most of the Guaiquivilo rock art engraved
at 1686 m a.s.l. near the beginning of the Calabozos by groups of hunter-gatherers was situated between
stream at a mountain gap. This location has at least the lowlands and the highlands. In this sense, it is very
three implications. The first one concerns a seasonality likely that these faraway places, including rock art sites,
associated with the production of rock art, because the functioned as transitional or liminal spaces marking the
environmental conditions during winter make the whole passages from the highland to the lowland.
area covered with snow and the higher parts of the Andes
uninhabitable. Secondly, it implies that a number of Arguably, this transition was related with changes in social
hunter-gatherer groups moved away from the main trans- interaction. In the lowlands, most of the archaeological
Andean natural corridors and the natural routes that led to record of the Late Period corresponds to habitational sites
the obsidian quarries. The third implication, shared with of horticulturalist communities (Jackson and Massone
most of the rock art sites in this area (with the exception 1994; Massone et al. 1994; Rees et al. 1996; Sanhueza
of Paso Valdes), is that these places are located in-between et al. 1994). Ethnohistorical accounts also indicate
the lower and the higher zones, and therefore can be that this area was inhabited by communities of people
regarded as places that mediated movement between both that cultivated the land and that had semi-permanent
areas. settlements. Additionally, these documents emphasise that
during summer, the people from the highlands (hunter-
Seen in this way, the production and ‘use’ of Guaiquivilo gatherers) descended to the lowlands to trade with their
rock art can be interpreted as part of a social mechanism allies or to raid their enemies. The archaeological record,
that regulated time and movement across the Andes on its part, supports the idea that the last 2000 years was a
during summer. This interpretation resembles Barberena’s period of intensification of social interaction that implied
et al. (2017) biogeographic and inter-nodal model for the constitution of wider networks of communication
understanding this rock art. According to the authors, (Crivelli Montero 2006; Fiore 2006; Belleli at al. 2008;
rock art sites like Calabozos functioned as inter-nodal Barberena et al. 2017; Berón et al. 2017; Re at al. 2015;
places located between more permanent sites. During the Romero 2019; Scheinsohn 2011). Considering the above,
last 2000 years, these inter-nodal areas presented high it is likely that the practice of making rock art was related
density of resources, such as grasses, shrubs and animals, with marking a transitional moment of the year cycle, when
and therefore were of special interest to the communities the activation of social interaction extended beyond the
of hunter-gatherers that moved across this landscape. limits of the group, including other than hunter-gatherers’
To Barberena et al. (2017), these inter-nodal places communities, and when approaching a period of trade and
were socially relevant in fostering social interaction and warfare. According to the data that we have collected, it
aggregation. is arguable that during summer, hunter-gatherers used

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

to descend from the mountains and establish residential The second aspect is that the practice of making rock art
camps in which they interacted with the people from the was not aimed at erasing or substantially modifying the
valleys and other hunter-gatherers’ communities. Some of images engraved previously by other people. Therefore,
these interactions were not peaceful, as demonstrated by it is likely that groups of hunter-gatherers, in a seasonal
ethno-historical accounts. mobility cycle and over a long period of time, visited
Calabozos to engrave motifs adjacent one to another.
The reviewed literature suggests that the social organisation In doing so, they moved all over the site and through a
of these hunter-gatherer communities was dynamic and landscape full of images.
seasonally variable. Ethno-historical accounts describe the
existence of hierarchical structures that operated during In terms of the ‘rhythms’ of making rock art, I would
periods of warfare, especially when doing the maloqueo like to suggest that it is important to understand sites
(raid). In these accounts, people refer to the existence of like Calabozos within the above-mentioned context of
toques, ulmen and caciques, each of these representing seasonality, social interaction and movement within the
the head of a group with a specific territorial affiliation site. According to our analysis, we have to assume that the
or utammapos. These documents also suggest that such practice of making rock art implied an itinerancy along the
an organisation happened when the people from the site, as suggested by the presence of different sectors along
mountains (hunter-gatherers) descended to the valleys the same geographical axis as that of the Calabozos stream,
either to meet their allies or to practice maloqueo. which also mirrors the sun’s movement. We also know that
this itinerancy had a rhythmical variance according to the
Archaeological residential camps distributed below 1500 features observed in each of these sectors. For instance,
m a.s.l., such as Ta 2E-7, Piedra de los Platos, Pehuenche, sectors 1 and 5 are the only ones in which rocks are facing
El Camino and Ta 2E-8, seem to have been connected towards the east. In the case of sector 1, this aspect was
with the previously mentioned seasonal usage of the probably marking the entry to the site, whereas in sector
landscape. These sites confirm ethno-historical accounts 5 it might be related to inviting audiences to continue
about the location of hunter-gatherer settlements near moving up through the Calabozos basin, thus acting as
water resources and the exploitation of the lower zones. connector between sectors 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7. Sectors 3 and 4
These sites also suggest the aggregation of larger groups are similar in terms of ‘rhythms’, and both areas produced
of people, probably of different territorial affiliations, considerably more motifs when compared to the rest of
as demonstrated by the diversity of pottery types found the site.
there. Archaeological evidence situated above 1500 m
a.s.l. indicate the existence of logistical camps related to This aspect suggests a curved flow of rhythms, which is
a seasonal visit to the high zones (Sanhueza et al. 1994; low in sector 1 and 2, increases in sectors 3 and 4, and
Jackson and Massone 1994). The elements of material decreases in sectors 5 and 7. Sector 7 is the last one within
culture found in these areas resemble the ones found in this axis of movement, and as suggested by the orientation
lower zones, and as Sanhueza et al. (1994) mention, these of the rocks on which motifs were engraved, it is very
sites were probably linked to more permanent settlements likely that, after people finished engraving these rocks,
like Pehuenche. Both Sanhueza et al. (1994) and Jackson they started to descend towards the valleys and, therefore,
and Massone (1994) suggest that sites like Pehuenche and to encounter other communities. The closeness of sector 7
Ta 2E-8 represent permanent settlements of agriculturalist to the second waterfall also suggests the importance of the
societies. However, and in consideration of the above ethno- surrounding landscape; however, in this case, it probably
historical literature, I think that it is possible that in these marked the end of the site.
places both the people from the mountains and from the
valley used to meet. Following this line of argumentation, If we consider all these data together, Calabozos as a
these settlements could be part of the material evidence rock art site reveals itself as a highly rhythmical place,
showing a seasonal component in the dynamics of social and therefore it is possible to argue that making rock art
aggregation and interaction among different groups rather was a highly rhythmical practice. On a general level,
than settlements exclusively occupied by an agriculturalist the ‘rhythms’ of making rock art were embedded in
group. natural rhythms: in circadian (sun’s path) and seasonal
cycles (summer), and associated with key features of the
On another level, our results show that the idea that landscape (waterfalls). These rhythms can be referred to as
the Guaiquivilo rock art presents a high frequency of structural or general to the overall practice of making rock
superpositions does not fully apply to all the rock art art, independently of the different styles or iconographic
sites in the region. As our analysis has demonstrated, at variability. Other commonalities observed in this study
Calabozos, the most common types of action are adjacent, concern the body movements employed in the production
separate or discrete, whereas superposition is rarely of rock art and the space of action. Regarding the former,
attested. I think that the decision of making motifs adjacent all motifs were executed using the same technique (direct
to one another has to do with two aspects. The first one is pecking), but more surprisingly, by lying or kneeling on
that by doing so, the makers and the viewers are invited to the same rock that was engraved. Regarding the space of
navigate along and across the rocks, which, it is argued, action, most motifs are adjacent to others, which reinforces
was an imperative part of the practice of making rock art. the notion of moving along and across the rocks.

87
Francisco Vergara Murua

Besides the above-listed commonalities, it is possible to the length of its echo. In our study case, some of the motifs
argue that each motif appears to be a rhythmical unity in display greater ‘echoes’ than others. For instance, parallel
itself. This is based on the fact that there are few cases lines, motifs of axial symmetry or the long series of dots or
in which two or more motifs show exactly the same footprints invite the viewer to continue moving along and
rhythmical features. This probably demonstrates that across the site. As we have seen, embedding a motif with
beyond the structural rhythms of the overall practice and such a capacity was achieved through the very rhythm of
the similarities/differences observed in relation to the its production. These types of motifs might then have had
iconographic aspects, the practice of making petroglyphs a crucial ‘echo’ in sustaining the practice of engraving the
entailed the activation of individual rhythm. rocks within a certain ‘structural rhythmicity’; therefore,
the ‘echo’ of an event can transform the ‘individual rhythm’
4.8. Difference and commonality: a rhythmical into a ‘structural’ one.
interpretation of Guaiquivilo rock art
The second implication derives from Clastres’ (2010)
As shown previously, Calabozos is a polyrhythmic observation that Amerindian ‘primitive societies’ aim to
assemblage – a place having a multi-layered temporality. multiply the multiple. Among these groups, the political
This interpretation corresponds with Bradley’s (1991) non- idea of being a single totality was imperative for their
linear approach to time in archaeology, and is related to the social reproduction. This idea entailed abolishing internal
distinction between mundane and ritual time. Following divisions, segmentations and the emergence of the ‘One’,
Bloch’s (1977) arguments, Bradley shows that multiple and instead afforded the production of a unified ‘We’, a
conceptions of time can operate within the same group ‘primitive monad’. For each community to constitute
of people, and that ritual time differs from mundane time. itself as a unified ‘We’, it was also imperative to produce
Whereas mundane time articulates everyday practices, ‘Others’. The latter usually consisted of allies and enemies,
the time of the individual and the short-term, ritual time and war was the central technique for a ‘centrifugal logic’
merges the past with the present, transcends the individual of separation. As Clastres wrote, “in order to think of
experience of time towards the collective representations themselves as a We, the community must be both undivided
of it, and, therefore, has the capacity of locating ritual (one) and independent (totality): internal non-division
practices in the longue durée. and external opposition are combined” (Clastres 2010,
274). He continues to say that in this political scenario,
At first glance, Bradley’s argument seems coherent with the function of war is to assure the permanent dispersion
what we have discussed in this chapter, and we cannot deny of communities, their parcelling, and their atomisation.
that making rock art is an additive practice that always Thus, Clastres’ understanding of Amerindian ‘primitive
contains bits of the past. Indeed, the above-mentioned societies’ was of a multiplicity of partial ‘We’s’.
structural rhythms can operate perfectly as part of the
longue durée, as something that transcends individual As we have seen, the rhythms of rock art production
experiences of time. On the other hand, the particular at Calabozos reveal a unified ‘We’, namely the overall
rhythms could be related to an individual’s time, and and ‘structural rhythms’ through which this practice was
thus to the short-term, and to the duration of the moment conducted. However, we also discovered several individual
of production. However, as we have seen, at Calabozos rhythms: those related to the production of each motif in
it is very difficult to make a clear distinction between itself. The question here, then, is how those individual
individual and collective time: both are interwoven. rhythms operated within the centrifugal logic that Clastres
There, to separate the ‘individual rhythm’ of making rock recognised without fragmenting the primitive monad – in
art from the seasonal, collective, or what we have called other words, how Clastres’ idea of the multiplication of
the ‘structural rhythm’ of the overall practice, would be the multiple might be expressed through the articulation of
an insupportable abstraction. Conversely, our data suggest movements, time and rock art in hunter-gatherer societies.
that within collective time, there is a space for individual This requires more analysis than is possible within the scope
rhythm and experiences of time. Thus, it appears that what of this contribution, but it opens the possibility of exploring
we see at Calabozos is more related to what Lucas (2005) the idea of ‘the multiple’ in terms of movement and time.
refers to as a palimpsest, as something characteristic
of the overlapping of multiple practices, each having Acknowledgments
multi-layered temporalities, over variable periods. This
consideration has at least two implications, especially in I would like to thank Adam Runacres and Charles Beach
regard to the relationship between the rhythm of rock art for helping me with the English language and Guadalupe
production and the context of warfare and raid among Romero for helping me to access key literature. I would
hunter-gatherers. also like to thank Chris Tilley and Andrés Troncoso for
commenting on a first draft of this chapter, and to Renata
The first derives from Lucas’ (2005) recognition that parts of Gutiérrez for assisting me in the production of the map.
the multiple time layers from a given situation are produced My thanks further go to the National Museum of Natural
by the fact that different events can have different ‘echoes’ History of Santiago, Chile, and to Cristián Becker. Finally,
or retention lengths. In this sense, any particular event, at I would like to express my gratitude to the editors of this
any point in time, will impact on the present according to volume and to the anonymous reviewers of this chapter.

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 Movement, Time and Rhythm Among Hunter-Gatherers

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 5

Post-Paleolithic Rock Art and Landscape: A Case Study of

Mount Coto de Sabroso, Guimarães (Northwest Portugal)

Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

Abstract: Mount Coto de Sabroso is located at the west bank of the River Ave, within the
municipality of Guimarães in Northwestern Portugal. At the top of this mount is an Iron Age
settlement that was primarily investigated by Martins Sarmento in the 19th century, then studied
and excavated during the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. Since 1990, Sociedade Martins Sarmento has
been conducting archaeological and scientific investigations regarding the conservation of the
site. In 2015, engraved rock art was discovered in and around the mount and was studied by one
of the authors of this chapter (DC). The rock art assemblage is mainly of abstract and geometric
motifs; however, several engraved outcrops display possible later prehistoric figurative imagery.
This chapter aims to analyse the spatial location of the engraved outcrops of Mount Coto de
Sabroso in terms of microscale within the Ave Basin and to raise questions about the association
of rock art within its landscape.

Keywords: Atlantic art, the Ave Basin, engravings, Iron Age, Mount Coto de Sabroso, landscape

5.1. Introduction region (Figure 5.1). Its surrounding area encompasses the
Atlantic shoreline to the west (a); the Cávado River Basin
The study of the open-air post-Paleolithic rock art and the Peneda-Gerês National Park to the north (b); the
engravings at Mount Coto de Sabroso was initially region of Trás-os-Montes to the east (c); and the Leça and
undertaken by the first author of the current chapter in Douro Basins to the south (d). The head of the River Ave
the context of her PhD. thesis entitled The Atlantic Art of is at an altitude of 1050 m a.s.l., flowing from the Cabreira
São Romão Mount (Guimarães) in the Context of Post- Mountains and extending 100 km towards the Atlantic
Paleolithic Rock Art in the Ave River Basin – Northwestern Ocean. It flows into the sea between Vila do Conde to the
Portugal (Cardoso 2015). This research became part of a north and Azurara to the south.
much wider project called Espaços Naturais, Arquiteturas,
Arte Rupestre e Deposições na Pré-história Recente da Mount Coto de Sabroso is located at the top of a ridge near
Fachada Ocidental do Centro e Norte Português: das Mount São Romão and faces the Ave Valley on the western
Ações aos Significados – ENARDAS (Natural Spaces, bank of the river. This particular location provides excellent
Architecture, Rock Art and Deposits from the Late all-round visibility and, therefore, from its height, the summit
Prehistory of the Western Region of Central and Northern other elevations, such as Mount Santa Marta da Falperra,
Portugal: from Action to Meaning). Mount São Tiago de Penselo and Mount São Bartolomeu, are
all within clear sight, and range between 300 to 500 meters in
The authors have continued the previous investigation height. Mounts Pedrais and Montezelo are at the same altitude
employing graphical and photographic surveys, 3D as Mount Coto de Sabroso and can be seen from its summit.
modeling of the upland landscape and its engraved outcrops
and daylight photographic surveys using aerial drone
technology. At the micro-scale of analysis, the work has
included a study of the spatial context, morphology and the
orientation of the decorated outcrops, their iconography and
potential audience, as well as the chronology and meaning of
the rock art, and possible phases or cycles of the engraving
process. The study reflects the potential importance of
Mount Coto de Sabroso in the cosmology of Portuguese
Later Prehistory which spans at least two millennia.

5.2. Location and environment

Mount Coto de Sabroso is located on the western bank

of the River Ave, within the municipality of Guimarães in
northwestern Portugal. The area includes the hydrographic Figure 5.1. Map of the Iberian Peninsula highlighting the
basin of the River Ave and is part of the lower Minho boundaries of the River Ave Basin.

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Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

Mounts Sever and Torre are located at lower elevations and region forms part of the Atlantic/Mediterranean climate
are close to major watercourses (Loureiro 1999). regime with a persistently humid and moderate Atlantic
climate, which is one of the factors that has contributed to
The whole territory of Mount Coto de Sabroso is the successful development of agriculture in the valleys, as
characterized by numerous watercourses, creeks and well as the existence of dense arboreal vegetation on the
rivers such as the River Agrela, which borders it to the slopes. Oak and cork oak forests flourish in the area, thus
east, the Canhota stream and its tributaries to the south, providing valuable resources for the local inhabitants. On
and the River Paus, which flows to the west. All these the banks and extensive terracing of the River Ave, large
watercourses are tributaries of the River Ave (Cardoso areas are occupied by forests, supplying a diversity of raw
2015). According to the Geological Map of Portugal, sheet materials such as wood for construction, tools, and firewood,
1 (Pereira et al. 1989) and 2 (Ribeiro et al. 2000), on a scale amongst other uses. In the valleys, agricultural fields (of
of 1/20,000, and sheet 9-B from Guimarães (Andrade et al. millet and linen) benefit from the damp fertile soils. In drier
1986), on a scale of 1/50,000, the Ave River Basin lies areas, wheat is also cultivated (Lemos and Cruz 2007, 38).
upon Hercynian granite. Today, this territory is characterized by its dense human
habitation, particularly in areas located along the valley
In general, there are different types of granites, which can which has seen a considerable increase in urbanization
be characterized as thin, medium as well as coarse layers, during the last century. The remaining land has been taken
and are composed of biotite, muscovite or sometimes up by intensive agriculture, although there is a proliferation
both (Figure 5.2). These granites sit in Paleozoic of bush vegetation composed of gorse and broom, as well
metasediments, mainly of Silurian origin, accompanying as significant forested areas, on the hills and hillsides – the
sheer-stress zones that have come to the surface, erupting result of the monoculture of pine trees, increasingly replaced
through the homogenous granitic permanence (Sampaio by single-crop plantations of eucalyptus.
2005, 19). Among these lies a narrow strip of schist. We
would argue that the solid geology of the region would 5.3. History of research at Mount Coto de Sabroso
have had profound effects on the way communities utilized
the landscape during prehistoric times. The first archaeological studies were conducted by
Francisco Martins Sarmento at the end of the 19th century.
During antiquity, a greater forest density was believed to There are written testimonies that document that, in 1878,
have existed in the area (Lemos and Cruz 2007, 13). This he was already undertaking important surveying and

Figure 5.2. Geological map of the Ave Basin. The relief is marked with different colors (after Costa 2007, 139, fig. 26, DRAOT-
NORTE, 2000).

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excavation work (Sarmento 1906; 1907a, 1907b; 1909a; was carried out in 2015 and 2017 in collaboration between
1909b; 1933). Simultaneously, during the excavations and the Martins Sarmento Society and the University of Minho
the focused studies of hillforts, Sarmento also referred (Cruz and Antunes 2014–2015; 2016–2017; Cruz and
to rock art in his publications. Two major archaeological Cardoso 2011). Recent research on the rock art assemblage
excavations were carried out in the years 1877 and 1878. was conducted in 2015 (Cardoso 2015). In 2017 and 2018,
The excavations at Citânia de Briteiros, another hillfort within the scope of a more specific study of the rock art
site near Castro de Sabroso, laid the foundations for of Mount Coto de Sabroso, topographic and photographic
the historical and cultural context which gave rise to an surveys of the engraved outcrops, as well as 3D modeling
early understanding and perception of the architectural tests, were conducted by the present authors.
differences and settlement sizes in Sarmento’s essays.
5.4. Archaeological context
Castro de Sabroso was classified as a National Monument
in 1910, and in 1921 the site was ceded to the Municipality Castro de Sabroso would have functioned as a type of
of Guimarães which became the governmental proprietary fortification that would complement the territorial control
owner of this important archaeological site. In 1928 and of the great oppidum, Citânia de Briteiros, a site located
1929, the site was subject to maintenance work, but it about three kilometers to the northeast. Today, Castro
was only in 1958 that British archaeologist Christopher de Sabroso is considered to have been inhabited at the
Hawkes conducted a pioneering expedition (surveying same time as Citânia, i.e., during the Iron Age between
and excavation of the site), which provided the majority the 4th and 1st centuries BC. The small settlement (about
of information that is available today about the settlement two hectares) is surrounded by a single wall 357 m long,
(Hawkes 1971) (Figure 5.3). In recent decades, the of which 325 m are still preserved (Cruz forthcoming).
preservation and maintenance of the site have been The fortification wall, which reaches up to four meters
conducted under the initiative of the Junta de Freguesia in thickness and close to five meters in height, widely
(Union of Communities) of Sande S. Lourenço, Balazar, preserving its original dimensions, is impressive in its
and Sociedade Martins Sarmento. scale (Cardozo 1996) (Figure 5.4).

In 2012, a rehabilitation project was promoted (but as yet Castro de Sabroso was essentially developed between the
not implemented). In addition, new archaeological work end of the 2nd and the 1st centuries BC. At that time, an

Figure 5.3. View of Castro de Sabroso in the 1950s (reproduced courtesy of Sociedade Martins Sarmento).

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Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

Figure 5.4. A section of the fortification wall at Castro de Sabroso (after Cardozo 1996; reproduced courtesy of Sociedade
Martins Sarmento).

enlargement of the fortified area was undertaken to employ assemblage to the so-called ‘Atlantic rock art’ tradition,
the construction of a second wall conjoined with the first and probably dates to the 4th millennium BC. The
one. This work expanded the intramural area of the hillfort engraved outcropping also possibly contains later imagery,
almost by half of its original space. This defensive system contemporary to the settlement.
is still visible today along its entire perimeter, with the
exception of some sections destroyed during the 20th 5.5. Theoretical approach and praxis
century.
According to Gell (1998) and Ingold (2000), knowledge
In the interior of the fortification, traces of thirty-five is interpretative, and the landscape is a space of sensory
circular structures and three rectangular buildings were and lived experiences where materiality is sometimes the
identified, totaling twenty domestic units (Cardozo only entity that survives within the archaeological record.
1996). No traces of habitation attesting Roman influence Despite the relatively good preservation of site layout, we
have been found, perhaps due to the possibility that the are somewhat separated from the tangible and intangible
settlement was abandoned before the Romans colonized actions of communities who used this site for 2000 years or
the region. However, there are some potential traces more. As a result, we have limited insight into the material
of occupation from the Imperial Roman period, such as culture that tells us little about the daily and symbolic life
amphora fragments (Soeiro et al. 1981, 345) and common of communities who occupied this and neighboring sites
Roman pottery. These items were probably imported during the Late Iron Age and the succeeding Common Era.
into the region. According to the latest research, all data
indicate that the hillfort was abandoned around the late The concept of landscape dynamics emphasizes the
1st century BC, during the transition into the Common perception and experience that communities obtain and
Era (Cruz forthcoming). It is also worth mentioning create from the surrounding world. As such, landscape
that other artefacts were found by Martins Sarmento is a complex and continuously (re)constructed entity
and later researchers, namely an axe, flint arrowheads, a that can act as an agent for change. According to Ingold,
bronze bracelet, needles, various headpins (also known the landscape transforms over time, having been formed
as a triskele), circular buckles and bronze fibulae, one progressively, and is the result of the convergence between
zoomorphic sculpture representing a pig, as well as large social practice and dialogue which is dynamic of the
quantities of elaborately decorated handmade pottery medium itself (Ingold 1993). Similarly, Julian Thomas
attributed to the 3rd century BC (Hawkes 1971) or earlier, also recalls that the landscape holds ‘memories’ of any
i.e., from the 4th century BC onward (Cardozo 1996, 64; given community’s relationships with the environment,
Silva 2007, 30). thus constituting more than just a simple set of ‘natural’
features (Thomas 2001, 75). The intricacies of landscape
Newly discovered rock art has been identified and studied topography would have provided a number of scenarios that
on part of already known engraved rock outcropping. were embodied by successive building and remodeling the
This cluster of rock art is mainly comprised of abstract landscape, from wild wooded tracts of land to regimented
and geometric motifs, which enables us to attribute this field division for cultivation and animal husbandry.

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In terms of the landscape in and around Castro de Sabroso, 5.5.1. Praxis

one can consider the many changes that have occurred
over the past three millennia. The dynamic nature of this The project was structured into three distinct stages: 1)
landscape is mainly the result of human agency, based preparatory office work; 2) fieldwork; and 3) laboratory
upon economic and political strategies. These strategies work and advanced office work. The first stage consisted
affect not only the physicality of a landscape but also how of bibliographical research into the history of investigation
we perceive landscape and landscape change (e.g., Dean and the archaeology in and around the site. It also
and Millar 2005). This relationship between dynamics involved a study of the available cartography, military
and landscape is evidenced by those societies who alter and geological charts, and hydrographic mapping, all
landscape; in this instance from a thriving settlement and providing important baseline data on the area in question.
its setting to a settlement that is redundant and abandoned During the second stage, we undertook archaeological
– becoming archaeology! The history of its dynamic past prospection, photographic surveys, and the detailed
is preserved as a series of memories that become more recording of the engraved rock art. Finally, during the third
diluted over many generations of community. Memories stage, polyvinyl plastic sheets with rock art tracings were
can include certain places, spaces and ritual sites, digitally scanned and integrated into the existing databases
including places that contain rock art (Nash, Cardoso & for the rock art of northwestern Portugal, using image
Ferreira 2013). For Thomas, the landscape is seen by editing applications such as Photoshop. Photogrammetry
some communities as “[. . .] in some sense animated and and other 3D modeling software applications were also
involved in a kind of reciprocity with human beings” used.
(Thomas 2001, 175). By the same token, Tilley suggests
that the world in which we live is animated, active and 5.5.1.1. Survey and study of the rock art engravings
alive, and becomes visible in the interaction between the
human body and the things that surround it. For this reason, The fieldwork investigation took place in the area
he argues, places and landscapes should be understood in surrounding the hill summit along its eastern and western
an animistic way, similar to the way we perceive people slopes, where we proceeded to identify and locate engraved
(Tilley 2004, 18–21). Rock art is thus intricately linked to rock surfaces. The results were registered and analytically
this perspective and, by its very essence, it externalizes a described on proforma field sheets.
direct intervention of communities in the environment. In
other words, rock art stamps its authority and controls the The cleaning process of the engraved surfaces was
way the environment/landscape is used, giving it meaning conducted manually using non-invasive equipment, such
via the iconography it represents. There is, therefore, as soft brushes, wooden spatulas and water. The removal
an intrinsic relationship between the motif and the rock of vegetation and soil was carried out using brushes, small
that grants rock art a unique role in the perception that spoons, shovels and buckets. Due to the proliferation of
communities would have of their landscape. vegetation in the area, it was not possible to locate some
of the engraved rocks which had been mentioned by
We have also considered the benefits of anthropology Sarmento in his 19th century publications.
upon the premise that oral tradition is an important
source of information since it can provide data on places 5.5.1.2. Photography
recorded by legends and stories associated with them.
Like other authors who have applied this methodology Photographing the rock art motifs was undertaken during
in Portugal (e.g., Alves 2001; 2008; Sanches 2003), we different times of the day under both natural and artificial
believe that this type of information reveals an ancestral light conditions. Due to rock erosion and weathering of the
symbolism that is attached to places by the communities rock art surfaces, as well as an increased light reflection
that have frequented them over the millennia. We should on the granite surface, part of the photographic survey was
state at this point that the narrative through storytelling is conducted at night.
dynamic over time and space, sometimes changing or even
becoming diluted as it is transmitted over one or more 5.5.1.3. Geographical survey
generations.
The geographical and topographical survey of the Mount
In the specific case of Mount Coto de Sabroso, and based on Coto de Sabroso site took place in August, September and
the assumptions discussed above, this study focused on the October of 2017 and 2018. The recording of the engraved
spatial distribution of the recorded decorated outcrops, the outcrops was carried out utilizing the direct tracing
types of motifs attested in each area, the physical context technique, using the grid method, thus providing greater
for the distribution of those outcrops and the orientation accuracy (Figure 5.5). During this operation, standard
of motifs, figures and panels on which they are carved, as measure polyvinyl plastic sheets were used. The actual
well as on the audience and the possible phases or cycles of recording was made using a variety of permanent-colored
the engraving process. The engraving process itself would pens of standard thickness. Black colored pens were used
have been part of a much wider performance, involving to represent the engraved grooves on the sheets, while
events that would have engaged an audience through, say, red was used to illustrate natural cracks, fissures and
performance art and storytelling (Nash 2008). mineral veins. During the recording process, connections

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Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

were indicated between the sheets so they could be fully

reassembled in the post-processing work within the
laboratory. Notes were also kept on the plastic sheets,
highlighting details, such as the representation of lichens,
cracks and fissures. To record rock deformations and
fractures, the weathering of the motifs, and the dimension
and depth of the grooves, an extensive analysis was made
both in the field and later under laboratory conditions.
All these variables provided supplementary aid for both
understanding the engraving technique and providing
the authors with a better understanding of the panel
preparation and the execution of the engravings, including
any potential superimpositions present.

5.5.1.4. Photogrammetry and 3D modeling

Much of the area of the hillfort was photographed and

recorded using aerial photographic survey techniques. The
same methods were also applied to the engraved outcrops,
where supplementary hand-held cameras were used
(Canon EOS 750D and Nikon D31000). The collected data
set up the basis for the creation of a 3D model of the area.
This model was based on aerial photographs captured by
a DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter and was generated with 3DF
Zephyr v.4009 photogrammetry software (Figure 5.6).
The hand-held camera photographs were aligned with the
same computer software for the 3D output of the rocks and
Figure 5.5. Recording Rock B at Mount Coto de Sabroso
(reproduced courtesy of Sociedade Martins Sarmento). the engravings (Figure 5.7).

5.6. Data

Recent research undertaken by one of the authors (Cardoso

2015) has focused on the rock art assemblage that is
dispersed over much of the hillside of Mount Coto de

Figure 5.6. A 3D model of Mount Coto de Sabroso and its engraved outcrops.

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 Post-Paleolithic Rock Art and Landscape

A B

Figure 5.7. Rock II at Mount Coto de Sabroso: (A) mesh extraction and (B) textured mesh.

Sabroso, including the intermediate slopes and the summit engravings and other archaeological remnants of the Iron
of the mount accessible from the valley. Some of the Age settlement remain largely invisible. Despite the issues
imagery can be attributed to the so-called Atlantic rock art of vegetation cover and some inaccessibility, the following
tradition – a tradition common to the northwestern Iberian rock outcrops with engravings were documented:
Peninsula (from the Vouga Valley in Portugal to Galicia in
northwestern Spain) and the European Atlantic coastline Sabroso 1 – Penedo-Gamella (Trough Boulder): This
(Bradley 1997; Alves 2003; Nash 2012). Other motifs, is a medium-sized granite outcrop of medium grain (3 m
such as footprints, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic long by 2 m at its maximum width) and is fractured along
figures, appear to have been engraved during the Bronze one of its extremities. The shape of this outcrop resembles
Age and Iron Age, i.e., partially during the lifetime of the a ‘small table’, while its concavity on the upper surface is
settlement (Castro de Sabroso). similar to a trough (Figure 5.10A). The outcrop is located
at the top of Mount Coto de Sabroso, next to the geodesic
The rock art on Mount Coto de Sabroso consists of eight landmark. Despite the encroaching vegetation, the rock
granitic engraved rock outcrops, some already known outcrop is in a good state of preservation. A notable group
from previous publications (e.g., Sarmento 1902, 23; of approximately 30 cupmarks occupies the upper surface
1906; 1907a; 1907b; 1909a; 1909b; 1933). During the of the outcrop. The cupmarks measure between 4 and 7
fieldwork carried out in 2017 and 2018, two of these cm in diameter and form one of the most complex rock art
sites were recorded in detail: Sabroso 1 and Sabroso 2. concentrations in the area.
Four of the recorded outcrops (Sabroso 1–3 and Quinta
dos Laranjais) were the subject of a detailed description. Sabroso 2: This large medium-grained granite outcrop
For the remaining panels, there was only very limited (measuring 6 m in length by 3 m at its maximum width)
information, since they were not located and therefore has a substantially triangular outline projecting from the
could not be recorded. ground. The upper horizontal surface contains a number
of cracks and fissures which were created by long-term
Several geometric motifs can be ascribed to a category of erosion. This profusely decorated outcrop is divided into
Atlantic Art (e.g., concentric circles, spirals, meandering two panels that follow its current physical contour and is
lines, and cupmarks), others are figurative (e.g., footprints, delimited by fractures and cracks. It displays compositions
anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures) or simple of great complexity, made by pecking and abrasion, and
cupmarks (as single and multiple groups (Figure 5.8).1 It contains more than 12 circular motifs, including cupmarks,
is probable that both categories are contemporary, each as well as other more complex configurations. This can
forming part of the intricate panel narrative. be considered a theme integrated within the classic
characteristics of the northwest Atlantic rock art tradition,
The engravings are mainly found on raised outcrops, which engraved between the 5th/4th and the 3rd millennia BC.
gives them a significant visual impact, and makes them On the upper segment of the outcrop, two schematic
visible from a distance. However, one cannot generalize anthropomorphic figures are also present, which were
easily since some of the engraved outcrops are as yet probably engraved at a later date (based upon style and
undetected and may have other characteristics. Since much technique of execution).
of the exposed rock outcropping on the mount is covered
by vegetation, mainly mimosa (Acacia dealbata), the Sabroso 3: This is a medium-grained granite outcrop
of substantial dimensions (measuring 8 m along its long
1
Research by Nash et al. (2005) has postulated that multiple cupmarks axis by 4.05 m at its maximum width), which shows an
were intentionally organised into a number of patterns. extremely fractured surface and an irregular contour. This

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Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

Figure 5.8. Rock art motifs in and around Mount Coto de Sabroso (reproduced courtesy of Sociedade Martins Sarmento).

rock outcrop is partially covered by lichen. Rock art was field observations, the surface contains several pecked
discovered on its surface in 2017 and is currently being cupmarks.
studied. Based on the observations made thus far, the
granite surface contains several cupmarks and a pecked or Quinta dos Laranjais: This medium-grained granite
abraded zoomorphic motif. rock outcrop is known as Lugar das Pegadinhas and is
located at the foot of Mount Coto de Sabroso. Its decorated
Sabroso 4: This is a medium-grained granite outcrop panel is situated at the outer limit of the protected area of
distinctively grayish in color and slightly extended above the site. This engraved outcrop was mentioned by José
the surrounding ground surface. The shape of the exposed Leite de Vasconcelos (1897: 381) and rediscovered by
surface is semi-circular in form. The outcrop, discovered the community council of St Lourenço de Sande during
in 2017, has not yet been recorded; however, based on our a landscaping project. The Martins Sarmento Society

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 Post-Paleolithic Rock Art and Landscape

was alerted to the rediscovery, upon which it informed 5.7.1. The engravings at the top of the mount
Guimarães City Council and Instituto de Gestão do
Património Arquitetónico e Arqueológico (IGESPAR). The engraved outcrops on top of the mount offer extensive
These institutions then took the necessary steps to prevent wide panoramic views towards Mount St. Romão, Mount
its destruction. However, the site still awaits documentation. Sta. Marta da Falperra, Mount St. Tiago de Penselo, and
Mount St. Bartolomeu, all of which are within an altitude
This granitic outcrop, measuring 3.07 m along its long range of between 300 and 500 m a.s.l. Mount Coto de
axis and 2.05 m wide, has a horizontal surface and is flush Sabroso, Mounts Pedrais and Montezelo are also clearly
with the surrounding ground surface. There is a large visible.
cluster of engraved cupmarks scattered over much of its
surface. Accompanying the cupmarks is an engraved pair Among the five engraved rock art sites, only one can
of footprints. Both the cupmarks and the footprints are be firmly linked to the style and complexity of the
deeply pecked. Atlantic rock art tradition, namely Sabroso 2. Sabroso
3 and Quinta dos Laranjais belong to other traditions
Engraved outcrops registered but without defined and chronologies or are considered to be undetermined
whereabouts: The remaining rock art assemblage (including Sabroso 1 and Sabroso 4). Both sites contain
mentioned by Martins Sarmento in the 19th century is only cupmarks. However, on the surface of the Sabroso
located on pathways leading to Mount Coto de Sabroso. The 2 boulder, two anthropomorphic representations are
specific sites include Gandra which has a series of circles and present. These appear to have been engraved at a later
concentric circles present (Sarmento 1909b, 138), Lomba date and can be considered to be located within a
de Cima containing spirals (Sarmento 1909a, 18–19), and peripheral position. It is worth noting that the rock art at
Pé do Cavalo containing concentric circles (Sarmento 1902, the top of the hill is located on rock outcrops incorporated
23). All these engraved outcrops currently remain lost and into the Iron Age settlement. These engraved rock
await rediscovery. Based upon Sarmento’s field notebooks, outcrops are earlier than the Iron Age settlement but appear
these sites contain motifs that are probably associated with to have been respected by these communities (hence their
the repertoire of the Atlantic rock art tradition. survival).

5.7. Discussion of data and interpretation 5.7.2. The engravings at the base of the mount

Although the case study still only offers sparse data, as In this zone, one can find a particular outcrop which is
some outcrops are yet to be relocated, we consider it a known as Quinta dos Laranjais. It is located south of
useful exercise to document the known assemblage and Castro de Sabroso, a few meters away from a stone wall.
include new sites. This approach to the fieldwork will The engraved outcrop comprises a large horizontal and
benefit future research of this and neighboring sites, should rather low rock outcrop. The only possible research carried
the environmental conditions allow (i.e., the reduction of out, employing photography and personal visits to the site
vegetation through strategic and sensitive conservation (since it has not been graphically documented), indicates
management). that the representations engraved there (a large set of
cupmarks and a pair of footprints, deeply cut and shod),
Based on our analysis of the distribution of the engravings, can be considered a later phenomenon. This argument is
in particular concentric circles, we consider that their based upon the specific iconography and the technique
spatial location cannot be random. We observe in this employed in the execution of the engravings (which are
case that the rock art engravings can be found in various pecked and smoothed due to abrasion). They are thought
topographic zones, with the densest concentration located to symbolize the movement of people around the mount,
at the top of the hill (to include five engraved rock panels) especially given the rock’s location on a track with access
(Figure 5.9), followed by those arranged at its base of the to the summit. The remaining rock art panels mentioned
mount (to include one engraved rock panel) and on the by Martins Sarmento in the 19th century were located on
pathways leading up the hill (to include two engraved rock pathways that lead up to Mount Coto de Sabroso, and onto
panels). The densest concentration is located at elevations the sites of Gandra (Sarmento 1909b, 138) and Lomba de
between 270 and 277 m a.s.l. (to include five rock art Cima (Sarmento 1909a, 18–19). These sites, however, are
panels) (Figure 5.9). One can consider that more rock art yet to be rediscovered. As mentioned previously, and based
panels await discovery or may have been destroyed by upon graphic evidence in Sarmento’s field notebooks, they
later regimes that occupied the area, using the rock for must contain motifs that are probably associated with the
building stone for example. Atlantic rock art tradition.

Micro-scale analysis indicated that the engraved outcrops Regarding the question of the possible audiences of these
are of large or medium dimension (i.e., between 8 and 3 phenomena, the fact that most of the engraved outcrops
m) and are in most cases raised above the ground and are of Mount Coto de Sabroso are raised from the ground
close to a watercourse. In addition, engraved panels are implies a marked lack of accessibility for the populace.
positioned along natural corridors between the valley and In the case of Sabroso 1, 2 and 3 (Figure 5.10A–C), the
the hill, with clear views over the surrounding landscape. morphological characteristics of the outcrops do not allow

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Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

Figure 5.9. Rock art distribution in and around Mount Coto de Sabroso Sabroso (reproduced courtesy of Sociedade Martins
Sarmento).

Figure 5.10. Engraved outcrops at Mount Coto de Sabroso (reproduced courtesy of Sociedade Martins Sarmento).

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 Post-Paleolithic Rock Art and Landscape

for clear views of the motifs, as they are not visible from the A schematic representation of a horse in a static position,
ground. Sabroso 1 (Figure 5.10A) is located within a small located on the Sabroso 3 rock, is also contemporary to the
space, which would limit the presence of a large number Iron Age settlement. In the context of the Ave Basin, this
of people. Therefore, we suggest that such a choice may zoomorph image is rare, and only two examples are known:
have been intentional to limit access or frequency of visits a naturalistic engraving of a horse at Lugar de Vinhas, and
to the location. This ‘rule’ would have extended across an engraving of a stylized horse rider and a deer from Mount
all the rock art panels on the mount. The morphology Sanfins (Jalhay 1947, 555) (the composition is considered
of the rock, along with a considerable number of to be a hunting scene [see discussion in Cardoso 2015,
cupmarks present, suggests that the location was not 232]). The horse at Sabroso 3 has stylistic parallels with
selected at random. several engravings from the Lima Basin, such as at Breia
1 in Viana do Castelo (Bettencourt 2013), at Fornelos I and
In the case of Sabroso 2 outcrop (Figure 5.10B), although II, in Carreço (Bettencourt 2009, 137), and at Laje da Churra
larger than the other rock art panels within the vicinity in Carreço, Viana do Castelo (Santos 2014).
of the mount, the motifs cannot be easily observed
from ground level, but unlike Sabroso 1, the immediate From the same era, the appearance of zoomorphic figures
landscape would allow for a larger audience to gather. such as the one mentioned above indicates a change in
We believe that on this outcrop the anthropomorphic iconography, from circular motifs such as the cupmark and
representations were engraved later than the other extant the concentric circle to representative and figural images.
motifs, which may somehow express continuity of the This change in style and subject matter is considered to be
symbolism of the site. a universal trait that is recorded throughout many rock art
areas of Atlantic Europe. The transition between abstract
Finally, the large, decorated rock art site of Quinta dos and geometric motifs to figural ones could be the result
Laranjais (Figure 5.10D), situated at the base of the hill in of the socio-political change which may have resulted in
an easily accessible location, is the only example found so communities reconfiguring their views on ancestry and
far that is flush close to the ground. These features would the stories associated with the earlier designs (cupmarks
have allowed for free movement around it, thus making and concentric circles). The potential power and prestige
it suitable for a large audience. The site was probably associated with the earlier rock art may have been diluted
the focus for local communities for thousands of years. when the power and prestige of the artist and the social
The site is regarded as a respected place for the local elite diminished. This change coincidentally occurs during
community, as footprints are often strongly associated the transition between the Late Bronze Age and the Early
with popular folklore beliefs. Perhaps due to the veneration Iron Age.
of this kind of motif, and despite easy access to them,
these representations have not been subject to the threat 5.8. Iconography and chronology
of destruction. It would, therefore, be very interesting to
understand through further study the specific details of the The term ‘Atlantic Galician art’ was first coined by
motifs engraved on the outcrop. Eoin MacWhite in 1951. Ramón Lorenzo-Ruza (1952)
substituted it with the term ‘Galaic-Atlantic group’. Later,
We suggest that these motifs may be interpreted to have Emmanuel Anati applied the term ‘Galaic-Portuguese
had various meanings associated with the cosmological group’ (1968) and António Baptista integrated it into his
views of the communities who used this site. In this ‘Group I’ (Baptista 1983–1984, 73–75). In recent times,
sense, the circular motifs, most frequently occurring in Richard Bradley (1997; cf. Nash 2003) renamed it as the
and around on Mount Coto de Sabroso, can be interpreted ‘Atlantic Style’, while Bacelar Alves labelled it ‘Tradition
as representations of the surrounding mountaintops (in of Atlantic Art’, owing to its considerable regional
particular, the silhouettes cast by the sun and moon), while variability and extensive diachrony (Alves 2008).
the meandering lines, which often connect them, could
represent paths or thoroughfares through the landscape On Mount Coto de Sabroso and within the surrounding
(cf. Arcà 2004; 2007; Harley 1988, 278). Alternatively, the area, engravings are mostly ascribed to the so-called
motifs may have associations with the sky or metaphoric Atlantic Art tradition. The types of representation that
expressions associated with rivers and streams that define Atlantic Art largely correspond, although not
surround the mount (Bettencourt 2009; Cardoso 2015). exclusively, to combinations of circular motifs, such as
concentric circles, meandering lines, proto-labyrinthine
The footprint engravings on Mount Coto de Sabroso could figures, spirals, grooves and cupmarks (Bradley 1997).
have represented power, prestige, or the human presence Its geometrical repertoire, however, comprises a series
along the pathways on the mount (Garcia Quintela and of combinations relating to the concentric circle design.
Santos Estévez 2000). This tradition also includes rare rectilinear elements such
as squares. Also present are zoomorphs, anthropomorphs
The engraving of a serpentiform, probably contemporary and weaponry.
to the village and located on a flagstone, could refer to
rituals or cults. Such imagery is known elsewhere in The Atlantic Art style is widely distributed along the
northwest Portugal (Paço 1961; Cardoso 2015). European Atlantic coastline and is very common across

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Daniela Cardoso, Giorgos Iliadis and George H. Nash

northwest Portugal. Atlantic Art in the northwest of the a fractured and irregular contoured surface and is partially
Iberian Peninsula is predominantly distributed in coastal covered with lichen. In addition to the zoomorphic motif,
Galicia, Spain; primarily in the provinces of A Coruña there are several cupmarks dispersed across its surface.
and Pontevedra, although some sites are present in the
provinces of Lugo and Ourense (Bradley 1997). Its Probably dating to the same period are two anthropomorphic
geographic range extends into northern Portugal, over the figures which are in a peripheral location to Atlantic Art
Minho River, through the Ave River Basin, to the Vouga motifs on the outcrop known as Sabroso 2. We believe that
River Basin, with occurrences that include Campelo (Dinis some of the motif assemblages may have been engraved
2011), Crastoeiro in Mondim de Basto (Rey Castiñeira at different times, thus representing a chronological
and Soto-Barreiro 2001; Dinis and Bettencourt 2009) and continuity of the panel. Later, during the Late Iron Age or
Lampaça in Valpaços (Teixeira 2010). 2nd century BC, a serpentiform figure has been engraved
onto a stone pavement which is of the same period.
During the latter part of the 20th century, several different
ideas were attributed to the so-called Atlantic Art, as Finally, there are two other outcrops with engravings
well as proposals for its chronology (Baptista 1983–84, of unknown date at Penedo Gamela. These sites were
73–75; 1993, 46–49; Alves 2003, 174–176; 2008; Bradley mentioned by Martins Sarmento in the late 19th century
1997; Santos Estévez 2012; Dinis and Bettencourt (Sarmento 1909, 6) and are now collectively known as
2009; Bettencourt 2009). Despite controversies as to its Sabroso 1.
chronological range, many scholars now consider Atlantic
Art to date from the end of the 4th to the 3rd millennium 5.9. Final considerations
BC (extending between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic
periods) (e.g., Bradley 1997; Alves 2003; Dinis and The archaeological remains at Mount Coto de Sabroso
Bettencourt 2009; Bettencourt 2009; Santos Estévez (including the rock art and a complex settlement dating to
2012). Thus, we assume that the Atlantic Art from Mount the Iron Age, between the end of the 5th and the 1st century
Coto de Sabroso represents the first phase of the engraving BC) can be considered as being of national importance.
history and is scattered throughout the mount from the The layout of the site, including its landscape peripheries,
base of the hill to its summit. permits us to make some considerations concerning the
relations between rock art and settlement. The Atlantic rock
The Sabroso 2 site bears more than a dozen circular motifs art scattered throughout most of the site probably suggests
(circles, concentric circles, concentric semicircles, spirals), that at one point in time, probably before the settlement
as well as complex compositions interconnected by more was constructed, the site was the focus for ritual-symbolic
or less meandering grooves and cupmarks. This entire activity (assuming that rock art is produced and used as a
iconographic repertoire reveals a great dynamism, evident mechanism for such activity). It is probable that the rock
in the way the engraved motifs are distributed across the art dates to the end of the 4th or early 3rd millennium
panels. These characteristics are evident at many other BC, if not slightly later. Although archaeologists have
sites within Atlantic Art in the northwest of Spain. excavated and recorded much of the hillside, we still have
only limited knowledge of the earliest history of the site.
According to Cardoso (2015, 259), footprint motifs can be
dated to the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, that is, between Many engraved rock art sites are incorporated into natural
the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. However, it is difficult pathways or situated at places where pathways intersect
to date such motifs due to a lack of specific fieldwork (between the valley, the intermediate slopes and the
and debate. According to more recent studies by Moreira mountain summit; or metaphorically speaking, between the
(2018, 313), engravings of footprints in the northwest of earth and the sky). These clearly defined landscape features
Portugal may have appeared in the late Chalcolithic or the can be associated with the cosmogony of the communities
Early Bronze Age and reached its popularity during the who visited this site during later prehistory. However, the
latter period and ended at the beginning of the Iron Age. evidence does suggest that the summit of the mount was a
This recent appraisal has arguably set back the traditional special place in prehistoric times, in particular, during the
views on chronology (Moreira 2018). Given the proximity Bronze Age and Iron Age, and also during the medieval
of the Iron Age settlement to the site, we propose that the period. Elements of the earlier landscape were likely
Mount Coto de Sabroso footprints can be chronologically considered important to the community or communities
placed between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Later, that began to settle within the area of the mount during the
during the 1st millennium BC, i.e., the late Bronze Age to Iron Age. It is conceivable that the establishment of house
the Early Iron Age transition, new motifs were engraved structures and associated working floors around them
on the outcrops of Mount Coto de Sabroso, including a avoided a small number of engraved panels. Within the
schematic horse (already mentioned above), engraved in a intermediate slopes of the mount, respect was also given
static position and different in style when compared to the to these then ancestral rock art panels.
older motifs. The engraving appears to be accompanied by
a saddle suggesting the horse was domesticated. The figure Generally, the decorated outcrops are scattered across
is oriented to the southeast (Figures 5.8D and 5.10C). This the site, especially at the summit of the mount, which
representation is engraved on the Sabroso 3 site, which has would have allowed onlookers sweeping views over the

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 Post-Paleolithic Rock Art and Landscape

surrounding valleys and the summits of other hills and sign system was in operation during later prehistory
mountains close by. Arguably, the location of the rock art (Bradley 1997; Nash 2008).
around the site, such as those panels around the base and on
the intermediate slopes of the mount, would have allowed We also observe that inside and outside of the settlement
the movement of people along pathways to formally move there is a number of outcrops that display possibly
around the site in a proscribed way. younger imagery. Several of these are isolated, while
some imagery was added to earlier engravings. At Sabroso
From a phenomenological perspective, the motifs are 2, anthropomorphic figures were added at a later stage,
difficult to see when exposed to overhead sunlight; they probably as a result of later communities imposing their
remain hidden within the landscape during daylight hours. signatures onto an already recognized ancestral landscape.
However, they become illuminated at sunrise and sunset
when the outlines of the engravings are visible due to the Based on the existence of anthropomorphic figures at
effect of the oblique light. It should be noted that the same Sabroso 2 and other rock art motifs such as footprints,
visual effect would be also experienced during a full moon or a horse, and a serpentiform, it can be assumed that the
a fire located close to the panel. Based on experiments with a symbolic importance of Mount Coto de Sabroso continued
light on these panels, the visual experience of using artificial well into the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. In this sense, the
light in hours of darkness provided us with a number of mount can be considered a site with an extensive history,
different visual and emotional sensations. One could suggest materialized in the accumulation of motifs that would
that these images jump out towards the viewer when the have provided new narratives and meanings, in a process
light from, say, a fire or a setting or the rising sun was cast of reordering and reinterpreting the very meaning of what
across the surface of the panel (see Nash 2003). Arguably, the mount meant to later prehistoric communities. This
and based on remarks by Jean Clottes (pers. comm.), the possibility seems especially evident for the last period of
rock art would have communicated messages through the occupation of the hill, during the proto-urbanization of
stone to the artist and this would have been transmitted the Iron Age village (2nd to 1st century BC), evidenced
(albeit in a restricted way) to the audience/onlooker. For by the construction of house structures, drystone walls,
this reason, we were able to promote a working hypothesis tracks and paths (Cruz forthcoming). To conclude, the
that these engravings could have been made during sunset work presented here should be understood not only as a
and sunrise hours or, possibly, during darkness hours using progressive step within the framework of a local rock art
an artificial light source, or the diffused light from a full tradition but also as a means to generate debate about the
moon. The light intensity, either from celestial bodies such preoccupation and later occupation of Mount Sabroso and
as the sun or moon or from an artificial light source, would the surrounding area.
have cast sharp intense shadows across the rock surface
irrespective of how shallow the engravings may have been. Acknowledgments
It is conceivable that the message, or messages, transmitted
by the motifs would have been bound up in narrative and The authors would like to express their gratitude to
myth, forming part of an integrated performance that would archaeologists Hélder Carvalho and Rui Teixeira for
have involved the community. The meaning of symbols carrying out field prospection and the tracing of the rock
such as the cupmark or the concentric circle remains art. Moreover, thanks are due to topographer Daniel
undecipherable; however, the authors tentatively promote Gonçalves from LiDAR Geomatics for his input in aerial
the concept that the motifs may have had an association photography and video recording for both the settlement
with celestial cycles such as the moon, sun and maybe and the decorated outcrops.
certain star constellations.
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 6

In the Middle of Nowhere: Geoglyphs, Caravan Routes,

Social Conflict, and the Visual Demarcation of Travel
Routes Across the Northern Chilean Atacama Desert

Daniela Valenzuela, Luis Briones†, Paz Casanova, Indira Montt,

Thibault Saintenoy, Marta Crespo and Pablo Mendez-Quiros

Abstract: The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is a vast hyper-arid area containing restricted
resource locations, where most human activities were concentrated. Throughout this extensive
area, pre-Columbian people created and depicted a huge number of large figures on the desert
surface, known as geoglyphs, most of them significantly related to long-distance caravan trade.

In this chapter, we analyse a total of 11 panels with 138 geoglyphs from the Lluta Valley, northern
Chile, by exploring their formal iconographic attributes and spatial traits. Our results reaffirm
the relationship between geoglyphs and old caravan routes. The geoglyphs of the Lluta Valley
marked the presence of ritual places that were used during the caravan journeys and fulfilled
a primarily visual function, indicating the directionality of routes towards the coast. There is a
preponderance of anthropomorphic motifs, and their representational attributes seem to express
situations of social tension and conflict during the Late Intermediate (ca. AD 900–1400) and Late
Horizon (ca. AD 1400–1535) periods. Depictions of helmets, tumis (metal axes or knives), unkus
(tunics), scenes of contest and caravanning seem to have been part of the visual discourses in the
context of conflicts during those times.

Keywords: geoglyphs, caravanning, social conflict, Atacama Desert, rock art

In memoriam Luis Briones

6.1. Introduction of the geoglyphs date back to the Late Intermediate and
Late Horizon periods (ca. AD 900–1535), although it is
Geoglyphs are one of the most fascinating and remarkable likely that their production and use began during the Late
manifestations of the material culture of pre-Columbian Formative period (ca. 500 BC – AD 600) (Briones 2006;
peoples of the Americas. They are visual representations Briones et al. 2005; Pimentel et al. 2011; 2017a).
of iconic or non-iconic forms created on the earth’s surface
by the aggregation of small stones (additive technique) 6.2. Conceptual framework
or the clearing of sand (subtractive technique). Although
geoglyphs exist in different parts of the globe, they are In the Atacama Desert, rock art and geoglyphs have been a
primarily distributed in the deserts of western South cornerstone of archaeological research into caravan traffic
America, where the scarcity of vegetation, presence of (Valenzuela and Montt 2018). The Atacama Desert is an
rather flat topographies and availability of stones and sand ideal place to study the archaeological material culture
offered favourable conditions for the creation of geoglyphs related to caravanning, because the hyper-arid conditions
(Clarkson 1997; Valenzuela and Clarkson 2018). Here, allow for the preservation of a range of organic materials.
“geoglyphs use the landscape as a natural ‘blackboard’ Based on ethnoarchaeological models, the caravanning
on which soil and stone were scraped or heaped up to material culture includes portable and non-portable
form low-profile naturalistic or abstract images, as well evidence: caravanning kits (tie toggles, bells, halters,
as alignments of stones or boulders” (Valenzuela and llama ‘shoes’, costales or sacks, ropes and slings); rest
Clarkson 2018, 5). stops; caravan tracks or trails; landmarks (signal cairns);
skeletal remains of llamas and their transported cargo;
In Chile, geoglyphs are located mainly in the lowlands of and specialised ritual sites or features, such as rock art,
the western slopes of the Andes, in the Atacama Desert, geoglyphs and ritual cairns.
adjacent to the Pacific coast. Along this strip of land,
there are significant differences in technique (additive, As various scholars have pointed out, rituals were and
subtractive and mixed), formal attributes and configurations still are embedded within the Andean caravan system
that are displayed in regional styles (Briones 2006). Most (Berenguer 1994; 2004a; Casaverde 1977; Lecoq

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1984–1988; 1985; 1987; Lecoq et al. 2006; Nielsen • Matter: the natural terrain through which the llamas
1997; 1997–1998; 2000; 2001; 2006). Rituals are not and caravanners pass; in this case the desert and its
simply something epiphenomenal, but rather, they can geographical features.
be considered part of the ‘technology’ of the caravan • Energy: the transformative force expressed in the
system. Some geoglyphs can be regarded as denoting physical and kinetic ability of the human body and
the location of specialised ritual places, as informed by movements of the cargo llamas.
ethnoarchaeological observations. • Objects: items, structures or features that act as working
mediums, such as ropes, tie toggles, bells, halters, sacks,
More than 40 years ago, Lautaro Núñez suggested a slings, roads, resting places, paths and tracks, as well as
functional relationship between geoglyphs and pre- ritual features or structures (e.g. rock art, apachetas or
Columbian caravan traffic. Based on the systematic stone mounds, walls-and-boxes, among others).
association of geoglyphs with caravan trails, their location • Gestures: movements of llamas and llameros (llama
in barren areas lacking resources and comprising different drivers) during the journey, including the procession
ecological zones, as well as their exceptional visibility, itself, as well as loading, unloading, sleeping, animal
Núñez (1976) proposed that geoglyphs served as logistic feeding, performing rituals, etc.
and ritual markers for the llama caravan routes. Since then, • Knowledge: know-how regarding the most suitable
this hypothesis concerning the functionality of geoglyphs routes, appropriate steps, geographical and social
has become part of the ‘hard core’ (sensu Lakatos 1998) accessibility of the land travelled over, animal
of the prehistory of the Atacama Desert, inspiring many behaviour, direction and logistics of the journey in
subsequent works (Briones 2006; Briones and Chacama relation to animal welfare, location and characteristics
1987; Briones et al. 2005; 2007; Clarkson 1999; Clarkson of pastures and water, among many other aspects.
and Briones 2001; Muñoz and Briones 1996; Pimentel
2011; Pimentel et al. 2017a; 2017b; Ross et al. 2008; Viewed from the perspective of caravanning as a
Valenzuela et al. 2006; 2011). technology, associated rituals are also an integral
component, a ‘symbolic technology’ to use Van Kessel’s
In the Andes, dramatic ecological contrasts between one term (1989; Van Kessel and Condori 1992) or an
region and another stimulated early inter-zonal mobility ‘enchantment technology’ according to Gell (1998; 1999),
for access to resources through different mechanisms that is, technological devices at the psychological or ritual
of complementarity, including exchange (Dillehay level that seek to exert real control over expected concrete
2013; Núñez 1976). The process of llama domestication outcomes, and which are as necessary and effective – of
(Lama glama) between 5000 and 3800 BP (Mengoni ‘symbolic effectiveness’ Levi-Strauss (1968) would have
Goñalons and Yacobaccio 2006; Wheeler 2012) entailed said – as other technical objects, such as rest stops, sacks
the exploitation of its primary service as a pack animal, to carry the load or ropes to tie it up (Nielsen 1997–1998;
although this ecological and behavioural control came Valenzuela et al. 2019). Thus, geoglyphs and other ritual
later than its breeding for meat and fibre (Cartajena features, including different types of landmarks, such as
1994; Moore 2016). However, the use of llamas as cargo cairns, apachetas, smaller mounds of stones, artificial
animals made it possible to move larger volumes of goods cavities or sepulcros (tombs), walls-and-boxes structures,
over long distances, which was well described by the constituted essential caravanning technology (Berenguer
early Spanish conquerors (Browman 1974). This traffic 1994; 1995; 2004a; Berenguer and Pimentel 2017; Briones
and exchange of goods by caravanning reached its peak 2006; Nielsen 1997; 1997–1998; Nielsen et al. 2019;
during the Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 1000–1400) Núñez 1976; 2007, 39; Núñez and Nielsen 2011; Pimentel
when it is estimated to have become a highly specialised 2009; Pimentel et al. 2017b; Sinclaire 1994; Valenzuela et
social-economic system (Berenguer 2004a; Clarkson et al. 2019).
al. 2017; Nielsen 2013; Núñez 1976; Núñez and Dillehay
1995; Schiappacasse et al. 1989; Valenzuela et al. 2019; 6.3. Study area
Valenzuela and Montt 2018; Yacobaccio 2012).
The Atacama Desert is the southern portion of the so-
Caravanning, as an economic activity consisting of the called Peruvian-Chilean coastal desert (ca. 5° S to 26°
movement and exchange of goods over long distances S), which extends as a longitudinal strip along the Pacific
using droves of cargo llamas, can be considered a Ocean, bordered by this and the Andes, between Arica
‘technology’ according to how Lemonnier (1992) defined in the north (ca. 18° 20' S) and Copiapó in the south (ca.
the term. For him, technology is a way of acting in the 27° 25' S) (Marquet et al. 1998; Pinto et al. 2006). The
physical world to achieve a certain material purpose and desert is the result of the cold Humboldt Current, the rain-
includes five components: matter, energy, objects, gestures shadow effect produced by the Andes, and its latitudinal
and knowledge. In caravanning, taking into consideration position. One of the features which distinguishes the
the information about modern caravanners derived from Atacama Desert from other deserts around the world is its
several ethnoarchaeological studies (Berenguer 2004a; extreme aridity. It has been described as the driest desert
Lecoq 1984–1988; 1987; Lecoq and Fidel 2019; Nielsen in the world, given the total absence of rainfall from the
1997; 1997–1998; 2001), these components can be coast up to about 2000 meters above sea level (m a.s.l.)
expressed as follows: inland (Marquet et al. 1998). Its main source of moisture

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is a coastal fog that forms typical isolated islands of lies in their being true oases that cut through the absolute
vegetation known as lomas (small hills) (Pinto et al. 2006). desert, with permanent and occasional runoffs fed by
However, in northern Chile, this is not a major resource for rainfall at over 2800 m a.s.l. during the summer season,
human life because it is floristically much poorer than that covering various ecological floors over a short distance.
of central and southern Peru (Dillon and Rundel 1990). Finally, another specific feature of the Atacama Desert is the
Other singular features of this desert have made human high steppe at over 3000 m a.s.l. Despite being an extreme
life possible: its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean on environment, it is also quite rich in resources and, in some
the one hand and the existence of transverse fluvial courses areas, has hosted substantial human occupations over time,
on the other. since at least 13,000 years ago (Latorre et al. 2013), with an
emphasis on the exploitation of plant and animal resources.
Its proximity to one of the most productive and biodiverse
seas on the planet has allowed for a high degree of stable The Lluta River originates in the altiplano at 3900 m a.s.l.
and permanent occupation along the entire desert coastline, and is one of the few exorheic rivers that has a permanent
with specialised hunters, fishermen and marine hunter- and constant flow of water throughout the year, running
gatherers living on the coast and in surrounding valleys. for more than 150 km until reaching the Pacific Ocean
Hence, the primary constraint for human habitation was (Niemeyer and Cereceda 1984). But the high salt and
the lack of access to fresh water, rather than to food alkaline content of its waters have limited biotic resource
resources. Marine resources were highly valued by inland availability for the development of intensive agriculture
populations, so the Pacific coast constituted an important from pre-Columbian times to the present day (Keller 1946;
focus of attraction for caravans as well as a terminal node Niemeyer and Cereceda 1984; Santoro 2016). Today, the
within the caravan networks. lower section of the Lluta Valley is extensively irrigated
for agricultural production of maize, a traditional crop.
The presence of freshwater or saltwater rivers that run
transversely in an east-westerly direction from the high During the pre-Columbian era, the lower Lluta Valley had
Andean Cordillera, such as the Lluta Valley (Figure 6.1), low occupational density and poor investment in domestic
has made particular types of human occupation possible, infrastructure (Santoro et al. 2009). It is likely that these
expressed in ways of life based on hunting, gathering, domestic installations also included agricultural fields
farming and herding. The relevance of these river courses located in the valley basin, which are widely farmed today

Figure 6.1. Study area, geoglyphs of the Lluta Valley, northern Atacama Desert. The basemap was generated using the freely
available 12-metre ALOS PALSAR DEM by JAXA. Map by Adrián Oyaneder (FONDECYT 1201687).

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D. Valenzuela, L. Briones, P. Casanova, I. Montt, T. Saintenoy, M. Crespo and P. Mendez-Quiros

and, in archaeological terms, have yet to be intensively 138 figures for the present study, which constitutes 48%
surveyed. One of the largest archaeological sites is a of the total number of panels and 74% of the total number
storage area known as LL-2 Collcas de Huaylacán (ca. 5 of figures (Tables 6.1 and 6.2). Panels whose state of
ha) and dated to late pre-Columbian times (ca. AD 900– preservation made it impossible to carry out formal and
1535) (Barraza and Cortez 1995; Santoro et al. 2009). spatial analyses were excluded from the sample. The
Other sites include conglomerate residential complexes methodology consisted of formal and geospatial analyses
made of reed and cane associated with cemeteries, storage of the geoglyphs.
areas and, in one case, petroglyphs. All these sites are
connected via longitudinal and transversal trails (Muñoz 6.4.1. Formal analysis of the motifs
and Briones 1996; Valenzuela et al. 2011).
The geoglyphs were described in formal terms from
6.4. Materials and methods direct observation and in-situ recordings, in addition to
interpretations based on aerial-photogrammetric surveys.
In the Lluta Valley, systematic archaeological research The formal variables included the technique used, body
began in the latter half of the 20th century. It has led to shape and position, head shape and position, representation
the identification of a total of 23 geoglyph panels and of anatomical segments (limbs, neck, legs/feet, tail, ears,
187 figures to date (Briones 2006; 2008; Dauelsberg et etc.), dimensions and height/width ratio.
al. 1975; Ross et al. 2008; Schaedel 1957; Valenzuela et
al. 2006). The first national efforts to preserve and restore 6.4.2. Survey techniques and spatial analysis
geoglyphs were carried out along the southern slope of
the Lluta Valley between 1975 and 1978 by Luis Briones To complement in-situ descriptions of the geoglyphs
and others from a former branch of Universidad de Chile made during their restoration in the 1980s, we conducted
in Arica, which later became part of the Universidad de an aerial survey of the 11 panels selected for this study,
Tarapacá (Table 6.1). between 2016 and 2018. To do this, a close-range
aerial-photogrammetric protocol was applied, to create
The aim of the restorations was to enhance the scientific ortho-rectified RGB imagery and digital elevation models
value of the sites and to promote their use as cultural (DEM) for each panel. According to the particular lighting
tourist attractions. Selected for restoration were those conditions and topographic position of each panel, we
geoglyphs affected by wind-blown sand deposition, generated RGB imagery with a resolution of ca. 3 cm/
downslope movements of the stones that form them and pixel and 6 cm/pixel for the DEM. This imagery, together
earthquakes, but still showing a recognisable original with the topographical data, allowed us to perform relief
shape. Clearly defined, completely uncovered figures were visualisation analyses, to refine the identification, formal
not restored. In order to minimise biased interpretations, definition and measurements for each figure within the
figures lacking morphological definition were excluded panels, and to calculate the figures’ density and detail the
from the restoration process, constituting an up-to-date delimitation of each panel. It also enabled us to evaluate
testimony of the state of preservation of non-restored the topographic characteristics of the terrain where the
geoglyphs (Briones and Casanova 2011). panels are located, and to detect recent alterations such as
vehicle tyre tracks and the addition of new geoglyphs.
The main restoration procedures carried out were cleaning
and formal reintegration of the stones that constituted the To study the location of the panels within the valley, we
figures. The former concerned the mechanical removal overlaid our high-resolution imagery onto a low-resolution
of deposited sand from the stones. The latter consisted of digital elevation model of the valley, as both the Shuttle
relocating the displaced material and incorporating other Radar Topographic Mission’s (SRTM) global elevation
stones in areas that were either missing sections or that had model (version 4, 2008), with a resolution of 90 m/pixel,
‘gaps’ (Briones and Casanova 2011). and the Aster Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM),
with a resolution of 30 m/pixel, provided us with the best
In 1981, under a formal agreement between the possible topographical data. For this reason, the +/- 5 m
Municipality of Arica and the Instituto Profesional de GPS location accuracy for our geoglyph imagery did not
Arica (Professional Institute of Arica), a new restoration pose any problem for our study purposes. Also, the results
programme began, which aimed to continue the initial obtained from the SRTM and GDEM-based location
restoration work, improving the methodologies of analyses must be seen as indicative of general trends and
diagnosis, recording, intervention and documentation of remain preliminary until higher resolution topographic
the preservation and restoration processes. As a result, data become available.
a total of 18 panels with 131 figures were recorded. The
area of the treated motifs corresponded to 32,000 m2, 50% To assess the effective visual impact of the geoglyphs
of which underwent cleaning, 20% restoration and 30% within the valley, we developed a preliminary ‘visualscape’
remained as testaments (Briones and Álvarez 1984). characterisation of the geoglyphs, defined as “the spatial
representation of any visual property generated by, or
From the total number of identified panels in the Lluta associated with, a spatial configuration” (Llobera 2003,
Valley, we selected a sample of 11 panels with a total of 30). This was carried out by means of viewshed analysis

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Table 6.1. Geoglyph sites, panels and motifs in the Lluta Valley. Number of restored motifs.

Site Panel Slope Anthropo­ Zoomorphic Object Non-iconic Non- Total number Restoration Number Included in
morphic identifiable of restored the study
motifs sample
LL-115 1 South 2 3 0 0 0 5 No 0 No
LL-114 2 South 4 4 0 0 0 8 No 0 No
LL-18 3 South 4 7 0 1 2 14 1977-1978 8 Yes
LL-60 4 South 6 3 0 0 0 9 No 0 No
LL-60 5 South 13 5 0 0 12 30 1978 15 Yes
LL-60 6 South 15 6 3 1 9 34 1977 16 Yes
LL-113 7 South 5 1 0 0 0 6 1978 4 Yes
LL-112 8 South 3 0 0 0 0 3 1977-1978 3 Yes
LL-112 9 South 2 0 0 0 2 4 1977 2 Yes
LL-111 10 South 6 5 0 0 4 15 1977 10 Yes
LL-111 11 South 2 0 0 0 0 2 1977 2 Yes
LL-111 12 South 2 2 0 0 3 7 1977 4 Yes
LL-111 13 South 0 1 0 0 0 1 1977 1 Yes
LL-110 14 South 1 4 0 1 1 7 No 0 No
LL-89 15 South 16 2 0 2 2 22 1977-1978 18 Yes
LL-106 16 South 1 0 0 0 1 2 No 0 No
LL-105 17 South 1 0 0 0 0 1 No 0 No
LL-104 18 South 5 0 0 0 2 7 No 0 No
LL-101 19 South 1 5 0 0 0 6 No 0 No
LL-107 20 North 1 0 0 0 0 1 No 0 No
LL-108 21 North 0 0 0 0 1 1 No 0 No
LL-109 22 North 0 0 0 0 1 1 No 0 No
LL-7 23 South 0 0 0 1 0 1 No 0 No
Total 90 48 3 6 40 187 83

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D. Valenzuela, L. Briones, P. Casanova, I. Montt, T. Saintenoy, M. Crespo and P. Mendez-Quiros

based on the available low-resolution GDEM elevation No panels are directly associated with other human
data. occupation sites, such as camps, villages and cemeteries.
The closest human occupation sites are located on the
As no field experiment has been made to define distances terraces at the foot of the southern slope, far below the
for the perception of geoglyphs in the Lluta Valley, we panels with geoglyphs. Nevertheless, all of the analysed
based our viewshed analysis parameters on non-systematic geoglyphs are spatially associated with trails (at a distance
field observations and general theory about visual of less than 170 m), most of which (in the case of 9 out
perception (Ogburn 2006; Fábrega-Álvarez and Parcero- of 11 panels) run alongside the geoglyphs (Figure 6.3).
Oubiña 2019). The analyses considered the size of the The most important geoglyph clusters (groups 2 and 3)
geoglyphs and two perception ranges: geoglyph detection are located around a natural pass in Huaylacán, with a
and shape recognition. We selected a sample comprising trail connecting the Lluta Valley and the Arica coastal
125 of the 138 motifs, whose contours were clear enough settlements via the Azapa Valley (Mendez-Quiros and
to be reliably plotted. García 2018; Muñoz and Briones 1996; Valenzuela et al.
2006; 2011).
Viewshed analyses were generated considering each
figure. Due to the low-resolution of the available Geomorphometric modelling of topographic positions
elevation data, the figure area was not considered, thus within the valley (from STRM data) shows that the
each figure was represented by a single central point. To locations of the panels are relatively homogeneous and
model geoglyph visibility, we considered the maximum systematic in the middle and upper sections of the southern
length of each figure instead of its whole area. Given the slope. This means that most geoglyphs are located at an
geoglyphs’ moderate obtrusivity (Schiffer et al. 1978) in average height of 150 m from areas favourable to human
the Lluta Valley landscape, and their semiotic function occupation, such as the terraces extending across the valley
to be iconographically recognised, restricted ranges of floor, where late pre-Columbian settlements were situated
visibility were applied: a visual arc of 10° as a threshold (Figure 6.3, Table 6.2). The only two panels located on the
for geoglyph detection and 30° for their shape recognition. lower slope were constructed on promontories (hills) at a
As geoglyphs feature a non-elevated architecture, they are height of ca. 50 m above the valley floor.
almost invisible from a lateral perspective, thus an angular
catchment area of 90º (centred on each figure’s azimuthal Most of the geoglyphs are oriented towards the north (0–
orientation) was defined for their shape recognition. 22.5º azimuth) and more specifically northeast (22.5–67.5º
azimuth), with the exception of panel 3 from site LL-18
6.5. Results: geoglyphs in the Lluta Valley of northern which is northwest oriented (292.5–337.5º azimuth) and
Chile facing downwards towards the Pacific Ocean.

6.5.1. Locational characteristics of geoglyphs The visual impact of Geoglyphs depends on their texture
and size. The texture of motifs made using the additive
The Lluta Valley geoglyphs are characterised by their technique shows greater contrast with the desert’s light-
location, which is limited to the lower valley, no more coloured sandy surface. The average area of a single motif
than 13 km from the coast, and thus they are absent from is 23 m2. However, 92 out of 125 motifs are smaller and
the middle and upper courses of the valley (Figure 6.1). only 4 cover an area larger than 100 m2. The total area of
The 11 panels under study are situated on the southern the largest motif is 270 m2 (Figure 6.4).
slope, a pattern that is repeated for most panels in the
valley (20 out of 23; Figure 6.1). No vegetation grows, The viewshed of the studied panels varies between 20
nor are there any faunal resources living in the geoglyphs’ and 160 ha (Table 6.3). Statistics do not show a specific
surroundings. However, 9 out of 11 panels are located in locational characteristic that explains the extension of the
relation to portezuelos or natural passes. geoglyphs’ viewshed (e.g. height above valley floor). The
strongest correlation is with the total surface area of the
The studied geoglyphs are distributed among four figures that comprise the panel, reflecting the size/distance
locations: two clusters in the Huaylacán sector around a parameter considered in the analysis. At the scale of panel
natural pass that connects with the coast of Arica, and two groups, Group 3 is potentially the most visible, perhaps
further isolated clusters located to the far east and west of due to the greater mean surface area of its motifs (Table
the pass respectively (Figure 6.2): 6.4).

• Group 1: site LL-18 (panel 3), isolated, located 1.2 km The overall cumulative viewshed shows the continuity
to the west of group 2. of the geoglyphs’ visibility across the valley section. The
• Group 2: site LL-60 (panels 5 and 6) and site LL-113 panel group viewsheds tend to be segregated, apart from
(panel 7) located ca. 1.2 km to the east of the pass. the overlay between the two clusters (groups 2 and 3)
• Group 3: site LL-111 (panels 10, 11, 12 and 13) and site located around a natural pass (Table 6.4). This viewshed
LL-112 (panels 8 and 9) located 1.4 km from group 2. convergence produces an amphitheatre effect that visually
• Group 4: site LL-89 (panel 16), isolated located 5.3 km structures a spatial orientation moving towards the pass. It
from group 3. provides a privileged location for observing more than 15

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Figure 6.2. Cumulative viewshed, geoglyphs and other archaeological sites in the Lluta Valley. Map by Thibault Saintenoy.

Figure 6.3. Location of geoglyphs on the slope of the Lluta Valley, associated with trails (Panel 3, site LL-60). Photo by Marta
Crespo (FONDECYT 1201687).

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Table 6.2. Locational characteristics of the 11 geoglyph panels included in the study sample. Locational data from Aster
GDEM, based on motif morphology. The delimitation of panels includes a buffer zone of 10 m. Due to its greater extension,
LL-60/P6 was divided into three parts. Double horizontal lines separate groups of panels. Data for LL-60/P6b’s figure 24 is
missing due to its complex morphology.

Site/Panel Altitude Height Slope Aspect Number Mean Sum of Panel Density
above above (º) of figures surface figures’ surface fig./panel
sea level valley area of surface area
(m) floor (m) figures (m2) area (m2) (m2)

LL-18/P3 151 51 11 NW (-25º) 14 12 168 6998 2%

LL-60/P5 164 44 9 NE (48º) 23 9 206 3642 6%

LL-60/P6a 240 120 13 NE (50º) 5 38 190 5207 4%

LL-60/P6b 224 104 17 N (13º) 14 33 467 8137 6%

LL-60/P6c 198 78 19 N (18º) 14 6 78 4995 2%

LL-113/P7 259 109 17 NE (39º) 6 12 72 2745 3%

LL-111/P10 345 195 18 N (-11º) 14 55 769 7822 10%

LL-111/P11 350 200 19 N (-10º) 2 12 25 667 4%

LL-111/P12 339 189 21 N (-6º) 4 44 177 2378 7%

LL-111/P13 355 205 20 NE (26º) 1 30 30 821 4%

LL-112/P8 329 179 21 NE (23º) 3 24 72 1055 7%

LL-112/P9 333 183 19 N (-6º) 2 77 154 1776 9%

LL-89/P15 415 185 21 N (-12º) 22 20 438 19279 2%

Mean/sums 263 142 16 N (10º) 124 23 2847 65521 4%

Figure 6.4. Surface area (in m2) of the 125 geoglyph motifs tested using spatial analysis.

geoglyphs simultaneously from the bottom of the valley 6.5.2. Technical and formal characteristics of motifs
(Figure 6.2). Located in Collcas de Huaylacán (site LL-2),
it is the largest archaeological site of the lower valley. The All 23 geoglyphs from the Lluta Valley were made using
cumulative viewshed shows a slight visual relationship the additive technique, in positive and in high relief,
between the trails located on the slope on the one hand and forming in-filled motifs by juxtaposed stones. Volcanic
the geoglyphs on the other. stones of local origin were used, dark grey in colour, with

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Table 6.3. Geoglyphs’ cumulative viewshed by panel. Double horizontal lines delimit the four groups of panels. The null
viewshed of LL-111/P11 could be a product of the low-resolution DEM data.

Site/Panel Panel’s height above Panel surface Number of Maximum number of Viewshed
valley floor (m) area (m2) figures simultaneously visible extension (ha)
figures in viewshed

LL-18/P3 51 6998 14 9 54

LL-60/P5 44 3642 23 16 22

LL-60/P6a 120 5207 5 3 29

LL-60/P6b 104 8137 14 11 76

LL-60/P6c 78 4995 14 13 17

LL-113/P7 109 2745 6 6 16

LL-111/P10 195 7822 14 8 168

LL-111/P11 200 667 2 2 0

LL-111/P12 189 2378 4 4 37

LL-111/P13 205 821 1 1 18

LL-112/P8 179 1055 3 3 19

LL-112/P9 183 1776 2 2 97

LL-89/P15 185 19279 22 20 115

Table 6.4. Geoglyphs’ cumulative viewshed by panel groups and the overlay between them.

Group of panels Number Number Mean Total figures’ Total panels’ Viewshed
of panels of figures surface area surface area surface area extension
of figures (m2) (m2) (ha)

Group 1 (LL-18) 1 14 12 168 6998 54

Viewshed overlay between groups 1 & 2 = 15 ha

Group 2 (LL-60 and LL-113) 5 62 20 1014 24726 90

Viewshed overlay between groups 2 & 3 = 82 ha

Group 3 (LL-111 and LL-112) 6 26 40 1227 14518 192

Viewshed overlay between groups 3 & 4 = 20 ha

Group 4 (LL-89) 1 22 20 438 19279 115

sizes ranging from 10 to 50 cm in diameter. The selection zoomorphic motifs (mainly camelids) and a few geometric
of dark grey stones placed over the lighter grey natural motifs, the anthropomorphic figure is the most frequent and
soil surface produces a contrast between the figure and the is represented in a fairly standardised way (Briones 2008;
background that is decisive in defining the motifs’ visual Briones et al. 2007). Less frequently, Lluta geoglyphs
effectiveness (Briones 1984). However, this contrast include non-iconic motifs1 and depictions of objects
decreases over time due to post-depositional processes, (Figure 6.5). Besides, some geoglyphs are unidentifiable
such as stone sliding driven by gravity and telluric in shape due to their poor state of preservation. The motifs
movements, as well as sand deposition by aeolian action that comprise the study sample are representative of the
(Briones 1984). total number of attested geoglyphs and affirm the high
number of anthropomorphic motifs (Figure 6.5). Likewise,
Low levels of formal and technical variability characterise they are clearly ubiquitous, as all but one of the geoglyph
the geoglyphs of the Lluta Valley. Previous studies defined panels contain this category of figures.
the ‘Lluta style’ as being characterised mainly by highly
schematised anthropomorphic figures, rendered by
geometric tracing, and made using an additive technique 1
A non-iconic motif lacks any formal resemblance between form and
(Dauelsberg et al. 1975). Although the style includes content (Morphy 1989, 6).

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6.5.2.1. Anthropomorphs depicted in profile, most figures (15 out of 19) ‘look’
westwards. In other cases, the head is not represented (6
Of the total number of anthropomorphic figures (n=68) the out of 19) or is indistinguishable due to poor preservation
majority correspond to the ‘Lluta type’ pattern (55 out of (4 out of 19).
68) that characterises the Lluta style. This motif is highly
schematised, depicted by straight lines, without anatomical The trunk is invariably displayed in frontal view,
or body volume attributes. Two anthropomorphic variants with the legs straight and slightly apart. The graphical
are identified. Variant 1, the most frequent (49 out of 68), representation of arms is lacking. There is a notable
is represented with head, body, legs and occasionally feet absence of the neck as a nexus between the head and
(Figures 6.6–6.11). Its head, depicted either frontally body and of the ankle as a nexus between the legs and
(n=20) or in profile (n=19), is either square shaped with an feet (Briones et al. 2007). In stylistic terms, and viewed
appendage, or semilunar in shape; the latter we interpreted in the context of the Atacama Desert, this type of figure
as a representation of the ‘war helmets’ recovered from constitutes a clearly localised form of expression, as it is
funerary contexts in the region (Figure 6.12). When almost exclusive to this valley. Anthropomorphic figures

Figure 6.5. Total number of attested motifs from the Lluta Valley geoglyphs and number of motifs included in the study sample.

Figure 6.6. Lluta-type anthropomorphic motifs: variant 1 (a) and 2 (b). Motifs reproduced by Luis Briones and Daniela
Valenzuela.

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Figure 6.7. Panel 5, site LL-60. Variability of headdresses in anthropomorphic motifs: variants 1 and 2. Digital orthophoto (a)
by Marta Crespo and view from the ground (b) by Paz Casanova (FONDECYT 1201687).

Figure 6.8. Panel 6, site LL-60. Camelids and anthropomorphic motifs. Digital orthophoto (a) and view from the ground (b),
by Marta Crespo (FONDECYT 1201687).

Figure 6.9. Panels 8 (right) and 9 (left), site LL-112. Anthropomorphic Lluta-type motifs. Photogrammetric image (a) and view
from the ground (b). Digital orthophoto (a) by Marta Crespo and view from the ground (b) by Paz Casanova (FONDECYT
1201687).

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D. Valenzuela, L. Briones, P. Casanova, I. Montt, T. Saintenoy, M. Crespo and P. Mendez-Quiros

Figure 6.10. Panel 11, site LL-111. Anthropomorphic Lluta-type motifs, camelids, feline in profile and other anthropomorphic
types. Digital orthophoto (a) by Marta Crespo and view from the ground (b) by Paz Casanova (FONDECYT 1201687).

Figure 6.11. Panel 15, site LL-89. Anthropomorphic Lluta-type motifs, camelids and geometric meandric line. Digital
orthophoto (a) and view from the ground (b) by Marta Crespo (FONDECYT 1201687).

Figure 6.12. Late Intermediate Period Arica helmets used in situations of conflict or confrontation during late pre-Hispanic
times, Museo Arqueológico Universidad de Tarapacá-San Miguel de Azapa Collection: (a) provenance unknown, from a
funerary site in the Azapa valley, catalog number UTA-27504; (b) site AZ-6, burial 5, catalog number 12033; (c) site PLM-
4, burial 18, catalog number 7726; (d) site AZ-1, unknown burial, catalog number 3126; (e) drawing by Guaman Poma de
Ayala (1980 [1615], drawing 22) depicting the uma chuku or ‘warrior helmet’ in the scene of “The fourth age of the Indians,
Auca Runa” (Royal Danish Library, GKS 2232 kvart: Guaman Poma, Nueva corónica y buen gobierno [c. 1615], page 63).
Photographs (a), (b), (c), and (d) reproduced courtesy of Nicholas Charlesworth.

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of this kind are otherwise only found in isolated cases in way, rendered without motion, and depicted with no extra-
geoglyphs in the Azapa Valley and in some rock engravings somatic elements (such as a rope) linking to camelids. In
in the Lluta Valley (Figure 6.13). The helmet-type Lluta geoglyphs, human figures and camelids were always
headdress is also represented at other rock art sites, such as displayed unrelated, thus missing common dynamics of
Chamarcusiña in the Azapa Valley (Romero 1996), interaction or formal elements that join the figures, as
where it appears in scenes of confrontation between occur in other geoglyphs and rock art from the Atacama
archers, although here it is shaped differently to that of the Desert (Berenguer 2004a).
Lluta style.
6.5.2.2. Zoomorphs
In variant 2 (6 out of 68 attestations), the anthropomorphic
figure also acquires a high degree of schematisation Zoomorphic motifs (29 out of 138) are the second
(Figures 6.6 and 6.7). It consists of straight or curved most frequent category in the study sample. Unlike
figures, in the form of an inverted U corresponding to anthropomorphs, zoomorphs have greater internal
the body and lower limbs. Above the body of this motif, variability. In fact, only camelids (18 out of 29) can be
a T or semilunar shape, resembling the silhouette of a assigned to a certain type (straight-lined schematic
tumi (Andean ceremonial axe/knife), was added as a camelids) (Figures 6.7, 6.8, 6.10 and 6.11), while the rest
headdress or head. Variant 2 presents a high degree of includes a variety of motifs with various formal traits
abstraction and it could be argued that its interpretation (Figure 6.10): bird (1 out of 29), unidentified quadrupeds
as an anthropomorphic figure would be very difficult (7 out of 29), felines shown in profile (2 out of 29) and
if we were unaware of the reference to variant 1. batrachian (1 out of 29).
Tumi representations, whether isolated or arranged as
headdresses of anthropomorphic figures, are common to The schematic straight-lined camelids (18 out of 29) are
Atacama Desert rock engravings at sites in the valleys of depicted in profile, with quadrangular bodies. However,
Lluta (LL-43 site), Azapa (Ausipar and Chamarcusa sites) they lack the formal standardisation of the Lluta-type
and Camarones (Taltape 1 and Taltape 2 sites) (Niemeyer anthropomorphs. In fact, they can be found with two or
1968–1969; Valenzuela 2017). four legs, one or two ears and with or without a tail. The
common denominator is the geometrisation of the bodies,
The remaining anthropomorphic motifs do not constitute with a tendency to straight lines. It is the most recurrent
true formal types. They include anthropomorphic figures motif associated with Lluta-type anthropomorphs. The
in motion (7 out of 68) or static (6 out of 68). Some of quadrupeds (7 out of 29) are also represented schematically,
the animated anthropomorphs, identified as archers, with elongated bodies and short legs, which may point to
are arranged in scenic compositions such as confron­ depictions of dogs or foxes.
tations (Figure 6.14), which is a widespread theme in
engravings from other sites in the region (Niemeyer and Other zoomorphs have curvilinear bodies, such as
Schiappacasse 1981; Romero 1996). Also noteworthy is the batrachians (1 out of 29) and felines (2 out of 29). There
representation of a static archer with a tumi-shaped were problems in identifying the latter figures at the time
headdress (Figure 6.7). of restoration because, given the loss of the figures’ formal
integrity, it was impossible to ascertain whether they
In terms of composition, the renderings of anthropomorphs depicted a monkey – common to the ceramic and textile
do not comprise scenes of interaction with camelids, even iconography of the Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 900–
though they are displayed on the same panels. The Lluta 1400) – or a feline (Briones 1984; 2008; Muñoz 1983)
anthropomorphic geoglyphs are represented in a schematic (Figure 6.10).

Figure 6.13. Lluta-type anthropomorphs in: (a) Azapa valley geoglyphs, Panel 3 at the Cerro Sombrero site, photo by Marta
Crespo (FONDECYT 1201687); (b) Lluta Valley rock engravings at the LL-98 Marka Vilavila site, photo by Daniela Valenzuela.

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D. Valenzuela, L. Briones, P. Casanova, I. Montt, T. Saintenoy, M. Crespo and P. Mendez-Quiros

Figure 6.14. Scene of confrontation between anthropomorphs in motion wearing feathered headdresses; one of them is
carrying a bow. Detail from Panel 3, site LL-18. Photo by Marta Crespo (FONDECYT 1201687).

6.5.2.3. Objects highly visible because of their location on the valley

slopes, demonstrating an intention to be seen easily from
The objects (3 out of 132) include motifs found on a a distance (Briones 1984; Clarkson 1996; Lambers 2020).
single panel (panel 6, site Lluta 60) (Figure 6.8). They According to Briones (1984), the importance of aspects
were originally interpreted as birds in flight (herons, such as the position of the observer and the orientation
eagles or harriers) (Briones 2008; Dauelsberg et al. 1975), of the geoglyph are fundamental to the geoglyph’s visual
appearing with extended ‘wings’ that form a semilunar perception. These aspects define distance and perspective,
or rectangular shape with a line in the centre. We think, which ultimately determine the degree of visibility. The
however, that these are double-edged knives with a central locational characteristics of the geoglyphs limit their
axis, as a tumi-shaped variant, considering the existence of visibility from specific locations. Consequently, we
anthropomorphs in which this motif represents a headdress believe that the Lluta Valley geoglyphs were created with
(e.g. motif 15, panel 5, site LL-60; Figure 6.7). a primarily visual purpose in mind.

6.5.2.4. Non-iconic motifs The Lluta geoglyphs are located far from the main areas of
human occupation and natural resources. However, many
These are rare (4 out of 138) and encompass a curved line of them are associated with passes, as is the case in the
(n=1), wavy line (n=1), straight line (n=1) and a rectangle Huaylacán sector on the southern slope and Morro Negro
(n=1) (Figures 6.8 and 6.11). on the northern slope. Passes are a key feature in traffic
networks because they connect geographic areas separated
6.6. Discussion by topographic barriers; in this case, they link the Lluta
and Azapa valleys, as well as ravines located to the north
The monumentality of the Lluta geoglyphs, given their of the Lluta Valley.
large size (up to 270 m2), suggests an intention to put
them on display and a desire to ensure their material All geoglyphs are associated with trails, revealing
permanence through time and space. Indeed, they are the relationship between geoglyphs and caravanning

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practices in the Atacama Desert, frequently emphasised in marked a significant area: Huaylacán, from where several
archaeological literature (see discussion in Valenzuela and geoglyphs could be seen at the same time.
Montt 2018).
Huaylacán was a key pre-Columbian sector of the valley
Furthermore, their systematic location on the southern within the route network and is one of the sectors of the
slope of the valley suggests that they were created to Lluta Valley where several routes converge and diverge
face a particular direction, i.e. the north and primarily the (Muñoz and Briones 1996). Here the LL-2 Collcas de
northeast. According to Muñoz and Briones (1996), the Huaylacán site is located, which comprises more than 50
main route linking the altiplano with the coast of Arica underground storage units, with no identified residential
runs along the northern slope of the valley in an east-west settlement, though it is close to a cemetery. It has been
direction (Ruta Transversal Lluta No. 2). At several points previously suggested that the site could have been a traffic
along this route, there are secondary path bifurcations that station where caravanners rested and ate, exchanged their
connect with the Azapa Valley or the coast of Arica by the imported cargo goods and stocked up on maize and fish,
valley’s southern hillside. These forks occur, for example, the remains of which were found inside and outside the
in the Rosario and Huaylacán sectors, where several silos. Its location on a wide plain would have been ideal
geoglyph panels are grouped together. The coast marks for loading and unloading llamas, along with exchange
the end point of all these routes and variants. In addition, activities. This sector has permanent but brackish water
as the Lluta geoglyphs have a clear orientation towards the and is covered by pastures that could have provided
northeast, this leads us to assume they were oriented to fodder for llamas (Valenzuela et al. 2011). In sum, Lluta
people moving from the east to the west, rather than vice geoglyphs appear to have acted as landmarks to highlight
versa, that is, the direction of those descending from the certain properties of this territory rather than marking and
highlands to the coast. This assumption is also suggested being functional to specific caravan routes. The many
by the westward orientation of the anthropomorphic figures created by placing dark stones on the desert surface
figures with their heads shown in profile, thus marking the provide meaning through their fixed presence in these
figures’ orientation towards the Pacific coast. landscapes of motion.

Contrary to previous studies suggesting that the geoglyphs The particular head shape of the Lluta-type anthropomorphs
were visible from the routes (Briones 1984, 43; Valenzuela suggests the portrayal of helmet-type headdresses, which
et al. 2011), the cumulative viewshed analyses presented were common in the Andes from the Middle Horizon (ca.
here scarcely shows any visibility relationship between AD 400–900) onwards (Sagárnaga 2007; Ugarte Lewis
the geoglyphs and the trails located on the valley slopes, and Yépez Álvarez 2012) but became more frequent
although the spatial (physical) association between them during the Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 900–1400),
is evident. How might we explain that the geoglyphs are extending into the Late Horizon (ca. AD 1400–1535)
oriented towards routes from which they could not be (Arnold 2018; Berenguer 2006). The helmet is defined as
seen? We are not yet in a position to answer this question. a subclass of the headdress; it was reinforced using solid
But the following considerations should be taken into material to protect the head from injury and contusion in
account: the analysis did not exhaustively fathom other conflict or violent situations (Arnold 2018, 194).
aspects of visibility, such as the location of the geoglyphs
in relation to monumentality and movement, which During the Late Intermediate Period, referred to by the
requires high-resolution topographic data and a more chronicler Guaman Poma de Ayala (1980 [1615]) as
sophisticated viewshed algorithm to estimate the angle Auca Runa (an era of battle), conflict and social tension
of incidence that would influence geoglyph perception; occurred in the Andes on account of the struggle for access
field experiments are also required to refine the parameters to productive niches. This is evidenced archaeologically
of visual perception of the geoglyphs within the Lluta by the construction of pukaras (forts), the presence of
Valley’s biogeographical context. weapons (e.g. slingshots, bows, arrows and quivers)
and war attire (e.g. helmets, leather armour and feline
Visual perception is culturally mediated. It depends skin tunics), and traumas in bioanthropological remains
largely on the systems of cultural representation of past (Berenguer 2009, 198; Berenguer and Cáceres 2008, 143;
populations. The way in which geoglyphs are perceived is Berenguer et al. 2011; Nielsen 2007). During the Late
influenced by factors such as familiarity with geoglyphs, Horizon, hemispherical-shaped war helmets sometimes
an understanding of their iconography, and knowledge adorned with feathers, called uma chuku or chuku, are
of local geography, among others. Artefacts with strong described in historical documents as belonging to the
formal properties (such as shape, colour, size, etc.) are clothing and armour of Inca warriors, which also included
intended to be perceived by the sense of sight (Fiore slings, spears, maces, musical instruments and unkus or
2011, 102). Formal attributes are inherent in geoglyphs tunics (Horta 2011, 552; Martínez et al. 2016, 14; Martínez
and the fact that some geoglyphs could not be easily and Martínez 2013; McEwan 2006; Poma de Ayala 1980
seen from some of the caravan trails does not diminish [1615]). The term uma chuku used to denote the Inca
their properties as visual artefacts. Consequently, Lluta warrior’s helmet appears in the early Colonial Period
geoglyphs do not appear to have served as mere traffic (16th and 17th centuries) and is described as a ‘leather
signals on specific routes, but rather to have symbolically helmet’, with its yawri uma chuku variant described as

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an ‘iron helmet’ (Bertonio 1984 [1612] I: 116, quoted by the Marka Vilavila site (LL-98) (Valenzuela et al. 2011).
Arnold 2018, 195). The inclusion of helmets as part of the Consequently, the depiction of helmets, axes, knives,
clothing of Inca warriors is also present in mythological tunics, confrontations and caravans seems to have been
discourses (Rostworowski 1988, 146). part of the visual discourses in times of conflict during the
Late Intermediate and Late Horizon periods.
Cane ‘war helmets’, made from a vegetal structure
strengthened with camelid yarn, have also been found in The anthropomorphic geoglyphs from the Lluta Valley, with
the Atacama Desert, in funerary archaeological sites dating their helmet-like headdresses, seem to be strongly linked
to the Late Intermediate Period (Arnold 2018; Berenguer to tense and hostile situations, which, as Berenguer (2009)
2006) (Figure 6.12). Occurring inland and along the coast, pointed out, had some association with caravanning mobility.
they are commonly associated with weapons (such as Considering that the caravanners probably belonged to
bows, arrows and quivers), metal objects, elements from highland pastoralist peoples (Valenzuela et al. 2019), their
the caravan kit (e.g. tie toggles, bells and sacks), foreign passage through lowland foreign territories, such as the
items from the tropical forest (guacamayo feathers and coastal valley of Lluta, was possibly not without struggle and
quivers made from jaguar skins) and musical instruments risk (Harris 1985; Nielsen 1997; Valenzuela et al. 2011).
(Cases and Agüero 2004; Focacci 1990; Moragas 1995;
Pacheco 2010; Sanhueza 1985; Zlatar 1984). The emphasis given to the human figure in the Lluta
geoglyphs versus camelids and non-iconic motifs, is
In particular, four helmets of this type were discovered consistent with what occurs in other parts of the Atacama
in cemeteries in the Azapa Valley and along the coast of Desert and in the Andes during this period. During the
Arica (sites Az-1, Az-6, PLM-4 and another of unknown late pre-Columbian epoch, the human figure gains major
origin), all of them stored at the Museo Arqueológico San prominence, expressed in representations of attributes of
Miguel de Azapa. In the Az-6 cemetery (tomb 4), dating power, marking a difference with respect to earlier periods
back to the Late Intermediate Period (Korpisaari et al. (Aschero 2000; Valenzuela and Montt 2018). Specifically,
2014), a helmet together with bows, arrows, quivers, a in the geoglyphs of the Lluta Valley, human presence is
slingshot, wooden mace with a stone head, bronze axes, constituted through the representation of anthropomorphic
spears and musical instruments were found (Focacci figures in an otherwise uninhabited space, thus becoming
1990). In tomb 5, a helmet was discovered lying beside permanently ‘populated’ in the middle of nowhere.
a human body with arrowheads lodged in the thorax. The
tomb also included musical instruments (Focacci 1990). 6.7. Conclusions
In sum, the helmets emerge as a typical object associated
with violent situations (whether ritualistic or war-related), The geoglyphs of the Lluta Valley are remarkable for
along with other objects such as tunics, breastplates, presenting peculiar – and sometimes exclusive – traits in
bows and arrows, metal weapons (tumis) and musical terms of technique, formal characteristics of representation,
instruments, which are particularly significant in funerary location, site conditions and associated archaeological
and rock art archaeological sites in the Atacama Desert. features.
Contextually, caravanning and exchange of goods are also
linked to these subjects, as we will see below. Geoglyphs were more than just traffic signals. They also
functioned as a means of technology in the caravanning
This type of helmet and some of the related objects system, as important as the trails, rest stops and caravan
found in graves are depicted in Atacama Desert rock kit. They were permanent landmarks that emphasised
art. In the Upper Loa basin, anthropomorphs wearing access to critical spaces. In the case of the Lluta Valley
feathered helmets, leather breastplates and jaguar skins geoglyphs, the main emphasis was to mark the qualities
are associated with depictions of tumis (metal knives) of a significant space in the context of movements
and axes, as well as lineal formations of llama caravans towards the coast (and not away from it). The Lluta Valley
(Berenguer 1995; 2004b; 2009; Berenguer and Cabello geoglyphs hold visual qualities that have a communicative
2005; Berenguer et al. 2007). In rock engravings from the potential: the figures are large in size, recurrent and visible
Azapa Valley, there are scenes of confrontation between from a distance; they also have a non-verbal capacity to
archers equipped with this type of helmet. In the Lluta express social values. This occurs in the open desert, in
Valley, scenes of caravanning are usually accompanied territories characterised by non-permanent occupations,
by depictions of tumis. In rock art representations from but that were key to the interaction and exchange between
the Late Horizon, the helmet and tumi are associated with communities and occurred in the context of social tension
chequered tunics (unkus). According to Berenguer (2013), and conflict. Both interaction (peaceful or otherwise) and
these motifs could represent a visual discourse utilised by exchange make the material and social reproduction of the
Inca troops for deterrent purposes, avoiding the need for human communities possible.
physical force. Depictions of chequered unkus, helmets
and scenes of caravanning are also recorded (Moragas Acknowledgements
1996). In the Lluta Valley, Lluta-type anthropomorphic
motifs with engraved helmets (and possibly a painted This contribution has been produced within the scope of the
one) are shown together with painted chequered motifs at FONDECYT (Fondo de Desarrollo de Ciencia y Tecnología

124
 In the Middle of Nowhere

[Chilean National Funds for Science and Technology]) nueva servidumbre? In M. E. Albeck, M. Ruiz and M.
grants 1201687 and 1171708. Spatial analyses were B. Cremonte (eds.), Las Tierras Altas del Área Centro
undertaken in collaboration with the RoadNet_Andes Sur Andina entre el 1000 y el 1600 dC, 311–352. Jujuy:
project that has received funding from the European Union’s Universidad Nacional de Jujuy.
Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under
Berenguer, J. and Cabello, G. 2005, Late horizon rock art
grant agreement MSCA 800617. We appreciate Calogero
in the Atacama desert? A view from the Inka road. Rock
Santoro’s comments and suggestions and are grateful to
Art Research 22(1), 29–49.
Nick Charlesworth for reviewing the text and improving
the English. We also thank the editors for inviting us to Berenguer, J., Cabello, G. and Artigas, D. 2007, Tras la
participate in this volume and for their careful editing. pista del Inca en petroglifos paravecinales al Qhapaqñan
en el Alto Loa, Norte de Chile. Chungara, Revista de
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 7

Patterns of Movement. Rock Art, Rough-Outs,

and Route-Ways in the English Lake District

Kate E. Sharpe

Abstract: A new corpus of rock art has recently emerged in the north-west of England. Targeted
surveys and chance discoveries have revealed decorated panels at around 30 sites on the volcanic
rocks of the Lake District in the county of Cumbria. During the British Neolithic period, these
crags were also the focus of another reductive use of stone: quarrying and production of axe-
heads. Outcropping around the mountain summits is a ribbon of fine-grained andesitic tuff, a
distinctive raw material that drew the attention of prehistoric stone-workers. This chapter suggests
a possible relationship between the carved panels and the movement of prehistoric people around
this challenging landscape in pursuit of the precious stone at its heart.

Keywords: rock art, cup-mark, open-air art, stone axe, rough-out, quarrying, Neolithic, Cumbria,
England

7.1. Introduction cup-marked outcrops. The decorated sites also coincide

with the junctions of natural mountain passes between the
A recently documented group of rock art panels in central valleys. This chapter introduces this distinctive new rock
Cumbria, in the north-west of England, adds a new art corpus and presents a case for a relationship between
dimension to the well-recognised relationship between the carved panels and the movement of people around this
open-air petroglyphs and movement through the landscape. dramatic and challenging landscape, with reference to the
These decorated outcrops and boulders, which are part of axe-production processes at its centre.
the wider Atlantic tradition of ‘open-air’ petroglyphs, all
lie within the Lake District National Park. They are located 7.2. New rock art in Lakeland
on or just above the valley floor in contrast to the elevated
upland settings more typical of rock art in neighbouring Rock art was first recorded in the county of Cumbria in
regions. Almost all are situated close to the head or tail of the 18th century (Hutchinson 1974: 288) but until recently
one of the deep, ribbon lakes that radiate like spokes from was primarily associated with the monuments of the
the central massif of the Cumbrian Fells. The Lakeland Eden Valley in the north-east of the county – mostly Late
carvings consist largely (with one notable exception) of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age burial sites. Panels include
simple cup-marks, with few examples of the more elaborate the striking red sandstone pillar known as Long Meg, part
cup-and-ring motifs common elsewhere in the British Isles. of a complex including a stone circle and linked enclosure,
All are found in open, ‘landscape’ contexts, the majority and kerbstones around cairns at Little Meg and Glassonby
being substantial, glacially-polished outcrops; none have (Simpson 1865; Fergusson 1895; Thornley 1902). No
identifiable monumental, burial, or other associations. examples (in any context) had been recognised on the
hard, volcanic geology of the Lake District in the centre
Outcropping around the Lakeland summits is a band of of the county. In 1998, a group of three decorated panels
fine-grained andesitic tuff, a distinctive raw material of outcropping bedrock was reported by a local resident
that drew the attention of Neolithic stone-workers from in the valley of Patterdale, at the southern tip of Ullswater
the early centuries of the 4th millennium BC. Intensive (Cook 1999; ULL1–ULL4 in Table 7.1). This represented
quarrying and tool production activities are evident in the a new form of rock art in Cumbria. The igneous origins of
mountains: axe-heads were ‘roughed out’ at the source, the Borrowdale Volcanic Series were clearly no deterrent:
then moved to lower ground for ‘finishing’ (Bradley the new panels were large and extensively decorated, albeit
and Edmonds 1993). The distribution patterns of these with a limited repertoire of simple cups and grooves that
axe-heads suggest the presence of settlements along the appeared to exploit natural features on the rock surface.
western coastal plain, on the northern shore of Derwent
Water, and in the Eden Valley to the east, in a continuation Other discoveries rapidly followed. Around 30 sites with
of Mesolithic lifeways closely connected to the rich cup-marked outcrops (and three boulders) have since
resources of the sea, estuaries, lakes, and rivers (Clare et been found in similar contexts close to Crummock Water,
al. 2001; Style 2009). Buttermere, Grasmere, Rydal Water, Elterwater, Lake
Windermere, Thirlmere, Derwent Water, and Loughrigg
Routes along the valleys connecting the lowland settlements Tarn (Beckensall 2002; Brown and Brown 2008; Sharpe
with the central stone quarries appear to be marked by the 2012; 2015; Style 2011; see Tables 7.1 and 7.2; Figures 7.1

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Kate E. Sharpe

Table 7.1. The Lake District panels: topographical relationships. Distances based on current shoreline except where stated.
Most of the panels are located on private land; grid references are therefore not included but are registered with the Lake
District National Park.

Ref. Elevation Lake (distance, m) Watercourse Relationship to natural routeways

(m a.s.l.) if within 2500 m (distance, m)
Buttermere & Crummock Water area
BUT1 110 Buttermere (575) Mill Beck (12) Situated between Buttermere and Crummock Water at the
Crummock Water foot of two mountain passes: a) north via Newlands Hause
(625) (minor road; summit = 333 m a.s.l.) to Newlands Valley
and possible settlement areas between Derwent Water and
BUT2 125 Buttermere (650) Mill Beck (37) Bassenthwaite; b) east via Honister Pass (current B5289;
Crummock Water summit = 356 m a.s.l.) to Borrowdale. Mid-way along lake
(600) route from fells to coastal lowlands via northern shores of
BUT3 140 Crummock Water Mill Beck (19) Buttermere, Crummock Water and Loweswater.
(750); Buttermere
(750)
CRU1 108 Crummock Water Park Beck (80) Situated at north-west end of Crummock Water with access to
(500) a) Coledale Pass (footpath; summit = 603 m a.s.l.), north into
Loweswater (1600) Derwent valley; and b) branch route joining Floutern Tarn
Pass (see CRU2).
On lake route between coast and fells via Loweswater,
Crummock Water and Buttermere, or north via Lorton Vale.
CRU2 118 Crummock Water Scale Beck (1) Situated on south-west shore of Crummock Water at foot of
(200) route west via Floutern Tarn Pass (bridleway, summit = 416
m a.s.l.) into Ennerdale and westward to the coast. On lake
route from fells to coastal lowlands via southern shores of
Crummock Water and Loweswater.
Patterdale (Ullswater) area
ULL1 179 Ullswater (625) Goldrill Beck Situated at the southern end of Ullswater, and the northern
(314) end of Patterdale. At the foot of several mountain passes:
a) Kirkstone Pass (previously route of Roman road; current
ULL2 170 Ullswater (700) Goldrill Beck A592; summit = 454 m a.s.l.), leading south to Lake
(283) Windermere and southern routes to Morecambe Bay; b)
ULL3 155 Ullswater (1000) Goldrill Beck Boredale Hause (summit = 500 m a.s.l.); north-east upland
(110) route towards Eden Valley; Deepdale Hause (footpath;
summit = 655 m a.s.l.), south-west into Thirlmere valley; c)
ULL4 166 Ullswater (1750) Goldrill Beck Scandale (footpath; summit = 516 m a.s.l.), south into the
(75) Scandale Valley (via rock art refs SCA1–7); d) Grisedale
Hause south into the Rothay valley (bridleway; summit = 590
m a.s.l.).
Also located on lake route along eastern shore of Ullswater
towards Eden Valley.
Borrowdale (Derwent Water) area
DER1 78 Derwent Water River Derwent Situated at southern end of Derwent Water and northern
(250) (137) end of Borrowdale on valley route between settlements
at northern end of Derwent Water and fells. At foot of
DER2 108 Derwent Water River Derwent Hause Gate (bridleway summit = 360 m a.s.l.) leading
(1350) (421) west to Newlands Pass and on the valley of Buttermere and
Crummock Water.
Thirlmere and Naddle Valley area
THI1 210 Thirlmere (2250) Wyth Beck At southern end of Thirlmere valley at foot of passes: a)
(94) south-west via Dunmail Raise (current A591; summit = 238
m a.s.l.), to Rothay valley and the Vale of Grasmere; b) south-
west following the Wythburn to join pass over Greenup Edge
(bridleway; summit = 608 m a.s.l.) linking Vale of Grasmere
(Easedale) with Borrowdale. Shoreline based on map of
drawn prior to inundation to formation of reservoir in 1890
(Harwood 1895).
NAD1 154 Ancient tarn (ca. Naddle Beck On lowland route between Thirlmere Valley and settlements
200) (236) at northern end of Derwent Water to west (current A591) or
east to Eden Valley. Located 1.6 km from Castlerigg stone
circle.

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Ref Elevation Lake (distance, m) Watercourse Relationship to natural routeways

(m a.s.l.) (distance, m)
Brathay Valley (Grasmere, Rydal Water and Windermere) area
GRA1 73 Grasmere (800) River Rothay Situated to the south-west of the valley of the River Rothay,
(49) north of Grasmere. Lake routes along valley via Rydal
to Lake Windemere and south. Upland routes: north via
GRA2 87 Grasmere (550) River Rothay Dunmail Raise (current A591; summit = 238 m a.s.l.); north-
(315) west via Easedale to Greenup Edge (bridleway; summit =
GRA3 78 Grasmere (470) River Rothay 608 m a.s.l.); south-west via Meg’s Gill (footpath, summit =
(291) 230 m a.s.l.) or Red Bank to Great Langdale, Elterwater and
Loughrigg Tarn.
RYD1 70 Rydal Water (700) River Rothay Situated to the east of the Rothay Valley, on lowland route
(374) north-south via Grasmere, Rydal Water and Windermere;
north via Thirlmere. Possibly linked to Scandale panels.
NB: Pollen cores indicate the lake was once more extensive
(Hodgkinson et al. 2000).
WIN1 42 Windermere (250) Confluence of Located to the east of the confluence of the rivers Rothay
River Rothay and Brathay, and the northern shore of Lake Windermere,
and River at crossroads east-west and north-south. Lowland routes
Brathay (162) north along Rothay to Vale of Grasmere; south via Lake
Windermere; west to Great Langdale via Elterwater; north to
Patterdale or via Kirkstone Pass (previously route of Roman
road; current A592; summit = 454 m a.s.l.), or Scandale Pass
(footpath; summit = 516 m a.s.l.) via rock art panels SCA1–7.
Located 40 m from Galava Roman fort.
Brathay Valley (Elterwater and Loughrigg Tarn) area
ELT1 122 Elterwater (480) River Brathay Located on bridleway linking the eastern ends of the parallel
(658) valleys of Great Langdale and Little Langdale.
ELT2 160 Elterwater (750) River Brathay
(925)
LOU1 110 Loughrigg Tarn River Brathay Located on route linking Great Langdale with Vale of
(155) (628) Grasmere.
Great Langdale area
LAN1 100 - Langdale Beck Located half-way along the valley of Great Langdale; views
(168) of Langdale Pike and stone quarries.
LAN2 120 - Langdale Beck Located on Side Gates Pass a.k.a. Blea Tarn Road (minor
(404) road; summit = 224 m a.s.l.), linking the mid-section of the
valley of Great Langdale with the valley of Little Langdale
to the south. Extended view of Langdale Pikes and stone
quarries. Routes from the eastern end of Great Langdale
include: a) Stake Pass (bridleway; summit = 480 m a.s.l.)
north to Borrowdale; b) Rosset Pass (bridleway; summit =
610 m a.s.l.) west to Wasdale ; c) Red Tarn Pass (footpath;
summit = 530 m a.s.l.) south to Little Langdale.
Scandale Beck area
SCA1 237 Rydal Water (1391) Scandale Beck Located to the west of Scandale Beck, close to the current
(273) route of the pass (footpath; summit = 516 m a.s.l.) via the
packhorse crossing at High Sweden Bridge and leading into
SCA2 261 Rydal Water (1324) Scandale Beck Patterdale. Views of both Rydal Water and Lake Windermere.
(391)
SCA3 146 Lake Windermere Scandale Beck Located lower in the valley to the east of Scandale Beck, near
(2044) (246) Low Sweden Bridge at the foot of the route of the Scandale
Pass (footpath; summit = 516 m a.s.l.) via the packhorse
SCA4 147 Lake Windermere Scandale Beck crossing at High Sweden Bridge and leading into Patterdale.
(2102) (253) Could also be considered on low-level valley route along
SCA5 145 Lake Windermere Scandale Beck Rothay Valley via Grasmere and Rydal to Lake Windermere.
(2034) (342)
SCA6 143 Lake Windermere Scandale Beck
(2077) (272)
SCA7 173 Lake Windermere Scandale Beck
(2143) (316)

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Kate E. Sharpe

Table 7.2. The Lake District panels: forms and motifs

Ref. Panel form Motifs

Buttermere & Crummock Water area

BUT1 Three panels: a) horizontal exposure of bedrock at a) ca. 10 cups, two dumb-bells. One arc of four cups; b) 3 cups
ground level; b) sloping slab; c) craggy outcrop. (possibly 6); c) single cups.

BUT2 Three panels, all craggy outcrop. a) 4 cups; b) 6 cups; c) 1 bowl.

BUT3 Three panels: a+ b) craggy outcrop, partly quarried; a) small, single cups; b) bowl; c) 21 cups + groove.
c) small horizontal exposure at ground level.

CRU1 Roche moutonnée outcrop with crescent-shaped stoss Ca. 105 cups, including 2 dumb-bells, 2 ovals, 1 arrangement
on small hillock (quarried). of 2 parallel rows. Cups in clusters along the upper edge of the
stoss slope.

CRU2 Exposed slab at side of beck. Two definite cups, with possibly up to 8 others.
Patterdale (Ullswater) area
ULL1 Domed exposure. Ca. 100 cups, including 1 zig-zag pattern and 3 dumb-bells; 2
ovals; 1 basin.

ULL2 Outcropping ridge with glacially smoothed surfaces. Main panel includes ca. 450 cups some arranged in 6 ‘rows’, 8
ovals; vertical grooves cross at right-angles to natural fissures
forming grid which encloses rows of cups.

ULL3 Whaleback exposure, with glacially smoothed Ca. 150 cups in total with 20 ovals and 8 grooves, an area of
surfaces, partly covered by earth/rubble, and trees. pecking, and a single cup-and-ring. A cluster of bifurcating
Carvings in a number of discrete areas. linear markings may not be contemporary.

ULL4 Outcropping ridge with glacially smoothed surfaces. 39 cups, 2 ovals and a Y-shaped groove.
Borrowdale (Derwent Water) area
DER1 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Ca. 40 cups in a single cluster at the upper edge of the stoss
slope. A cluster of bifurcating linear markings may not be
contemporary.

DER2 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Two definite cups, possibly 6 more.

Thirlmere and Naddle Valley area
THI1 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Four cups in an arc + 3(?) others.

NAD1 Flat exposure of bedrock. Ca. 25 cups in a random, open scatter.

Brathay Valley (Elterwater and Loughrigg Tarn) area
ELT1 Slightly sloping, smooth exposure of bedrock at 4 possible cups (possible natural origin) amongst natural
ground level. erosion hollows.

ELT2 Roche moutonnée outcrop (quarried). Two possible cups on upper, smoothed surface. Incised initials
and date: ‘WD 1909’.

LOU1 Roche moutonnée outcrop; heavily quarried. Five cups on main panel; two possible cups nearby.
Rothay Valley (Grasmere, Rydal Water and Windermere) area
GRA1 Roche moutonnée outcrop (quarried). Ca. 105 cups, including 3 dumb-bells, in clusters placed
on upper edge of stoss slope; there is a possible focus on
intersection of natural fissures.

GRA2 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Ca. 75 cups in clusters placed on upper edge of stoss slope;
focus on intersection of natural fissures.

GRA3 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Ca. 60 cups arranged in two double rows plus one meander of
‘mini’ cups.

RYD1 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Ca. 30 deep cups in a close grouping; 2 other smaller scatters
on adjacent slabs.

WIN1 Roche moutonnée outcrop; two panels. a) 4, possibly 6, cups in a linear formation, leading the eye
toward the lake. Surface very granular; b) single cup on nearby
outcrop.

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Ref. Panel form Motifs

Great Langdale area
LAN1 Very large rectangular blocks with flat vertical a) Complex passage tomb style motifs on vertical panel
surfaces. include multiple concentric rings with no central cup, parallel
chevrons, and ‘micro-cups’; b) double ring (angular shape).

LAN2 Boulder with flat, slightly sloping upper surface. Ca. 60 cups on upper surface; random scatter.
Scandale Beck area
SCA1 Roche moutonnée outcrop. Ca. 10 shallow cups including 3 in a linear formation.

SCA2 Domed outcrop. 40+ cups, basin.

SCA3 Domed outcrop. Ca. 76 cups, 7 dumb-bell, one cup and groove linking dumb-
bell, large oval cup (22x10 cm) joined by 4 cups and groove;
14 cups along outer edge plus unfinished cup?

SCA4 Domed outcrop. Over 90 cups, 3 ovals, two forming dumb-bell, complex
arrangement of groove, including enclosures. Adjacent surface
to the west – single cup + group of 7 cups.

SCA5 Domed outcrop. Ca. 41 cups, under field wall; adjacent to field wall: 7 cups; 2
concentric circles, one linked by a groove attached to a cup; 3
isolated cups on the opposite side.

SCA6 Part-quarried outcrop. Slightly curving groove.

SCA7 Domed outcrop. Ca. 14 cups with an approximate double row of 4 cups each.
Stone/cairn material overlying the slab, which may conceal
more cups.

and 7.2). All of the panels lie within a region defined as the grooves. On panels ULL3 and DER1, groups of finely
‘Cumbria High Fells’ (Natural England 2012). Most are incised bifurcating grooves are present a few metres from
on the ignimbrites and tuffs of the Borrowdale Volcanic the main clusters of cup-marks. Three similar, very fine
Series, with a small number on Skiddaw Slate in the north- lines radiate from the edge of the largest cup at GRA1.
west. The panels share several distinctive characteristics. The origin of these marks is unconfirmed; they may not be
Most are low-lying: 20 are less than 150 m a.s.l; seven less contemporary with the pecked cup-marks.
than 100 m a.s.l. Many are situated close to the shore of a
lake or tarn: 18 are within 1 km; eight are within 500 m. Although dispersed across a large area (ca. 30 x 20 km)
In one case, in the Naddle Valley, the panel lies ca. 200 m and separated by mountainous terrain, the settings of these
from a prehistoric tarn, now silted up (Clare 1999). Several panels close to lakes, the selection of particular forms of
are also close to the watercourse that feeds or drains the outcrop, and the nature and placement of the carvings,
lake –18 within 300 m – often on marshy ground subject suggest that the people who created and used the sites had
to flooding. Most have a distinctive wedge-shaped, roche a shared understanding of their purpose.
moutonnée form, or a ‘whale-back’, domed profile – in
both cases smoothed by glacial action; several have been 7.3. Dating and context
subject to quarrying.
Precise dating of British rock art is extremely problematic;
With the exception of those at Great Langdale, all the the abstract nature of the designs provides few clues,
panels are decorated with simple pecked cup-marks and motifs are rarely associated with dateable evidence
ranging from small clusters of fewer than five, to scatters (although this partly reflects the small number of
of more than a hundred. They range in diameter from just archaeological investigations that have been undertaken).
a few centimetres up to 18 cm, although most are between It is also unlikely that British rock art was a uniform
3 and 5 cm across. Depths vary up to a maximum of 6 cm phenomenon, and various practices and preferences
with most between 2 and 3 cm. Those on roche moutonnée doubtless had different life-spans in different regions, with
outcrops are generally placed on the uppermost part some motifs being more widespread or more persistent
of the polished surface (the ‘stoss’). Motif variations than others. Cup-marks are known from monumental
include ‘dumb-bells’, with two cups linked by a short contexts throughout the Neolithic period, for example
groove, and elongated or oval cups. There are several in long cairns, on the capstones of portal dolmens, in
examples of ‘rows’, both single and double, for example chambered tombs, recumbent stone circles, and standing
on ULL2 and GRA3. On only two panels, ULL2 and stones (Waddington 2007). Cup-marks (and more complex
ULL3, are cup-marks embellished by the addition of a motifs) also occur in Bronze Age monuments including
single, crudely executed ring; ULL2–4 also include linear kerbed cairns and cists, although in some instances this

135
Kate E. Sharpe

Figure 7.1. Location of study area within the British Isles and location of rock art within Cumbria High Fells area in relation
to lakes, fells, and Group VI stone quarries. Shading indicates land higher than 250 m a.s.l.

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 Patterns of Movement. Rock Art, Rough-Outs, and Route-Ways in the English Lake District

Figure 7.2. Cup-marks scatters on outcrops RYD1 at Rydal Water (top), GRA1 at Grasmere (left) and CRU1 at Crummock
Water (right).

may represent re-use of stones removed from their original are increasingly distinct from the landscape. In a third
context (Beckensall and Frodsham 1998; Burgess 1991). phase (ca. 2000–1800 BC) the rock art is expropriated into
Early Bronze Age burial monuments. Van Hoek (2001,
Waddington (1998) approaches the issue of chronology by 238–241) proposes a similar development, suggesting that
building an evolving ideological framework onto which ‘simple’ cup-marks found in accessible valley locations
are mapped the different rock art traditions. During an were the work of early mobile groups who used the
initial Early Neolithic phase (ca. 4000–3200 BC), carvings carvings to enhance their routes, distinguish between the
are applied directly to outcropping rock, reflecting the ‘accessible’ and the ‘inaccessible’ and to propitiate the
emergence of a human ‘culture’ as distinct from ‘nature’. spirit world. As more sedentary lifestyles were adopted,
A second phase (ca. 3200–2000 BC) sees this symbolism and social hierarchies evolved, he argues, so did the
re-worked into Neolithic ceremonial constructions, which complexity of the rock art. These approaches perceive

137
Kate E. Sharpe

rock art as a dynamic agent within society, its role adapted avenue, cairns and later settlements (Clare 2007, ch. 7
and modified by successive generations to reflect changing and ch. 8), but has none of the complex carvings found
world-views. In Cumbria, no examples have been found in along the River Eden. A few possible single cup-marks
directly dateable contexts, however three modes of rock have been reported (e.g., Beckensall 2002, 122–123;
art deployment can be observed that are geographically, Brown and Brown 2008, 192–193), but their context and
geologically, and stylistically distinct (see Figure 7.3), and provenance remain unconfirmed, except for one example
which may help to approximately date the Lakeland rock (unpublished) of five cup-marks on a prostrate granite
art. The distribution of these three modes also correlates block that likely once formed part of the Shap Avenue, a
with National Character Areas (NCAs) as defined by double alignment of megaliths extending for about 3 km
Natural England, based on “a unique combination (Clare 2007, 80–83).
of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity, history, and
cultural and economic activity. Their boundaries follow Moving west again we reach the harder volcanic rocks
natural lines in the landscape rather than administrative that form the mountains of the central Lake District, the
boundaries” (Natural England 2012). Cumbria High Fells (NCA 8). It is here, in the glacially-
forged valleys, that the new group of panels is located,
In the Border Moors and Forest (NCA 5) and North representing a third way in which rock art is deployed
Pennines (NCA 10) on the northern and eastern borders of in Cumbria. These, mostly low-lying, panels with their
Cumbria, a small number of cup-and-ring marked boulders simple scatters of cup-marks, differ markedly both from
and outcrops appear to represent the westernmost reaches the upland cup-and-ring tradition of Northern England, and
of the Northumberland and County Durham tradition of from the more complex, monumental panels of the Eden
carving. Examples are generally found on exposed Fell Valley. They are also contextually discrete: no monumental
Sandstone surfaces at elevated locations, often on the art has yet been discovered in the Lake District.
fringes of fertile valleys attractive to early settlement. This
is argued by Waddington (2007, 59) to reflect a link with Any activity associated with the Lakeland panels appears
upland activities such as herding stock or hunting. The to have been transitory and to have left few traces. The
motifs fit well within the wider British and Irish repertoire paucity of archaeological finds or features close to these
of cup-marks, cup-and-ring motifs, multiple concentric outcrops provides little positive evidence for an association
rings, and grooves. with either ritual or domestic activity of any period. A
note of caution is required: at other rock art sites where
Moving westwards into Cumbria, the old red Permian geophysical surveys or excavations have been conducted,
sandstone of the Eden Valley (NCA 9) and its river terraces results indicate that the panels may have been less isolated
were the focus of monument construction throughout the than the extant archaeological landscape would suggest
Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, with henges, enclosures, (O’Connor 2003; Jones 2006; Waddington et al. 2005).
stone circles, and a variety of burial cairns. Here, rock art is Given current knowledge, however, the cup-marked
found almost exclusively in association with Bronze Age panels do not appear to have been part of an overtly
burial monuments (Beckensall 2002, ch. 4; Sharpe 2007, ceremonial or settled landscape as seen, for example, on
ch. 9), although many of the motifs suggest earlier origins. the archaeologically-rich moors of Fylingdales in North
Spirals and chevrons reference the more elaborate style of Yorkshire (Brown and Chappell 2005, 64–68), at the
megalithic art applied to the passage graves of the Boyne concentrated monumental complex of the Kilmartin Valley
Valley in the Republic of Ireland between 3300 and 2900 in Argyll (Beckensall 2005) or, indeed, in the adjacent
BC (Eogan and Cleary 2017, ch. 4) and unusual curvilinear Eden Valley. Bronze Age remains in the area (e.g., ring
motifs on slabs within a cairn at Kirkoswald have parallels cairns, boulder-cairns, stone circles, enclosures and field
with a Late Neolithic cairn at Millin Bay, also in Ireland systems) are found at much higher elevations and, to date,
(Collins et al. 1955; Schulting et al. 2012). The Long Meg have no rock art associated with them. The nearest stone
standing stone has no burial association, but is set close circles of Neolithic date (Swinside and Castlerigg) lie on
to a stone circle that has recently been radiocarbon-dated the periphery of the mountains (and of the rock art), at
to the final centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. The stone higher elevations of 214 and 210 m a.s.l. respectively, and
may, however, have earlier connections to an adjacent do not appear to have a relationship with the rock art.1 The
enclosure dated to the beginning of the 3rd millennium lack of monumental art or complex motifs in the central
(Archaeological Services, Durham University 2016, fells, and the corresponding absence of ‘landscape’ panels
6–7; Frodsham 2021). All these examples belong within (particularly cup-marked outcrops) in the Eden Valley,
Waddington’s second and, possibly, also third phases; no suggests that the rock art in these adjacent but contrasting
examples of ‘landscape’ rock art (i.e. on earth-fast boulders areas was deployed for different purposes.
or outcropping bedrock) have been identified.
Returning to the question of chronology, we have a
West of the Eden Valley, the red sandstone gives way to a reasonable basis, using stylistic comparisons of both
band of heavily weathered Carboniferous limestone with
granite intrusions: the Orton Fells (NCA 17). Like the 1
Reports of a spiral motif on one of the uprights of the Castlerigg stone
Eden valley, this upland landscape has many monumental circle have never been confirmed (see Díaz-Andreu et al. 2006 for further
prehistoric remains, including stone circles, a stone details).

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monuments and motifs, to consider that the rock art of the inhabit, through the permanent creation of places and the
Eden Valley was of some significance from the Mid–Late marking of paths between them (Tilley 1996). Surfaces
Neolithic into the Bronze Age. Following Waddington’s selected for embellishment – distinctive outcrops or
schema, however, the cup-marked outcrops belong to immovable boulders – may already have been fixed and
an earlier and ideologically different phase of rock art, familiar points within these networks, functioning as
perhaps representing the beginning of a new relationship natural landmarks, with the rock art motifs providing
between people and the landscape they occupied. reassuring confirmation of a place frequented by, and
perhaps recommended by, other travellers. Westlake
7.4. Rock art and movement (2005, 24) suggests: “[...] as bands of people moved across
the landscape they made new paths and retraced old ones,
The new group of rock art in the Lake District represents recounting old histories and remembering past actions
only a small fraction of the 6000 examples now recorded and events. By carving a new motif at a rock art site, new
across Britain and Ireland, and part of the wider ‘Atlantic’ identities and stories were created, the present journey and
tradition stretching from Iberia to Scandinavia (Valdez- lives marks.”
Tullett 2019). The British and Irish panels comprise
non-figurative, abstract motifs based primarily on circular In Britain and Ireland, rock art is typically placed on
forms. They are generally found in ‘landscape’ (or ‘open- relatively high ground on upland moors, often affording
air’) contexts within localised groups – possibly reflecting extensive views or marking the entrances to valleys (for
taphonomic processes, but perhaps also indicative of West Yorkshire see Boughey and Vickerman 2003, 35–36;
discrete local identities. Regional clusters often exhibit for Northumberland see Fairen-Jimenez 2007). This
distinctive characteristics, either in terms of the types distribution has been used to argue that the carvings played
of surfaces used, the locations selected, or the motifs a role in the movement (and control) of people through key
applied. Inevitably, these variations have resulted in a parts of the landscape, perhaps marking thresholds (either
similar variety of interpretations of their role in prehistoric sacred or more practical), governing access or requiring
society: territorial markers, control points, guides to special measures by those who progressed beyond.
nearby resources, viewpoints for observing herds, the Examples include Millstone Burn in Northumberland,
edges of sacred areas, etc. One theme, however, recurs in England (Bradley 1997, 85–88; Beckensall 2001, 96–99),
numerous accounts of open-air rock art across Britain and Kilmartin in Argyll and Tayside in Perthshire, both in
Ireland: that of movement through the landscape and, with Scotland (Bradley 1997, 120–126; van Hoek 2001, 10–
it, an intimate connection with the natural environment. 14). The relatively low elevations and watery focus of the
Lakeland panels, however, suggest parallels with rock art
Although dating is problematic, we have seen that the cup- in coastal locations, for example, overlooking harbours in
marked outcrops seem to fit within Waddington’s earliest Dumfries and Galloway in south-west Scotland (Bradley
phase, beginning in ca. 4000 BC. The Early Neolithic et al. 1993; Morris 1979) or around the lakes of the south-
is associated with a transition from previous mobile west of Ireland in the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas
existence to more settled ways of life, but in Britain the (Purcell 2002; Westlake 2005).
4th millennium BC also saw the rapid expansion and
intensification of trade networks, with people, animals, Might the cup-marked outcrops of the Lake District have
raw materials, goods, and ideas all circulating within an a similar role, reflecting a new and enduring connection
increasingly interconnected world, particularly around the between the landscape and the people passing through it
Irish Sea zone (Cummings and Fowler 2004; Sheridan on a regular basis? The Neolithic period in Cumbria is
2004). best known for two key developments: the exploitation
of stone from the Langdale area in the central fells for
Shorter journeys – likely seasonal – continued alongside the production of ‘Group VI’ stone axe heads (and their
the adoption of agrarian practices, ensuring maximum widespread distribution) (Bradley and Edmonds 1993),
use of the available resources in different parts of the and the flourishing of stone circle building, with notable
landscape. Expeditions to procure raw materials, such as early examples surviving at Castlerigg, and Swinside in
stone or flint, required planned travel to the mountains or the central fells, as well as Long Meg and Her Daughters,
the coast. This period also saw more organised communal and Gamelands to the east (Burl 1976). The apparent
gatherings at selected places, marked by large earthworks contemporaneity of these Neolithic activities has inspired
and stone monuments. People regularly came together narratives in which the stone circles functioned as trading
to build, perform rituals, socialise, to trade goods and to arenas or departure points for the stone axes beginning
share experiences (Noble 2007). It is perhaps no surprise, their journeys to distant parts of Britain (e.g., Burl 1976,
then, that researchers have frequently associated the 82; Collingwood 1933, 163; see also Bradley and Edmonds
rock art scattered across these active landscapes with the 1993, ch. 7 for a discussion). Revised radiocarbon dating
movement of people within them. evidence (Edinborough et al. 2019) of material excavated
in the 1990s (Bradley and Edmonds 1993) now suggests,
The creation of marks on stone has been argued to be however, that stone axe production began soon after
fundamental to the establishment and renegotiation of the turn of the 4th millennium BC and so preceded the
relationships between people and the landscapes they building of the stone circles by several centuries (Figure

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Kate E. Sharpe

Figure 7.3. Discrete distribution of rock art contexts: styles, forms and contexts by character area. Insets show (a) Tortie
Stone: boulder with cup-and-ring marks in landscape setting on the eastern border; (b) Little Meg: monumental kerbstone
with complex motifs in the Eden Valley; and (c) GRA II: outcrop with multiple simple cups in the High Fells.

Figure 7.4. Approximate chronologies for British rock art traditions and quarrying in Great Langdale, with suggested dates
for traditions in Cumbria.

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 Patterns of Movement. Rock Art, Rough-Outs, and Route-Ways in the English Lake District

7.4); this may explain the relatively small number of axe- significant place for a society whose lives were changing.
heads recovered from the monuments. The cup-marked This may well be the case, however, close consideration
outcrops now present an additional form of evidence in of the panel surface suggests that this may have been an
the Lake District – one with demonstrated connections to important place from much earlier times, during the height
axe production elsewhere in Europe. The panels in Great of the quarrying activities, if not before.
Langdale, to which we now return, also appear to have
strong links with the stone quarries. The two largest boulders in the group display multiple
natural cupules – hollows, formed by the differential
7.5. Rock art and rough-outs weathering of inclusions (for a more detailed discussion,
see Sharpe and Watson 2010). Indeed, some were
Several researchers have linked rock art with social and incorporated into the rock art design by the addition of
ritual aspects of axe production in prehistoric Europe. In rings. The cupules occur both singly and in rows following
Norway, for example, connections are suggested between the natural geological strata. These are particularly
a diabase axe-production site at Strakanest on the west prevalent on the upper surface of one block. Other
coast and petroglyph sites at Vingen and Ausevik (Mandt exposed rocks in the locality also have striking natural
1995), and between a greenstone quarry on the island of geological features including cupules and folded strata,
Hespriholmen and carvings in central Hordaland (Bruen which resemble multi-ringed rock art motifs (Figure 7.7).
Olsen and Alsaker 1984). It is argued that the discrete These natural patterns mark out this part of the valley and
distribution patterns for axes from each quarry define were likely known to Early Neolithic groups travelling to
distinct social territories, the rock art clusters marking sites and from the mountains on seasonal quarrying, herding, or
of periodic gatherings during which collective activities, hunting expeditions. Might such groups have interpreted
including the production of stone tools, took place. such curious patterns as marks left by ancestors who had
travelled through the valley in the past? Early visitors
In Cumbria there may be reason to make similar to Langdale were, no doubt, also aware of the solstitial
connections. In the same year that the first Lakeland effects that draw the eye to the summits at the end of the
carvings were identified in Patterdale, another site was valley both in mid-summer and mid-winter.
discovered at Copt Howe, in the heart of the stone axe
production area: the valley of Great Langdale. This east- A second, tributary valley directly approaching the stone
west glacial trough penetrates deep into the central fells, quarries is also marked by a boulder, with 60 simple,
providing direct access to an exposure of the desirable pecked cup-marks scattered across its flat upper surface.
Group VI tuff at the summit of the Langdale Pikes, where Were these intended to replicate the cupules in the main
large fields of debris are testament to the intensive stone valley? The location affords an extensive view of all the
working that occurred there. Langdale Pikes (Figure 7.8); the screes resulting from the
prehistoric stone-working are clearly visible.
Just 2 km from the foot of the Pikes, beside the Langdale
Beck, lies a group of enormous boulders, tumbled into a Rock art, then, can perhaps be perceived as a dynamic
monument-like arrangement. This natural architecture agent within society, its role adapted and modified by
encloses a central space, the two largest blocks forming successive generations to reflect changing world-views.
a ‘passage’ that frames the mountains to the west. The From encounters with unusual natural features, to
internal vertical face of one of these large boulders replication, incorporation, and the addition of complex
is decorated with a striking array of complex motifs, new styles, these panels illustrate the complexity of
including concentric rings, chevrons, and parallel lines rock art interpretation given such a wide spectrum of
(Figure 7.5) – the single exception in the Lake District to intentions and motivations. The Copt Howe panel, though,
have an elaborate design. From this (and only this) position is unique in Lakeland and therefore of limited help in
in the valley, the summer solstice sunset is spectacular, the understanding the role of the more widely occurring, and
sun appearing to roll down the side of Harrison Stickle, perhaps much earlier, cup-marked outcrops. To explore
the highest of the five Langdale Pikes. The winter solstice this further, we must first consider other archaeological
sun also marks out the mountains, lighting up their peaks evidence.
(Figure 7.6). The ‘found monument’ at Copt Howe seems
to have a fortuitous relationship with the mountains and, 7.6. The axe factor: moving mountains
perhaps, the special stone at the summit (Sharpe 2007, ch.
8; 2008). The distribution of monuments and material culture,
including stone axes (Style 2009), indicates that the
The motifs have clear affinities with the passage grave art most populated areas of Cumbria during the Neolithic
of the Boyne Valley, suggesting that they were created at a were located around the periphery of the county, with
similar time, or soon after, the Irish megalithic art (Sharpe high concentrations of axes on the west Cumbria coastal
and Watson 2010), yet this style dates to around 500 years plain, particularly the Furness Peninsula, the Eden Valley,
after the stone quarries fell out of use. Bradley et al. (2019) and the north-west Solway Basin, with one exception
argue that the decoration was in fact added to mark the end in a more central position in the Keswick area (Figure
of the quarrying, creating a memorial site that referenced a 7.9, Table 7.3). This settlement pattern is supported by

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Kate E. Sharpe

Figure 7.5. Copt Howe panel (LAN1) showing position of complex motifs, and location within the valley of Great Langdale,
with view towards the Langdale Pikes and the stone quarries at the summit.

Figure 7.6. Solstitial sun on Langdale axe quarries, as viewed from Copt Howe (LAN1). Left: summer solstice sun rolls down
the flank of Harrison Stickle; right: winter solstice sun highlights the snowy summits.

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Figure 7.7. Natural features in the Copt Howe environs: (a) cupules on the main carved boulder; (b) natural cup embellished
with multiple rings on the main panel; (c) rows of natural cupules on a nearby boulder; and (d) natural multi-ring effect
(highlighted by lichen).

Figure 7.8. LAN2 panel, approaching the Langdale Pikes from the south. View from panel towards quarries.

indications of forest clearance and crop cultivation from Angle Tarn in the Langdale Fells (Pearsall and Pennington
west coast sites such as Ehenside, Barfield Tarn and 1989). The valley floors and lake margins remained
Eskmeals (Clare et al. 2001; Darbishire 1873). Although largely forested, with intermittent firing of the vegetation
there is very little material evidence of a permanent human suggesting seasonal grazing of higher pastures. It is likely
presence in the central Lake District, pollen analysis that transhumance was practiced between the lowlands
does indicate exploitation of upland areas, with pre-Elm and highlands with domesticated cattle and/or wild deer
Decline clearances reflected in cores from Blea Tarn and herded, or wild animal movements followed as they broke

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Figure 7.9. Distribution of stone axes and major Neolithic monuments indicating centres of settlement (after Style 2009). See
also Table 7.3.

trails through the vegetation. Bradley and Edmonds (1993, period (Edinborough et al. 2019), drawing people from
141) suggest that such early forays, following rivers into the lowland settlements into the central fells keen to take
the fells, may have led to the discovery of the highly part in this new process. Charcoal from working sites has
regarded stone sources in the central mountains. provided dates between the 39th and 29th centuries BC
(ibid.) and, although the distribution of stone axes across
Exploitation of Group VI stone for the manufacture Britain continued after this time, the main activity at the
of stone axe heads began at the outset of the Neolithic quarries appears to end. Roughed-out stone was moved

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Table 7.3. Correlation between concentrations of axe distribution, nearby water resources (after Style 2009, 42)

Suggested population centre based on stone axe distribution Water resource

Penrith Rivers Eden and Eamont

Little Salkeld River Eden

Carlisle River Eden, Solway Firth

Keswick/Portinscale Derwent Water, River Derwent, Trout Beck

Mawbray Irish Sea, Solway Firth

Seascale/Drigg Irish Sea, Esk Estuary, River Esk, River Irt, River Ehen.

Furness Peninsula Irish Sea, Duddon Estuary, River Duddon, Morecambe Bay

Note that 47% of all axes are found within a 5 km radius of these centres. See also Figure 7.9.

from working sites at the mountain summits to lowland Valley, and beyond into Yorkshire. Plint (1962) describes a
‘finishing’ sites. With intensification of production and possible route between the east coast Neolithic settlement
distribution, more complex social and physical networks site at Ehenside Tarn (which yielded Group VI axes in
would have developed across the region. Tracks created various stages of manufacture) and the Great Langdale
by early pastoralists would become more established with quarries, with a southern route, using Lake Windermere,
repeated use by quarry workers moving into the fells and accounting for a high concentration of axe-related finds
returning with roughed-out stone, most likely as part of in the Furness Peninsula. Claris and Quartermaine (1989)
the seasonal round. Bradley and Edmonds (1993, 141) postulate a northern access route to Great Langdale
argue that there is “reason to suppose that the earlier through Borrowdale, Langstrath and Stake Beck, and
phases of stone working at Langdale were ‘embedded’ recent discoveries of remote flaking sites to the east of
into a wider cycle of summer land use”. Pearsall and Stickle Tarn, Great Langdale led Davis and Quartermaine
Pennington (1989, 230) also suggest that “the men who (2007) to propose an upland, easterly course.
worked the factories are likely to have pastured animals
in forest clearings”. This concept of seasonal journeys 7.7. Routeways in a mountain landscape
to stone quarries is well-supported by ethnographic data
(e.g., Burton 1984; Petrequin and Petrequin 2011) and All the above routes are largely speculative, and the
can certainly be applied to Langdale, where expeditions exact locations of the prehistoric pathways are difficult
to the mountain summits may only have been feasible to prove. Yet, the demanding topography of the Lake
during summer months with better visibility and extended District both restricts and facilitates progress, channelling
daylight. Quarrying activities may have been the focus the traveller along particular paths and creating natural
of a major social and ritual occasion, attracting many corridors of movement. Analysis of land surfaces based
participants in both active and supporting roles, both along on the degree of slope indicates that most of the carved
the journey and during the production process. Might the panels lie within areas of high accessibility, although this
Lakeland outcrop carvings have been made by groups calculation does not consider the nature of the traveller(s)
making these regular journeys, following the long valleys, (e.g., single person or group), the mode of transport (e.g.,
which connected lowland settlements with central stone on foot or by boat), the use of any animals, or any ‘load’
quarries? (e.g., quarried stone). Nor does it reflect the many other
landscape factors affecting movement: the nature of
The extraction, finishing, and distribution of stone axes the surface (grass, scree, marsh), the presence of water
demanded a network of communication and movement features, or the density of vegetation. Sediment samples
that has been studied in some detail both at a local level taken from the shores of Thirlmere and Rydal Water
and in a wider context (Bradley and Edmonds 1993; suggest that the lake valleys were not cleared of woodland
Manby 1965; Edmonds 1995; Cummins 1979; 1980; until the 2nd millennium BC (Pennington 1970; 1975;
Watson 1995). The location of quarries and finishing sites, Pearsall and Pennington 1989, 226–236). At the start of
together with finds of roughed-out and polished axe-heads, the Neolithic period only the very high slopes (greater
and polissoirs have provided insight into the immediate than 659 m a.s.l.) were free of trees, and this exposed
geography of these processes, with routes postulated mountain landscape, beset with blanket bogs, would be
between stone sources, population centres, and ‘exchange little easier to traverse than the lower slopes. Although
nodes’, e.g., stone circles, although, as noted above, these the lower ground was wooded, it is likely that vegetation
may have been a relatively late component. Bradley and was less dense immediately along the shores of the lakes,
Edmonds (1993, 150) suggest that the west coast was which often have a gravel beach, providing an easier
supplied by the Sca Fell quarries via Wasdale, whilst stone and more direct route along the valley. Indeed, the lakes
from Glaramara and Langdale provided tools for the Eden may themselves have served as more efficient highways

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Kate E. Sharpe

for those with water transport. Such ease of movement conceptual network. More tangible evidence comes from
may have been particularly important on the journey home a systematic survey by McGrail (1978), which revealed
after a successful quarrying expedition. that dug-out canoes were in use on the tarns and lakes of
the highland zone as well as on the lowland rivers and
The relatively low elevation of most of the cup-marked estuaries. Cumbria has one of the oldest examples of
panels in the Lakeland valleys restricts their potential as such a craft, found at Branthwaite in the north-west of the
conspicuous landmarks, but the prominent form of the county (Ward 1974), and radiocarbon-dated to the Middle
favoured roche moutonnée outcrops makes many of these Bronze Age.
panels easily discernible, even within the valley bottom.
The low-lying situation of the panels also limits the extent We have so far considered the case for movement along
of views away from the panels and, although they are close the most accessible natural routes – the glaciated valleys
to lakeshores, the water is not always visible due to the and lakes. These are extremely convenient for movement
immediate topography and vegetation. Current shorelines directly to and from the central fells, but do not facilitate
may of course be very different to those of the Neolithic movement between valleys. Even in the last century,
period. Cores taken from valley sites across the Lake farming communities in isolated valleys developed
District indicate that the lakes were more extensive during their own identities, demonstrated by subtle yet distinct
the prehistoric period (Hodgkinson et al. 2000, 316–317), variations in the counting systems used to monitor sheep.
but modern drainage together with other water and land By contrast, the close similarities between the carved
management activities may have significantly altered both outcrops across the region suggest that the communities
the shoreline and the nature of the valley floor. As already frequenting central Lakeland had a shared understanding
noted, panel NAD1 would have been situated on the shore of the rock art. This may have arisen through the
of a substantial tarn, and panel THI1 would also have exchange of ideas and meeting of minds during quarrying
afforded a somewhat different view over the twin lakes expeditions but may also indicate a degree of travel
that existed prior to the creation, in 1890, of Thirlmere between the valleys in addition to movement along them.
Reservoir (Harwood 1895). Such journeys would require an intimate knowledge of
the local terrain to avoid unfordable streams, morasses
Despite these limitations, many of the panels offer or dangerous precipices. Experience accumulated over
extended views along their respective valleys, both ‘in’ generations would be crucial: from a misty peak only one
towards the craggy mountain peaks (and the quarries) and of many ravines might lead to a chosen valley. Today,
‘out’ towards the lower fells and more gentle landscapes hikers often rely on cairns, built up by fellow walkers, to
around the periphery (Figure 7.10). The long stretches guide them in poor weather. Better yet is a well-trodden
of open water would have provided extended sightlines path, representing the invaluable knowledge that only long
with the high mountain profiles clearly visible above experiment can build: the exact place in the saddle where
the trees, aiding navigation to and from the central fells. approach is easiest from both sides, the safe route through
Viewshed analysis by Bell (2015) confirms that, although the marshes, or the optimal place to cross the stream. One
the Lakeland panels exhibit very poor inter-visibility, they way to investigate possible inter-valley routes, therefore,
have an extended viewshed along the valleys (although is to consider the paths taken by later, extant routes which,
this analysis does not consider vegetation levels). in the very restrictive landscape of the Lake District, are
likely to have followed pre-existing tracks (Taylor 1979,
The settlement centres described above, and shown in 153). Although there is no evidence that these routes had
Figure 7.9, are all either riverine, lacustrine, or coastal/ prehistoric origins, there is good reason to believe that,
estuarine locations, indicating that the exploitation of given the limited options available, any paths established
water-based resources played a key role well into the by early hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, or stone-workers
Neolithic period. The complex communities occupying may have been adopted by subsequent travellers navigating
these settlements are likely to have used the coastal waters, and moving material around the region.
lakes, and larger rivers as part of their social networks.
The discovery of several prehistoric boats around Britain The earliest known roads in Cumbria date to the Roman
confirms that travel by water was common in prehistoric occupation. Several follow natural passes that link the
life (Johnstone and McGrail 1980; Casson 1994) and mountains with the coast, for example over Wrynose,
there is a great deal of evidence for early journeys across Hardknott and Whinlatter (Shotter 1995). A number of
and around the Irish Sea (Cummings and Fowler 2004; these roads were subsequently followed for many years by
Callaghan and Scarre 2009). The earliest log boats in traders with pack-horses, who also established many routes
Britain and Ireland date from the Middle Neolithic and through the central fells characterised by the distinctive
most are associated with inland lakes, tidal rivers and the ‘pack horse bridge’ (Hindle 1984, 113, fig. 5.8). Mapping
tributaries of estuaries (see Robinson 2013; Fry 2000; the location of the Lakeland rock art panels against known
McErlean et al. 2002; McGrail 1978; Niblett 2001; Mowat historical routes reveals a strong correlation between the
1998; Strachan 2010). Sherratt (1996) notes that Wessex carved outcrops and junctions at key positions with respect
lies at the centre of a trans-isthmian route at the head of to movement between valleys via natural passes (Figure
three rivers, all of which are now called the Avon; he 7.11). Many are located at places where the major pack-
proposes that they originally formed part of the same horse routes converge in the valley bottom. A small number

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 Patterns of Movement. Rock Art, Rough-Outs, and Route-Ways in the English Lake District

Figure 7.10. View from CRU2 along Crummock Water towards central fells.

Figure 7.11. Relationship between carved outcrops and historic mountain routes over passes between valleys (after Hindle
1984, fig. 5.8). Also shown are routes between quarries and lowland finishing sites postulated by Plint (1962) as interpreted by
Waterhouse (1985, fig. 2.8).

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Kate E. Sharpe

of panels, e.g., THI1 (210 m a.s.l.) and ELT2 (160 m a.s.l.) respective lowland homes. The carved outcrops may have
at slightly higher elevations and further from the lake marked places where groups from different parts of the
shores, lie within metres of these ancient tracks. A small region congregated, and either crossed paths or continued
group of panels to the north-east of the town of Ambleside their journeys together, united by their common goal of
(SCA1–7) is located at elevations of between 143 and 237 procuring valuable stone from its remote mountain source.
m a.s.l., on valley slopes either side of the Scandale Beck, As places where people converged, arriving either on foot
close to the current trail between Ambleside and Patterdale or by water, along the valley or from a mountain pass,
via the Scandale Pass. Not only are the panels located setting out or heading home, these locations may have
along the more obvious arterial routes of the main valleys, been important settings to pick up news of activities at the
they also appear to be in positions of importance regarding quarrying sites, for bonding over successes and disasters,
inter-valley communication. and for passing on and comparing techniques.

7.8. Discussion Expeditions into the mountains would have represented

a step away from familiar, safe surroundings and as
The distinctive situations and striking resemblance in style such may have been extremely arduous, requiring both
across the Lakeland panels suggest that the cup-marked knowledge of routes, and the location of resources along
locations held a similar significance for the communities the way. The cup-marked panels may have played a role
who created them, reflecting common practices and shared in the successful outcome of these journeys, indicating
ideologies. The demonstrated association with seasonal an established and well-appointed location for a camp,
route-ways implies that the carvings were made by largely or having a more ritual or spiritual role, protecting or
mobile communities, who may have been beginning to sanctifying the location against evil spirits by ensuring the
mark significant sites and create more permanent places goodwill of local spirits or ancestors. For those travelling
with which they identified. The cup-marked outcrops on the lakes, the outcrops may also have marked a transition
may thus represent an early stage in the development of from the spiritually-important element of the water to the
monuments, with rock art providing a means to transform more earth-bound part of their journey, and vice versa.
the natural landscape (see for example Sherratt 1990; Tilley The watery, marshy locations would have provided rich
1994; Bradley 1998; Scarre 2002; Bradley and Watson resources, but are also suggestive of water-related ritual
2019). Detailed survey and analysis in West Yorkshire by activities involving deposition, or of some form of water
Deacon (2018) suggests that five large, visually striking cult as suggested by O’Sullivan and Sheehan (1993) for
rock art panels on Rombald’s Moor were the focus of the carved outcrops in Iveragh, Ireland, some of which also
many hundreds of smaller carved stones across the moor, overlook large lakes.
each of which had a view of a ‘monumental’ stone and
was embellished as a personal act of acknowledgement. The motivations of the people who carved the cups, the
Several of the Lakeland sites are also ‘monumental’ activities associated with these sites, and the responses
in character. The Copt Howe group of boulders is a of those who experienced them, are perhaps beyond our
recognisable landmark half-way along the valley, having reach. It is hoped, however, that the approach applied
affinities with passage grave architecture (Sharpe 2008); here, contextualising the rock art within the known
the large outcrops at CRUI, GRAI, and ULL2 all rise archaeological framework and topographical setting,
from the valley floor with a distinctive wedge shape; and might begin to close the gap in our understanding. These
at both DER1 and ULL3, the decorated panels emerge carved outcrops are a significant new component of the
from mounds, which have the appearance of long barrows. prehistoric landscape in central Cumbria, which should be
The marking of these natural rock outcrops may represent fully integrated into future analyses of Cumbrian prehistory
the beginning of the process of transformation of natural and, ultimately, into wider studies of the Neolithic period
spaces into constructed places. Indeed, the panels at Copt in northern Britain.
Howe at Great Langdale, with their natural cupules, were
perhaps viewed as a legacy of earlier generations long Acknowledgements
before they were further embellished.
Thanks are due to all those intrepid discoverers of rock
In selecting outcrops situated close to the head or tail art in the Lake District over the last twenty years who,
of the lake, Neolithic cup-mark makers may have been between them, have helped to re-draw the map of Cumbrian
assisting with the practicalities of movement along the carvings, including: Tim Cook, Paul and Barbara Brown,
valleys, denoting places where travellers might break their Steven Hood, Tim Sowerton, Niall Hammond, Gabriel
journey and make temporary camp, or perhaps marking a Blamires, Liz Clay, Mark Astley, Phil Langley, Aaron
transition from land to water. The location of the panels Watson, James Archer and David Almond. I would
on nodes of intersection at the start of natural routes particularly like to acknowledge the efforts of Peter Style,
between valleys, and on current trails also suggests that whose many discoveries in the fells and valleys helped
movement around the fells was not restricted to the more to turn my working hypothesis into a credible argument,
obvious corridors radiating from the fells, and perhaps and whose Master of Science research into stone axes and
indicates a strong, shared cultural background amongst prehistoric mobility within Cumbria helped to shape some
the different groups visiting the central valleys from their of the discussion presented.

148
 Patterns of Movement. Rock Art, Rough-Outs, and Route-Ways in the English Lake District

I would also like to acknowledge the co-operation of all the Bradley, R. and Watson, A. 2019, Found architecture:
farmers, householders and other landowners who allowed interpreting a cup-marked outcrop in the southern
repeated visits for searching, recording, and checking, Highlands of Scotland. Time and Mind 12(1), 3–31.
including but not limited to: Tim and Pat Cook, Mary Bell,
Bradley, R., Harding, J. and Matthews, J. 1993, The
Jan and Tony Ambler, Harry Benson, Mike Kyle, Jackson
siting of prehistoric rock art in Galloway, south-west
Hope, Bernard Kitching, Gavin and Laura Fearon, Chris
Scotland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 59,
Hodgson, and John Temple. All the new panels lie within
269–283.
the Lake District National Park and I am grateful to John
Hodgson and Eleanor Kingston for their support. National Bradley, R., Watson, A. and Style, P. 2019, After the axes:
Trust archaeologist Jamie Lund and warden Mark Astley the rock art at Copt Howe, north-west England, and the
have also provided valuable information and support. Neolithic sequence at Great Langdale. Proceedings of
Thanks are also due to geologist Andrew Bell whose field the Prehistoric Society 85, 177–192.
knowledge of the Lake District rocks proved invaluable in
Brown, P. and Brown, B. 2008, Prehistoric rock art in the
confirming the artificial nature of the new cup-marks.
Northern Dales. Stroud: Tempus.
The ideas presented in this chapter germinated during my Brown, P. M. and Chappell, G. 2005, Prehistoric rock art
PhD research at Durham University (2004–2007), and I in the North York Moors. Stroud: Tempus.
would like to acknowledge the continued support of my
Bruen Olsen, A. and Alsaker, S. 1984, Greenstone and
supervisor, Chris Scarre, as well as the Arts and Humanities
diabase utilisation in the Stone Age of Western Norway.
Research Council grant that made my doctorate research
Norwegian Archaeological Review 17, 71–103.
possible. Finally, a big thankyou is due to Richard Bradley
and Aaron Watson for generously allowing me to observe Burgess, C. 1991, The chronology of cup-and-ring marks
the excavation of the Copt Howe rock art panel in June in Britain and Ireland. Northern Archaeology 10, 21–
2018. 26.
Burl, A. 1976, The stone circles of the British Isles. New
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 8

Bronze Age Footprints and Shoeprints, Celestial Cults

and Pilgrimages in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula

José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

Abstract: Although commonly recorded in Northwest Portugal, footprints and shoeprints

are among the least studied engraved motifs from the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in this
region. This chapter presents the results of a study of over 30 rock art sites, where more than 200
footprints and shoeprints have been recorded. Spatial analysis of the data reveals that these motifs
were often linked with natural circulation paths between valleys and low-lying slopes, easily
accessible and with easy movement, beneath steeper zones. They were also interconnected with
sites that were well irrigated by watercourses flowing from the mountaintops or with easy access
to water sources. At a more detailed level, it has been possible to verify that the rocky outcrops
with more footprints and shoeprints, i.e. those that were more frequently used, had engravings on
inclined surfaces. On the basis of this data, several hypotheses can be drawn: these findings seem
to be related to pilgrimages to elevated sites and/or well-irrigated sites; the majority of pilgrims
were children or young adults (due to the dimensions of the engraved motifs), probably as part
of rites of passage; the orientation of the majority of the engravings suggests that these rites were
performed in conjunction with celestial cults, in particular during the summer solstice.

Keywords: footprint, shoeprint, ideograms, path, rites of passage, celestial cults, pilgrimage

8.1. Introduction contour, shape, irregularities and dimensions); the spatial

distribution of the motifs on the outcrops and their
The main objective of this chapter is to present the characteristics (typology, dimensions, orientations).
results of the study of podomorph engravings (footprints
and shoeprints) in northwest Portugal and discuss Methodologically, this work commences from the
their chronology and meaning in the context of the assumption that knowledge is subjective and interpretive,
region’s prehistoric communities. Although an article on based on the premises advocated in the framework of
shoeprints in this region has previously been published the ‘anthropology of art and symbolism’ and in certain
(Moreira and Bettencourt 2018), the originality of ‘interpretative archaeologies’. Within the context of the
this contribution resides in the compilation of several anthropology of art and the symbolism (Layton 1991;
shoeprints and footprints, making it possible to compare Gell 1998), rock art must not be understood through the
both phenomena. lens of contemporary artistic paradigms, but rather as a
form of communication, demonstrative of the universe
This work has been developed at various stages. The of experiences and beliefs of a certain population. It is
first stage was bibliographical research into northwest also considered to be an active element that contributes
Portugal’s physical features, podomorphic imagery, to the symbolic construction of the world, maintenance
engraved sites with the motifs of footprints and shoeprints, of collective memory, and creation and negotiation of
as well as popular legends related to such motifs, and the identities.
proposal of a suitable theoretical approach to interpret the
data. The second stage involved defining criteria to be In terms of the interpretative archaeologies approach,
used in the design of the inventory sheets and the database. understanding of space as an active element, rather than
The criteria for considering a footprint or a shoeprint as merely as a container of human actions, is particularly
a podomorph are those developed by Santos-Estévez relevant (Thomas 1993); likewise, the concept of the
and García Quintela (2000). The third stage included landscape is to be considered not as a mere backdrop,
fieldwork (inventory and photogrammetric survey of where economic actions are developed, but as a place that
relevant rock engravings) and desk research that made it generates experiences and meanings, created through the
possible to interrelate all the information to establish new interrelationships between people and the things around
interpretation. them, whether physical or imagined elements (Ingold
2000). Physical elements, such as outcrops, among many
During the inventory work, several criteria were taken others, are not conceived to be inert things, but as carriers
into account: the spatial and physical contexts of the of properties and active elements in processes of social
engraved outcrops; the description of the outcrop (colour, construction (Bradley 2000).

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José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

8.2. Geographical setting less than 23 cm long, as observed in modern populations of

North Europe and the United States of America; ii) normal
Northwest Portugal is bordered to the west by the Atlantic adults, with podomorphs between 23 and 32 cm long; and
Ocean, which influences its climate. It has a humid iii) podomorphs more than 33 cm long, considered to be
climate, with some nuances depending on greater or lesser abnormal or excessively large. The first group corresponds
exposure to moist oceanic winds and different altitudes. to 153 podomorphs (44 shoeprints and 109 footprints); the
The westernmost zone is characterised by its amphitheatre second to 51 podomorphs (29 shoeprints and 22 footprints);
relief, from the coast to the interior, interrupted by the and the third to only 8 cases (6 shoeprints and 2 footprints)
distribution of valleys that run south-north, east-west and (four motifs measuring over 40 cm in length) (Table 8.1).
northeast-southwest (Ferreira 2005), creating circulation The remaining 7 podomorphs are indeterminate.
corridors. In geological terms, the rocky substrate consists
essentially of granite and schist. It is also important to Comparing the dimensions of the footprints and shoeprints
mention the existence of various mining resources, such with their different formal categories, it can be observed
as gold, tin and some silver. that most of the footprints and simple shoeprints measure
less than 23 cm, while most of the shoeprints with heels
8.3. Data measure between 23 and 32 cm in length. Although
these motifs show different orientations, a clear tendency
Two hundred nineteen motifs of footprints were identified towards an orientation to the northwest can be observed in
within the study area, found on 34 outcrops, at 30 different all groups. This occurs in more than 50% of cases. There
rock art sites. In terms of the spatial distribution of the are also footprints and shoeprints facing west and east,
engraved outcrops, most are located in inland areas, southeast and southwest, northeast, north and south (Table
located between 200 and 700 metres above sea level 8.2).
(Figure 8.1). Broadly speaking, the outcrops engraved
with footprints and shoeprints are located on slopes, and Regarding the number of footprints and shoeprints per
with rare exceptions at the bottom of valleys, on the coastal outcrop, the majority of outcrops only have one motif or
platform or on hilltops. All are situated in well-irrigated one pair of motifs each (about 53% of the cases). Eighteen
areas and are easily accessible via natural corridors. In percent show only two motifs (either isolated, or in pairs).
terms of the geology of the outcrops, all are located on The highest number of engraved shoeprints and footprints
granitic boulders, with the exception of one schist outcrop. at a single site is 99 (2,8% of the total), in Fraga das
The engravings are mainly located on flattened and not Passadas, followed by 59 depictions in the Penedo de São
very prominent outcrops. However, some are prominent Gonçalo. In terms of technical execution, 94 motifs were
and have major visual impact. executed in low relief, and only 11 in contour lines.

In terms of the type of depictions, we have established two 8.4. Chronology

categories: Group I, with 138 footprints (recorded on 16
outcrops) and Group II, with 81 shoeprints (recorded on The dating of these figures in the northwest Iberian
18 outcrops). Concerning the latter, we have distinguished Peninsula is not consensual. There are authors who
between those with a drawing of a simple sole (n=40) and consider that podomorphs date from the Late Bronze Age
those depicting heels (n=41) (Moreira and Bettencourt and Iron Age (ca. 1250–100 cal. BCE) (García Alén and
2018) (Figure 8.2). Peña Santos 1981; Eiroa and Rey 1984; García Quintela
and Santos-Estévez 2000) and others who see their
When relating the different categories of these motifs to origins in Middle or Modern Ages (Ferro Couselo 1952;
the different kinds of outcrops, it turned out that both are Bermejo Barrera and Romaní Martinez 2014). Since no
preferentially located on flattened outcrops, i.e. close to the archaeological excavations were carried out around the
ground and not very noticeable, although shoeprints with aforementioned engraved outcrops, their chronological
a simple sole are usually recorded on clearly delineated dating has been suggested by searching and comparing
outcrops, well above the ground and therefore more parallels between them and analogous well contextualised
clearly visible (Figures 8.3 and 8.4). In about 80% of the manifestations, identified in the western Iberian Peninsula.
cases, there would be broad visibility from the recorded For this purpose, motif superimpositions and the spatial
sites, with restricted visibility in only two cases. distribution of podomorphs on outcrops with older rock
art styles were also taken into account. When related to
The dimensions of these depictions vary considerably – the Classical Atlantic and Early Schematic rock arts
the smallest is 11 cm and the largest is 59 cm. Considering styles (Bradley 1997; Alves 2003; Bettencourt 2017a,
the method proposed by Vallois (1928) to define the body 2017b) (the most common expressions of rock art in
heights indicated by the size of the feet and relating them northwest Portugal), the podomorphs invariably appear
to age and sex, using the Quételet table, Rohrer’s Index in a peripheral position, as if they were the product
and other physical anthropological studies (Davenport of subsequent additions (Moreira 2018; Moreira and
1932; Meredith 1944; Anderson et al. 1956) in order to Bettencourt 2018). If that is true, and since these styles
classify these motifs by age groups, three dimensional have been dated to the regional Neolithic and Chalcolithic
intervals were considered: i) non-adults, with podomorphs periods (late 5th to 3rd millennia BCE) (Sanches 1997;

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 Bronze Age Footprints and Shoeprints, Celestial Cults and Pilgrimages in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula

Figure 8.1. Hypsometric map of northwest Portugal, showing rock art sites that yielded podomorphs.

Figure 8.2. Groups of podomorphs: Group 1 – Footprints: 1) Outeiro do Tripe 1, Rock 3, Chaves; 2) Fraga das Passadas,
Chaves; 3) Pedreiras de Baltasar, Barcelos (after Moreira 2018). Group 2 – Shoeprints: 1) São Romão 4, Guimarães (after
Cardoso 2015); 2) Outeiro do Tripe 1, Rock 12, Chaves (after Moreira 2018); 3) Quinta dos Laranjais, Guimarães (after Cruz
and Cardoso 2011); 4–6) Fraga das Passadas, Chaves (after Moreira 2018).

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José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

Figure 8.3. Two engraved outcrops clearly detached from the surrounding ground level: Penedo da Pegada, Marco de
Canaveses (left); Penedo de Santa Eufémia, Terras de Bouro (right).

Figure 8.4. An engraved flat outcrop at Fraga das Passadas, Chaves.

2006; Alves 2003; Bradley and Sheridan 2005; Dinis and Aires stele, found in the southwest Iberian Peninsula,
Bettencourt 2009; Alves and Reis 2011; 2017; Bettencourt Almodôvar, from the Late Bronze Age (Figure 8.5 right).
2013; 2017a; 2017b), the footprints and shoeprints should In the south of Portugal, the engraved footprints must have
be later than these. begun to disappear during the Early Iron Age (first half of
the 1st millennium BCE), if we consider that stelae with
The footprints and shoeprints also appear to predate the these motifs were reused in the necropolis of Pardieiro 2
Iron Age in the north of Portugal, taking into account and 3, that were recently dated to the 7th and 6th centuries
that their occurrence in Vale da Casa, in Vila Nova de BCE (Soares et al. 2016). It therefore seems reasonable to
Foz Côa, is considered to predate the filiform art of this consider the hypothesis that the footprints and shoeprints
period (Baptista 1983), which Luís (2009; 2016) has dated of northwest Portugal probably appeared between the
between the 3rd and the 1st centuries BCE or even the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE and the early 1st
1st century CE. The break of the São Romão 11 boulder, millennium BCE, which corresponds to the Bronze Age.
recorded with a podomorph, and found in the context of
the Iron Age settlement of Briteiros, in Guimarães, also 8.5. Interpretation
seems to have occurred on the same date (Cardoso 2015).
All this information stands in conformity with the relevant There are different interpretations of the podomorph
existing data from the south of Portugal, such as the pair phenomenon, depending on the geographical areas
of limestone sandals, deposited in a tomb and dating from where it occurs. In the northwest Iberian Peninsula, in
the Late Chalcolithic and/or Early Bronze Age, i.e. late particular in Galicia, they have been considered to be the
3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE (Gomes 2010; Paço and materialisation of acts of royal investiture during the Iron
Jalhay 1941); the pair of sandals or shoeprints depicted Age, following rites that were specific to the Celtic religions
on an Alentejan stele, dating from the Middle Bronze Age of the Atlantic area. In this context, the podomorphs would
(2nd millennium BCE) (Coelho 1975, 195–197; Gomes have been used to swear an oath or to mark an investiture
and Monteiro 1976–1977, 172–174) (Figure 8.5 left); place (García Quintela and Santos-Estévez 2000). They
and the representation of footprints engraved on Gomes have been also considered to be places for swearing oaths

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 Bronze Age Footprints and Shoeprints, Celestial Cults and Pilgrimages in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula

Table 8.1. Dimensional intervals of podomorphs.

Podomorphs typology Group I Group II Group III

Dimensional intervals < 17 cm 17 to 23 cm 23 to 32 cm 33 to 40 cm >40 cm

Footprints 24 71 21 2 0

Shoeprints 14 30 29 2 4

Indeterminate 6 8 1 0 0

TOTAL 44 109 51 4 4

Table 8.2. Orientation of podomorphs.

Orientations Footprints Shoeprints Indeterminate TOTAL

Northwest 66 55 5 126

North 12 3 - 15

Southeast 10 8 - 18

West 9 6 2 17

Southwest 6 2 - 8

South 6 1 1 8

East 5 - - 5

Northeast 1 2 - 3

Indeterminate 3 4 12 19

As Bettencourt (2017) has already stressed, there are some

outcrops with numerous motifs (rare) and others with a
small number of motifs, sometimes just one, in the majority
of cases, probably reflecting different meanings, although
symbolically and socially interrelated. In other words,
it would appear that the sites with many motifs, where
there are footprints and shoeprints of various dimensions,
were highly important and publicly significant places,
frequented and experienced by large audiences. Examples
of such outcrops include the Fraga das Passadas1 in Chaves,
Vila Real, that has more than 99 depictions (Moreira 2018;
Figure 8.5. Left: Alentejan stele of Ervidel I (after Gomes Moreira and Bettencourt 2018) (Figure 8.4), the Penedo
Monteiro 1976–1977); right: Gomes Aires stele (after Díaz- de São Gonçalo2 in Felgueiras, Porto, with 59 depictions
Guardamino 2010). (Figure 8.6) and, on a smaller scale, the Penedo de Santa
Eufémia3 in Terras do Bouro, Braga (Figure 8.3), with
around 12 depictions (Moreira 2018).
related to the boundaries of properties, or as boundary
markers of properties, during the Middle and Modern The first example is located in the reception basin of several
Ages (Bermejo Barrera and Romaní Marínez 2014). watercourses and near a spring. The others are located in
well-irrigated valleys. They are all, and in particular the
In this chapter, the interpretative approach takes into last two examples, located in important natural corridors
account the new chronological proposal as well as and in low-lying area which means they were easily
typological and contextual aspects. An attempt has been accessible. Their connection with water resources could
made to understand the meaning of the places where the be an important location condition, bearing in mind that
rock engravings can be found; to classify them in terms of the first three quarters of the 2nd millennium BCE was
the number of motifs recorded; to assess a potential age characterised by a period of neo-glaciation that was
based on the dimensions of the motifs; to interrelate their
orientations with the ‘skyscape’ and celestial phenomena 1
Boulder of Footsteps.
and understand how these engravings are integrated within 2
Boulder of Saint Gonçalo.
20th century folk memories. 3
Boulder of Saint Eufémia.

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José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

Figure 8.6. Podomorphs in the Penedo de São Gonçalo, Felgueiras.

158
 Bronze Age Footprints and Shoeprints, Celestial Cults and Pilgrimages in the Northwest Iberian Peninsula

colder, drier and more windy than the Neolithic (Fábregas In terms of archaeological data, most of the podomorphs
Valcarce et al. 2003; Martínez Cortizas et al. 2009). On the (153 = 70%) are shorter than 23 cm. In other words, they
other hand, places with one or few footprints or shoeprints, correspond to feet under 23 cm in length (Table 8.1), which
located in areas of diversified topography, seem to have seems to correspond to young people of different ages. The
had less collective importance. Could they be frequented formal diversity of the examples of small feet, including
and visited by a restricted number of people, as part of representations of feet with malformations (Figure 8.2:
individual rites or acts performed in greater secrecy and Group 1, no. 3), suggests that these were based on the feet
did they serve as markers of paths that led to meeting of real people. Fifty-one podomorphs, 23% of the total,
places of major communal significance? are from the adult population (measuring over 23 cm in
length). Finally, there are podomorphs of extraordinarily
The latter hypothesis must be verified using new large dimensions (8 = 4%), which may either represent
archaeological surveys in the areas of a few kilometres persons with gigantism or acromegaly, according to the
around the major sites. Cardoso (2015) analysed several characteristics of this illness (Chanson and Salenave 2008),
isolated podomorphs at different altitudes and with or a materialisation of the real or mythical importance of
different orientations at the Monte de São Romão, in some persons, or certain imaginary or legendary beings, as
Guimarães, Braga, and suggested that they may indicate Gomes (2010) has stressed in relation to the rock art of the
the importance of the ascent to the top of this hill. Tagus River, in central Portugal.

More questions arise: who recorded these engravings? What led people to record their feet on hard granite rock,
Do they represent real people? According to the above- in an act that involves a certain amount of effort and
cited physical anthropology studies, attempts have been expenditure of energy? This was probably the result of a
made to correlate the dimensions of the podomorphs social act of a symbolic nature, intended to be lasting for
and the possible age of the individuals that they could posterity, sometimes of a public nature, given the durable
have represented. At the same time, using historical nature of the stone. From this perspective, the podomorphs
and anthropological sources (Wang 2008; Simard and may be considered to be ideograms (sensu Anati 2012), i.e.
Blight 2011; Ferreira and Rodrigues 2014), analysis repetitive and synthetic signs, whose repetition engenders
has also been made of the age at which people were concepts and conventions or adds more complex meanings
considered to be adults in various historical periods. to other signs.
For example, for the Roman period, a table provided by
Isidore of Seville, in the seventh century CE, refers to the Considering that most of the podomorphs are of non-
existence of infantia (0–7 years), pueritia (8–14 years), adults, mainly with feet between 17 and 22 cm long, could
adulescentia (15–28 years), and iuuentus (29–50 years), they be associated with initiation ceremonies or rites of
wherein adulescentia was considered to mark the start of passage, for example, from youth to adulthood? In such
adulthood, since pueritia comprises a preparatory stage a case, what would be the role of the podomorphs for the
for public life. In the Late Roman period, it is known that adults and young children? Could the adults have been
the age when men started wearing a toga was lowered, escorts, witnesses or officiators during the ceremonies?
and that there were cases in which this happened between Would the recording of younger feet correspond to
the ages of 14 and 16 (Ferreira and Rodrigues 2014). In children who participated in the initiation rites or rites
a study focused on Canadian indigenous populations, of passage at an earlier age because they would not have
concerning child and adolescent development/transitions another opportunity to visit these places?
into adulthood (Simard and Blight 2011) it is stated that
adulthood (Nitawigiwin) occurred between the ages of We also raise the hypothesis that it is possible to detect
15 and 50. Another study concerning the prehistoric social differences in these contexts. From this perspective,
populations of the middle and lower Yellow River Valley, it is probable that shoeprints (given that shoes were
in China, also considers adults to be all those above 15 prestigious garments) could have been associated with
years of age (Wang 2008). Based on these data, the elites or entities of great symbolic power, whereas
hypothesis was put forward that an individual could footprints could have been associated with common
be considered to be an adult after attaining between 14 people. In favour of this hypothesis, it is necessary to bear
and 15 years of age. This is the identified average age of in mind the pair of shoeprints represented on an Alentejan
menarche (the age when girls start menstruating) as cited stele from the 2nd millennium BCE in association with
in many studies of Portuguese women (Sacadura 1912; other insignia of power (Figure 8.5).
Rosas and Saavedra 1921; Paulo 1936; Rocha and Morais
1990).4 It should be noted that in Portugal, until the mid-20th
century, wearing shoes was a sign of social status, whereas
walking barefoot was a sign of poverty and belonging to a
4
In Rocha and Morais (1990), the average age of menarche in the rural disadvantaged social class. Only in the 1930s were people
area of the centre of Portugal was 13.29, and it occurs mainly during prohibited from walking barefoot in cities. This habit
winter and summer, and is lower in the autumn. Older studies on the persisted longer in central and northern Portugal and was
subject were chosen as a better reference because the age of menarche
has lowered in urban areas, with better living and food conditions (Padez considered to be the result of poverty, but also reflected a
2003). major cultural tradition (Magalhães et al. 1956).

159
José Moreira and Ana M. S. Bettencourt

de Cervos (Montalegre, Vila Real). In R. Vilaça (ed.),

Estelas e estátuas-menires: da Pré à Proto-história.
Actas das IV Jornadas Raianas (Sabugal, 2009), 187–
216. Sabugal: Municipal Council.
Alves, L. B. and Reis, M. 2017, Tattooed landscapes. A
reassessment of Atlantic Art distribution, research
methods and chronology in the light of the discovery
of a major rock art assemblage at Monte Faro (Valença,
Figure 8.7. Orientation of 91.3% of the podomorphs. The Portugal). Zephyrus 80, 4967.
orientation of the remaining podomorphs is undetermined. Anati, E. 2012, Per una semiotica dell’Arte Primaria. In
E. Anati (ed.), I Segni Originari dell’Arte. Riflessioni
Semiotiche a partire dall’Opera di Anati. Siminario di
All these rock art sites seem to be deliberately located Semiotica e Morfologia, Urbino 5-6 settembre 2010,
far from settlements, or other Bronze Age contexts (e.g., 14–48. Brescia: Atelier.
funerary and metal hoards) and would certainly be sites
with a history, with special properties, and frequented Anderson, M., Blais, M. and Green, W. T. 1956, Growth
on a cyclical basis. In this case, it is likely that trips or of the normal foot during childhood and adolescence:
pilgrimages to such sites were scheduled at certain times length of the foot and interrelations of foot, stature, and
of the year. This premise is based on the orientation of lower extremity as seen in serial records of children
the podomorphs: both the footprints and the shoeprints are between 1–18 years of age. American Journal of
essentially oriented towards the northwest, corresponding Physical Anthropology 14(2), 287–308.
to the sunset during the summer solstice (Figure 8.7). Baptista, A. M. 1983, O complexo de gravuras rupestres
do Vale da Casa (Vila Nova de Foz Côa). Arqueologia
Many of these engravings are also oriented to the southeast, 8, 57–69.
i.e. to the sunrise during the winter, and to the west
matching the sunset in the spring and autumn equinoxes. Bermejo Barrera, J. C. and Romaní Marínez, M. 2014, “Et
Some footprints are also oriented to the southwest, which per ubi posuerintis vestros pedes iurare”. La cojuración
coincides with the sunset in the winter solstice; and to the y el possible uso de los signos podomorfos en la Galicia
east, i.e. the position of sunrise during the equinoxes, and Medieval y Moderna. Madrider Mitteilungen 55, 560–
to the northeast, which coincides with sunrise during the 595.
summer solstice. Analysis of this data enables us to raise Bettencourt, A. M. S. 2013, A Pré-História do Noroeste
the hypothesis that the ceremonies performed in these Português/The Prehistory of the North-western
places, although perhaps related to rites of passage that Portugal. Territórios da Pré-História em Portugal, Vol.
implied movement or pilgrimage through the landscape, 2. Braga/Tomar: ARKEOS/Centro de Investigação
took place mainly during the summer solstice, but also Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memória.
at other important moments in the solar cycle, which
suggests that the rites performed in these places were Bettencourt, A. M. S. 2017a, Gravuras Rupestres do
related to celestial cults. Noroeste Português para além das Artes Atlântica e
Esquemática. In J. M. Arnaud and A. Martins (eds.),
To conclude, it seems important to stress that, in folk Arqueologia em Portugal. Estado da Questão,
memories, outcrops with shoeprints and footprints in 1053–1067. Lisboa: Associação dos Arqueólogos
northwest Portugal are often associated with place names Portugueses.
and legends of Christian origin, and are widely associated Bettencourt, A. M. S. 2017b, Post-Palaeolithic rock
with the travels or pilgrimages of a saint, the journey to art of north-western Portugal: an approach. In A. M.
sacred places, which may reveal traces of their original S. Bettencourt, M. Santos-Estevez, H. A. Sampaio,
meaning (Moreira 2018; Moreira and Bettencourt 2018).
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Places. The Holocene Rock Art of the Iberian Atlantic
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 9

Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

Jessica Joyce Christie

Abstract: This chapter will discuss a specific type of Inka rock art (large niches) in relation to
the pilgrimage road and as part of a living, agentive landscape in the southern Titicaca Basin,
Peru, during the height of the Inka empire in the late fifteenth century AD. The main transport
and pilgrimage route was the Kollasuyu road, leading from Cusco to the southeast. Stations along
this road are marked by rock art: Bebedero with the common geometric seats and platforms, and
Kenko and Altarani with the uncommon large niches in cliff walls directed toward the lake.

This rock art will be approached through the perspective of an agentive landscape of performance
which shaped peoples’ movements who in turn altered the natural setting to accommodate their
livelihoods, belief systems, and political agendas. Ontological relations between these places and
people changed over time, taking on new meanings with regard to hierarchy and heterarchy and
the intentionality of stone formations. Thus the landscape of the southern Titicaca Basin has been
dynamic and in motion on multiple levels throughout time.

Arguments will be presented that, on a practical logistic level, these rock art sites may have been
stopping points on the state-directed pilgrimage to the Island of the Sun. Secondly, I argue that
the large niches emplace local interactions between the Inka and Lupaqa people. These niches are
Andean wak’a/shrines which are cut into the living substance of the stone mountain; as wak’a,
they are both static and movable in the sense that their essence can be reproduced somewhere
else. Thirdly, local people today view the niches as doors into a spiritual realm. They continue to
place offerings and share stories of the niches as empowered agents.

Keywords: Inka, Peru, rock sculpture, pilgrimage, landscape, contemporary reuse, wak’a

9.1. Introduction and historical background 1532 is referred to as the Inka Period (Bauer 2004, 91–157),
during which Cusco was redesigned as the capital city of the
The Inka began their phenomenal rise to power in the nascent Inka state, which began to expand beyond the Cusco
Cusco Valley in the south central Highlands of Peru region. Four principal roads, named Qhapaq Nan, departed
in the fourteenth century (Bauer 2004; Covey 2006). from the center of Cusco, structuring Inka territories into four
The settlement of Cusco consolidated and grew into the quarters (suyu) known as Tawantinsuyu or ‘Land of the Four
capital of an expansive empire. These processes have been Quarters’ (Christie 2008).
analyzed through archaeology and ethnohistory.
9.1.2. Inka history through the lens of ethnohistory
9.1.1. Inka history through the lens of archaeology
Spanish writers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Regional archaeological surveys conducted by Brian Bauer have left us a list of fifteen rulers from Manqo Qhapaq, the
and colleagues from the late 1980s into the early 2000s founder of the Inka dynasty during mytho-historical origin
demonstrate dramatic settlement changes in the Vilcanota times, to Manqo Inka and Paullu Inka who reigned after
River valley after about AD 1000 when the Wari polity the European Invasion in 1532. The rulers who shaped and
centered in Pikillaqta declined. The northern side of the Cusco directed the imperial state in the mid-fifteenth century and
Basin was transformed with major agricultural infrastructure: controlled the Titicaca Basin are Pachakuti Inka Yupanki,
large villages were constructed on the lower slopes and Tupa Inka Yupanki, and Wayna Qhapaq. More specifically,
extensive terrace systems and irrigation canals improved Pachakuti Inka Yupanki, the ninth ruler, redesigned the
agricultural land (Bauer 2004, 76–77). An emerging Inka elite Killke settlement at the site of Cusco into the imperial
most probably built the terraces with rotational corvée labor capital in the mid-fifteenth century. Following his father,
and collected the agricultural surpluses as part of a developing Wiraqocha Inka, Pachakuti Inka continued the expansion
political economy. During the following centuries up to of state territories to the southeast following the Vilcanota
approximately 1400 (Late Intermediate Period in Andean River. Under his son Thupa Inka and Thupa Inka’s sons,
chronology), the site of Cusco, known as Killke settlement, the empire Tawantinsuyu or Land of the Four Quarters
grew in population size. The time frame from roughly 1400 to reached its final confines.

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In ethnohistory, Spanish writers documented numerous in shifting hierarchical and heterarchical relationships.
versions of oral histories, in which the Inka explained their The origin narrative more specifically implies that stone
origin by linking their dynastic founder Manqo Qhapaq as a substance had generative qualities and could be a
with the Sun and rock outcrops on the Island of the Sun being on its own. The ninth Inka emperor, Pachakuti
in Lake Titicaca, situated in the southeastern quarter, Inka Yupanki, had selected rock outcrops carved in a
Kollasuyu (Figure 9.1). This quarter/suyu had been of geometric style created by vertical and horizontal cuts
particular importance since ancient times since here, on (Figure 9.2). Such rock sculptures suggest practical uses
two islands in Lake Titicaca, the Sun and the Moon had first as seats, steps, platforms, and/or places of offerings;
risen from rock shrines known throughout the Andes. It is on a more conceptual level, they were animate wak’as
told that Wiraqocha, the pan-Andean creator god, appeared who had their own interests and intentions with whom
in the Lake Titicaca region when it still lay in darkness. humans negotiated (Bray 2015b, 4–11; see below). In Inka
He created the sun, the moon, the stars, and all living ideological landscape construction, they were intended to
beings. He formed the different lineages of humankind emplace the hierarchical presence of the state and visualize
with the clay of Tiwanaku (Middle Horizon center near its appropriations of mountainous settings (Christie 2016;
the southern shores of Lake Titicaca) and gave each group Dean 2010).
its clothing, language, songs, agricultural systems, and
religion. Wiraqocha sent some of the individuals he had Thus, Inka sacred landscapes between Cusco and the
just created to the mountain tops, others to the rivers and Titicaca Basin, as well as throughout Tawantinsuyu,
springs, and still others into caves. They were to emerge became networks of meaningful places that were woven
from those liminal locations, turning them into paqarinas together in mythological and cosmic frameworks.
(the points of origin; often an emergence of an ayllu) of The Kollasuyu-Titicaca network was understood as a
their ayllus (Andean corporate lineages) and themselves narrative, which was re-enacted and inscribed on the
into the founding ancestors (for the full argument, see landscape through rituals and processions. The nodes in
Salles-Reese 1997, 45–88). such networks can range from unmodified natural features
such as, for example, mountains, rocks, caves, rivers, and
The Inka adopted this narrative and added on that after the trees, to constructed features such as, for example, plazas,
Sun himself had risen, he called forth the Inka ancestral temples, monuments, and shrines, with a range of human-
couple, Manqo Qhapaq and Mama Oqllu, from the modified places in between, such as rock art (Yaeger and
same rock outcrop (see Urton 1999, 39). On the Island López 2018, 541).
of Titicaca, the Sun ‒ personified as a man in a shining
costume ‒ called the Inka, represented by Manqo Qhapaq Additional layers in the cosmological and mythic
and his wife/sister Mama Oqllu, from openings in a framework of the Kollasuyu-Titicaca network include
selected rock outcrop and adopted them as his children. the narrative that the creator deity Wiraqocha traveled
Since the rest of humankind was living in a state of that route in a northwestern direction after he had created
barbarism, the Sun conferred a civilizing mission upon all celestial and earthly living beings at Titicaca. Juan de
the Inkas. These divine emissaries traveled to the north Betanzos (1996 [1557], 9–11) elaborates that Wiraqocha
and re-emerged from a cave at Pacariqtambo near Cusco. walked the Royal Road/Qhapaq Nan toward Cusco and
These original Inkas, four brothers sharing the name Ayar called each ethnic group to emerge from its paqarina.
and four sisters, wore clothing richly adorned in gold and When Wiraqocha called the Canas to emerge at Cacha
carried corn seeds. One brother, Manqo Qhapaq, also (present-day Raqchi located on the Kollasuyu road),
carried a golden rod that would sink into the ground at the they came out with their weapons threatening to attack
exact place where, according to the wishes of the Sun, they him. Wiraqocha responded by causing a “fire to fall from
should settle. The rod was thrust into the ground at either heaven”, burning nearby mountain ranges and creating the
Pacariqtambo or Cusco. Three of the original four brothers local volcano Kinsich’ata. Seeing the magnitude of this
were turned into wak’as (Andean shrines). The remaining fire, the Indians surrendered. Wiraqocha put out the fire
brother, Manqo Qhapaq, had a son with one of his sisters, with blows of his staff. The Canas Indians built a wak’a at
thus becoming the progenitor of the Inka dynasty (Salles- the place where Wiraqocha had stood.
Reese 1997, 93).
In his landscape biography of Raqchi, Bill Sillar (2018,
Spanish writers recast Inka history in the way that later 135–136) uses this narrative as one example originating
rulers descended from Manqo Qhapaq and Mama Oqllu. from Inka times in which Wiraqocha is the active force who
Therefore the Island of the Sun and Lake Titicaca played has individual agency and capability to transform the land.
a foundational role in the ideology of state validation. In contrast, current residents of Raqchi name the volcano
Further, by appropriating the Titicaca creation narrative, Kinsich’ata as one of their apus or mountain lords who
the Inka constructed ontological relations between is evoked through the preparation of offerings and when
themselves in the south-central highlands, the Sun, the chewing tobacco. I will refer back to this narrative in the
waters of Lake Titicaca, and the stony outcrops of the discussion of the rock art niches along the Titicaca Basin
islands. These entities participated as agentive beings section of the Kollasuyu road: there the Inka state is the
in geopolitical networks which linked Cusco with the intruding agent – parallel to Wiraqocha – with the power
Titicaca Basin and the Kollasuyu quarter in the southeast of transforming and carving out mountainous substances.

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Figure 9.1. Map of Kollasuyu road from Cusco to Lake Titicaca (adapted from Guijarro and Cardelus 2009, 341).

Figure 9.2. Inka rock wak’a sculpted in the geometric style, northern hills of Cusco (photograph by the author, 2015).

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In contrast, today’s residents use the carvings as places to In reference to the Kollasuyu road, historical sources report
make their offerings and petitions to landscape features. that aside from the ideological framework, it gave the Inka
Yaeger and López (2018, 553) succinctly reinforce this empire access to one of the most densely settled regions in
point by reasoning that while each ethnic group had its own the central Andes important from the standpoint of labor
ancestral couple and received a specific paqarina associated availability; the Titicaca Basin was also rich in economic
with concrete territory, the common origins of all people at resources, with regard to agricultural productivity and
Tiwanaku through the agency of Wiraqocha justified their animal herds (Frye 2005, 197).
unification under a larger hierarchical structure. Thus by
associating themselves with Wiraqocha – and the eighth Inka Ethnohistorical documents, among which are most
ruler took the name Wiraqocha – Inka emperors claimed commonly cited Bernabe Cobo (1979 [1653, Book 12,
legitimacy as pan-Andean rulers. Indeed, Inka imperial Chapter 13], 140, cited in Frye 2005, 197) and Pedro
expansion recapitulated Wiraqocha’s journey across the Cieza de Leon (1959 [1553, Book 2, Chapters 41–43],
Andes – who had proceeded northwest beyond Cusco to cited in Frye 2005, 197), reconstruct that during the
the Pacific Ocean in Ecuador or Columbia – reuniting the Late Intermediate or Altiplano Period (from about 1100
descendants of the primordial couples he had created. to 1450), the southern Lake Titicaca Basin fell under the
domain of the Kolla polity in the northwest and the Lupaqa
The constant connections between past and present in polity in the southwest. The boundary between these two
Andean worldview via relational networks channeled entities lay probably between the city of Puno and the
through the ancestors and tied to spatial concepts can further town of Chucuito (Julien in Hyslop 1984, 118). During
be reinforced in the linguistic perspective. In Quechua, as Inka domination after 1450, Hatuncolla was the Kolla
well as in Aymara (the two dominant indigenous languages capital and Chucuito the Lupaqa capital. Cieza de Leon
in the Andes), present and past are both associated with (1967 [1553], 138–139, 144–145) tells us that Cari was
the subject’s visual field because they are both known. the great lord of the Lupaqa and that Zapana led the Kolla.
Present and past are based in the apprehensible visual The two groups were enemies, and when the Inka became
field as foreground and background. The Quechua term involved, the Lupaqa are portrayed as receptive to Inka
nawpa refers to both the past and the space in front of the domination, and therefore they allied with Cari. Bernabe
speaker and is closely related etymologically to the term Cobo (1979 [1653], cited in Frye 2005, 199) specifies that
nawi meaning ‘eye’ or ‘vision’. The Aymara term nayra Cari, the cacique1 of the Lupaqa nation, received the Inka
means ‘in front of’ and is also linked etymologically to the in peace and turned his state over to them. This is one of
eyes and the field of vision (Wilkinson and D’Altroy 2018, the reasons why most of the documented Inka sites lie
113). Thus the past was given meaning in the present, south of Chucuito.
which had to be constantly renegotiated, and constituted
an indispensable part of the present. As explained, the The documents leave the impression that the Titicaca
Inka reshaped this lens of time into an Inka-specific order Basin was structured under a relatively high level of
in which the origin narratives were foundational and set political complexity personified by the two hereditary
up the spatial order of the Inka empire Tawantinsuyu, the leaders – Zapana and Cari – who controlled large territories
Land of the Four Quarters, as well as the hierarchies of and armies. The archaeological reconstruction is quite
the lineages. It is important to understand that chronology different: material data show that the political landscape
and precise dating were irrelevant in this view because of the region was highly fragmented, a condition that
Manqo Qhapaq remained present in the physical form of characterized the area throughout the Late Intermediate/
his mummy and in his timeless image as lineage founder. Altiplano Period (ca. 1100–1450) (Frye 2005, 198; Stanish
et al. 2005).
The geopolitical and ontological network between Cusco
and Lake Titicaca was brought to life in human form The above sketches out conflicting information regarding
through the traffic and infrastructure on the principal the social setting and political structure the Inka would
road to the southeast, or Kollasuyu road (see Figure have encountered when they entered the Titicaca Basin in
9.1) in Quechua, the language of the Inka. The Qhapaq the mid-fifteenth century under Pachakuti Inka Yupanki.
Nan roads crossed the Inka empire from north to south How would they have proceeded to integrate the region
and accommodated economic exchange through llama with their known tactics of infrastructure and social
caravans, moving armies and messengers (chaskis), the reorganization and how and where was rock art included
traveling royal court, as well as pilgrimages throughout in such efforts?
the second half of the fifteenth into mid-sixteenth century
AD (onset of the Early Colonial Period). In any part of 9.1.3. Inka arrival in the Titicaca Basin
the empire, roads could be associated with platforms,
tambos (rest stations for travelers), apache(i)tas (rock Hyslop’s (1984, 118–119) road surveys yielded no
piles accumulated by individual travelers who left a stone evidence of a formal pre-Inka road system. This is likely
at geographically significant places), selected upright due to the general political disunity and the placement of
boulders and vertical stone constructions (saywa) probably
used as land and distance markers (Vivanco and Vivanco
2019, 58–63), as well as rock art (Christie 2008). 1
Cacique is a title of local leader or chief.

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 Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

a majority of Altiplano settlements at higher altitudes. The

Inka restructured Lupaqa settlement patterns along the
Kollasuyu road/Qhapaq Nan following a wider imperial
policy calling for the abandonment of Late Intermediate
Period walled hilltop towns and establishing new
settlements on the lower plains of river valleys and in this
case, near the lake. The general settlement pattern in the
Titicaca Basin during the Late Intermediate Period shows
scattered small villages grouped near fortified hilltop
pukaras or hilltop towns.

A wealth of historical information about the Lupaqa under

Inka rule comes from the Chucuito visita (local inspections
mandated by the Spanish Crown during the Colonial
Period) by Diez de San Miguel (1964 [1567], cited in
Hyslop 1984, 118–119). In Inka administration, Lupaqa
lands were treated as a single territorial unit. Chucuito
was founded as the capital, and six other regional centers
were added along the Inka road whose principal towns
(cabeceras) were Acora, Ilave, Juli, Pomata, Yunquyu,
and Zepita. Lupaqa lords continued to rule according to
the pan-Andean system of dual division on all levels of
authority; of the highest order was now the Hatun Kuraka
in Chucuito followed by the mallku, or local lords, in the
cabeceras. The Lupaqa spoke Aymara whereas the Inka
Figure 9.3. Map of the Titicaca Basin with the pilgrimage
were Quechua speakers. The history and grammar of the road between Chucuito and Copacabana (adapted from
two languages are related. Arkush 2005, 215, fig. 14.1).

More specifically, the settlement surveys conducted by

Frye (2005) and others (Stanish, Cohen and Aldenderfer established in their present locations during the process of
2005) in the Chucuito-Cutimbo area revealed important Inka reorganization of the area and not by the Lupaqa, a
political and economic changes in the transition from the point which will be further discussed below in reference to
Late Intermediate to the Late Horizon/Inka Period. The the rock art sites. The documents do not specify the pre-
changes relevant here are a dramatic population increase Inka to Inka transition (Stanish 2003, 215–216).
by an influx of people from other areas; the abandonment
of a majority of Altiplano Period settlements which Chucuito, for example, has a radial layout fanning out
were replaced by the founding of Chucuito as the seat of toward the lakeshore, which some authors associate with
regional administration and the second-tier administrative Inka urban planning after the Cusco model (Gasparini
and ceremonial cabeceras listed above. These new towns and Margolies 1980, 80–81) (Figure 9.4). Near the town
organized labor forces into specialized production. Inka center, there is an Inka enclosure made of precise Cusco-
resettlement tactics resulted in an overall shift of the local style masonry called Inka Uyu (Figure 9.5). The specific
population from the agro-pastoral zone toward lakeside form of the enclosure is not common in Inka architecture.
sites, as well as an intensification of agricultural and The Kollasuyu road would have passed through the plaza
pastoral systems (Frye 2005, 200–201). The survey results on which the Inka Uyu is situated (Hyslop 1984, fig. 8.6).
indicate that the Inka and state officials, Lupaqa lords, as The size of pre-contact Chucuito estimated at 80 ha makes
well as mitmaqkuna/relocated colonists from other regions it the largest site in the area and the most likely candidate
primarily occupied Chucuito and the secondary centers for the Lupaqa capital during Inka domination. Tactics
along the road. The Lupaqa people were pushed away and forms of Inka domination varied and were adjusted
from the administrative centers on the road and resettled to local conditions and social networks. In sum, in the
on the lakeshore and in the terrace agricultural zones, Titicaca Basin, the Inka appear to have built amicable
which means they would have lived closer by Altarani and relations with the Lupaqa and therefore left their lords in
especially Kenko (rock art sites to be discussed further place as long as they subjected to the higher authority of
down) (Figure 9.3). the Inka and delivered prescribed tributes. Lupaqa towns
were moved to the lower plains and became the cabeceras
Hyslop (1984, 119) also suggests that the Lupaqa cabeceras along the road.
whose remains lie under the corresponding contemporary
towns were emplaced in their locations under Inka rule. The Kollasuyu road of the Qhapaq Nan would have
This is an important point: several archaeological surveys brought the standard traffic described above to the Lupaqa
have only found Inka materials at Chucuito and no pre- area. What made the Kollasuyu branch unique is that it
Inka remains. It is most likely that the cabeceras were channeled the pilgrims walking from the heartland to the

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Island of the Sun. The Spanish writers Bernabe Cobo rock art along the main branch of the Kollasuyu road in
(1990 [1653]) and Ramos Gavilán (1887; 1988 [1621]) the Titicaca Basin would have played similar, though less
report a state-sponsored pilgrimage in detail during which potent, roles. In empire-wide terms, the Inka wrote their
pilgrims traveled from Cusco to the rock sanctuary on the own ethnic history on the landscape around Cusco by
Island of the Sun to confess sins and present offerings. In erecting shrines/wak’as that celebrated key events in the
particular, the road section which branches off the Qhapaq lives of their primordial couples and later Inka rulers who
Nan at Yunguyu/Yunquyu and leads to Copacabana and the descended from them, connecting those shrines/wak’as
tip of the peninsula, where pilgrims set over to the Island with zeq’e lines that radiated out from the capital Cusco
of the Sun, is itemized in depth. Many of the storehouses, (see Yaeger and López 2018, 552). An additional layer of
temples, and shrines reported by Cobo and Ramos Gavilan the cosmological and mythic framework of the Kollasuyu
have been archaeologically identified (Bauer and Stanish road was that it functioned as a conceptual straight long-
2001; Christie 2016). Cobo and Ramos Gavilán are also distance zeq’e running from Cusco through the Vilcanota
very specific with regard to the confessions and offerings River valley to Titicaca and Tiwanaku (Zuidema 1982,
pilgrims had to give at specified locations. Archaeologists 439–445, fig. 16.4). Cristobal de Molina detailed another
have inadequately considered that the accounts of the pilgrimage to the Vilcanota or La Raya pass which
two Spanish Catholic writers strongly mirror Christian separates the Cusco and Titicaca Basins. This pilgrimage
pilgrimage experiences from Europe. was performed by Inka priests at the time of the June
solstice. They sacrificed camelids at multiple empowered
I have argued elsewhere (Christie 2019) that this pilgrimage places from Cusco to Vilcanota (Christie 2018, 502–503).
should be seen in the context of the Inka resettlement/ But the justification of Inka imperial hegemony over other
mitmaqkuna policy under which rebellious indigenous ethnic groups required validation through the construction
groups in newly conquered areas were replaced with of a memory stratigraphy in deep time beyond the confines
groups loyal to the Inka, usually from the heartland. The of the Cusco heartland. This is why the Wiraqocha
ethnohistorical sources are clearly stating that an unusually creation narrative, the emergence of the ancestral couple
high number of ethnic groups were moved to Copacabana Manqo Qhapaq and Mama Oqllu from the Sacred Rock
(Bauer and Stanish 2001, 238–240; Christie 2016). During on the Island of the Sun, and the entire Kollasuyu-Titicaca
the resettlement process, relocated groups were allowed to network took center stage in a mythic-historical charter
travel back and forth on the Kollasuyu road. On a political for a pan-Andean imperial order that placed the Inka at its
and ideological level, the essential strategy of the expansive apex (see Yaeger and López 2018, 552–553; Salles-Reese
Inka state was to integrate new territories and their 1997).
populations as well as colonists into a new and specific Inka
order manifested by wak’as, landscape modifications, and 9.1.4. Inka rock art as wak’as
agentive engagements with them (Kosiba 2015, 170–173).
Inka pilgrimage could be framed through Edith and Victor We will now mine the rock art as wak’as which the Inka
Turner’s lenses of liminality and communitas2 (Turner emplaced along the Kollasuyu road in the Titicaca Basin
1974; Turner and Turner 1978). in the Lupaqa territory. Before approaching Inka rock
art through the wak’a concept, a few clarifications are
Mitmaqkuna/colonists would have found themselves in a in order with regard to how this kind of Inka rock art is
liminal state during their journey on the Kollasuyu road, intrinsically different from the two-dimensional images
having left their homeland and site of origin (paqarina) on stone surfaces more commonly discussed in rock art
and not yet having established their new residency or studies. The Inka rarely thought in terms of representation
transferred their wak’a of origin. The Inka state would of an object in two- or three-dimensional media3.
have strongly channeled notions of communitas among Most commonly, Inka rock art was a form of sculpture
colonists toward becoming part of an Inka order through characterized by altering rock outcrops and boulders in
interactions with local landscape wak’as and distributing situ with vertical and horizontal geometric cuts creating
foreign, i.e. Inka, ones. Clearly, the Sacred Rock Outcrop platforms and steps. Thus Inka rock art was inextricably
on the Island of the Sun would have been a foundational embedded in a landscape context. I have argued elsewhere
active wak’a in Inka state order (Figure 9.6). (Christie 2016) that this style of rock art was authored by
Pachakuti Inka Yupanki as a marker of state presence and
Many other wak’as in the form of manmade structures, engagement with Inka cultural landscapes. This style was
unusual landscape features, carved rock outcrops and formulated in the Cusco region and then exported to the
periphery of the empire (see Figure 9.2).

2
According to Victor Turner (1969), liminal entities are in stages of Spanish writers were very much interested in Andean
social and cultural transitions, often likened to being on a journey. They shrines or wak’as, first out of curiosity and later in targeted
have left their culturally designated place or position and have not yet
found a new one. Turner defines communitas as the model of human
interrelatedness in a liminal period. It is a stage during which society is
minimally differentiated and follows the leadership of elders who have 3
There are a few notable exceptions such as, for example, the unique
acquired their position through rites of passage seen as liminal experiences ideological landscape on the Sayhuite stone, the Tetecaca terrace
during which they lost their prior place and arrived at the new position. landscape in Cusco, and animal carvings at Laqo in Cusco and Pumaurqu.
Thus liminality and communitas well reflect the experiences of pilgrims. None of them are situated in the Titicaca Basin (cf. Christie 2016).

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 Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

missionary efforts to destroy them, and accumulated rich archaeologically investigated the notion of wak’a and it
information on sites and in sources. Arriving in the New is clear that Inka rock sculptures were manifestations of
World with a solidly European Christian worldview and not wak’as (Van de Guchte 1999; Bray 2015a; Urton 2015,
speaking the indigenous languages Quechua and Aymara, 157–159).
they experienced great difficulty in contextualizing what
indigenous consultants shared with them. Thus Spanish In the earliest references written in the latter half of the
reports about wak’as contain many misunderstandings. sixteenth century, a wak’a is described as an idol, statue,
Since about 2000, scholars have rigorously analyzed and or image, or as an oratory or shrine-like place (Betanzos,
Cieza de Leon, Pizarro, Sarmiento, Zarate cited in Bray
2015b, 5). In 1590, Martin de Murua depicted a wak’a as
rock formations turning into anthropomorphic beings (cited
in Bray 2015b, 5-6). Spanish chroniclers were confused
by the partible nature of wak’as: as solid material entities,
they could be simultaneously spatially fixed and spatially
as well as temporally distributable – a quality we will

Figure 9.4. Chucuito, straight Inka road with drainage Figure 9.5. Chucuito, Inka Uyu, stone masonry (photograph
channel toward the lake (photograph by the author, 2015). by the author, 2015).

Figure 9.6. Island of the Sun, sacred rock outcrop from which the Sun and the Inka ancestors emerged (photograph by the
author, 2012).

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Jessica Joyce Christie

return to in the discussion section. In the early seventeenth masses and volumes. This implies that the technique of
century, Garcilaso de la Vega (cited in Bray 2015b, 7) carving out stone constitutes a form of interrogation into
provided a long list of objects which could be wak’a or a the rocky substance; we will return to this point later on.
“sacred thing”. Most importantly, Garcilaso explained that
the Inka did not call them wak’as because they worshiped This contribution will interrogate relations between these
them like gods but rather because wak’as provided benefits rock art niches and the Inka, the local Lupaqa people, as well
for the community. This is the earliest indication that as specific landscape features. I posit that the high visibility
wak’as have agency. Recent research has been focusing of these large carvings and of the lake created geopolitical
on the materiality and agency of wak’as within a native as well as ontological networks between humans and
Andean ontology that privileges a relational perspective landscape features, always present in the daily movements
(Bray 2015a; Jennings and Swenson 2018). Wak’as were of local people, which connected the present with the past
able to speak, hear, and communicate – among themselves along various lines of evidence, and which explain local
and with human persons; they could further own property residents’ ongoing engagement with the rock art.
and land. In sum, wak’as are not representations of
something else but animated active agents in themselves. 9.2. The rock art sites
They have their personalities, can own physical properties,
grant or deny favors, and lose their powers. Thus, when On the Kollasuyu road in the southern Titicaca Basin, the
selecting, carving, and interacting with rock art, the Inka Bebedero complex is one outcrop sculpted in the geometric
engaged with non-human beings. Inka style (Figure 9.7). It is a carved sandstone ridge
located about 8 km north of Juli and on the west side of the
The stone substance itself was part of the Andean-wide road. Here the modern road and the Inka Kollasuyu road
mountain setting towering in many snow-covered peaks/ closely overlap (Hyslop 1984, 123). The carvings consist
nevados whom the Inka revered as potent ancestors. Most of vertical and horizontal cuts forming shallow planes
of the animating force of Inka rock art was channeled and seats, a stairway leading to the top of the rock, and
through these mountain beings. The compelling work of a thin vertical channel after which the outcrop is named
Peter Gose (2018) has shown that the ontological qualities – bebedero meaning drinking trough. The tower on top is
of mountains were not timeless but shifted over time, a of recent date. One seat is conspicuously larger, so that
point that will become relevant in the discussion. Into it would accommodate multiple individuals and directly
the eighteenth century, ancestors and their mummies faces the road; the carved channel descends nearby.
constituted the active animating agents in the Andean
landscape. Mountains would contain the ancestors’ places Bebedero is mentioned in historical documents: Ephraim
of emergence (paqarinas) and return, i.e. tombs, and could George Squier, a self-educated American traveler in the
be shaped by them physically as well as conceptually. As nineteenth century, was told that the sculpted seats were
pressures from the Spanish campaigns to eradicate idolatry, known as the Inka’s Chair, a resting-place of the Inka on
including ancestral mummy cults, intensified, Andean his travels and pilgrimages, where local people paid their
people replaced mummies with the actual mountain beings respects to him and brought him chicha (Andean fermented
as cosmological animators. maize beer) (Arkush 2005, 241, n. 7). In 1928, Alberto
Cuentas wrote that some of his consultants believed
Spanish writers have documented human interactions with that Bebedero was the place where the Inka and Lupaqa
certain wak’as, from which we may cautiously derive first celebrated their alliance with chicha (Arkush 2005,
interactions with rock art by analogy. For example, Cobo 241, n. 7).
and Ramos Gavilán (1887; 1988 [1621]) describe how the
Inka dressed the rock sanctuary on the Island of the Sun
in gold plates on the side facing the plaza and with the
finest tapestry cloth (qumpi) on the side facing the lake.
By analogy only, it is possible to imagine the sites with
the niches (under discussion) as having been decorated
and dressed in similar ways. Direct written references are
lacking.

This contribution discusses a less common type of Inka

rock art in the form of large niches cut into bedrock walls
near the Kollasuyu road in the southern Lake Titicaca
Basin. While the Inka included a few niches at rock art
sites with predominant seats, steps, and platforms (for
example, Laqo in the eastern hills above Cusco), the sites
under discussion here only display large-sized niches. The
techniques of carving out niches and shaping steps and
platforms from the bedrock with vertical and horizontal Figure 9.7. Bebedero carved rock outcrop (adapted from
cuts employ opposing notions of positive and negative Arkush 2005, 228, fig. 14.16).

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 Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

I concur with Arkush (2005, 227–229) that this is the kind straight line. A local woman told me that the name of this
of tampu (way station on Inka roads) with wak’a we would site is Incanatawi (personal communication 2015).
expect to find on an Inka state pilgrimage road: the vertical
and horizontal cuts shaped the outcrop into a wak’a in a Kenko/Incanatawi includes a ceremonial sector, consisting
visual language that reflected the presence of the Inka. The of thin walkways and niches carved into a cliff face,
monumental seat would have served as seating area for as well as four distinct Inka period habitation sectors
elites who traveled the road and would have held offerings (Areas 1–4) (Arkush 2005, 230–236) (Figure 9.10). Four
in ongoing interactions with the wak’a and the Inka. Vital walkways are formed and retained by walls of fine, Inka-
liquids, such as chicha, would have been poured down style cellular coursed masonry clinging to the cliff face,
the channel in related engagements with the wak’a and about 10 m above the level of the plains (Figure 9.11).
Pachamama, the Earth. The masonry is extremely fine and regular for the region,
with square blocks measuring approximately 35–45 cm
The second carving of interest is Altarani, situated about 2 in width and length. This cellular coursed masonry is a
km away. Unlike Bebedero, it is found at a distance away strong indicator of direct Inka supervision. The walkways
from the modern and assumed Inka road. It is found on are accessed by passing through the fields behind the
undulating rock outcroppings with a cliff face into which front ridge. A set of steps cut into the rock leads through
a 7 m tall and 8 m wide vertical plane has been carved a gap in the ridge to its northeast face, where the main
(Figures 9.8, 9.9). This central section is outlined by one walkway begins. The latter has three raised sections or
deep groove on each side and another groove on top, the platforms progressively increasing in length. Three large
upper edge of which projects out, giving the impression of rectangular niches are carved into the rock face along the
an unfinished ‘lintel’ or thick T-shape. In the middle of the walkway. One of them is incomplete; in addition, two
outlined section is a carved blind doorway measuring 1.9 groups of hollows on the rock face suggest early stages
x 1.1 m in a rough T-shape. Two smaller and less defined of two more unfinished niches (Figure 9.12). Arkush
planes flank this central section, extending the total width (2005, 232) did not find ceramics or lithic artifacts on
of the carving to 14 m. The side plane on the right (when the walkways. She and colleagues did encounter locally
facing the carving) appears unfinished suggesting that the produced ceramics from domestic occupations and stone
site was abandoned while the carvings were in process agricultural tools on the surface of habitation sectors
(Stanish 2003, 274, 305, n. 12). In 1998, Elizabeth Arkush 2–4. Area 1 stands out by a dense scatter of fine Inka
(2005, 229) found one additional feature: a low rock ceramics. The stairway to enter the ceremonial sector is
outcrop to the east with abstract signs of small holes or accessed through this area. One of Arkush’s (2005, 234)
cupules. consultants mentioned a stone gateway which stood at the
beginning of the Inka stairs. Gateways were common
Arkush (2005, 229) and Stanish et al. (2005) conclude that features in Inka architecture to restrict access and mark
the Altarani carving is Late Horizon or Inka in date. This spatial boundaries; for example, Cobo and Ramos describe
conclusion is based primarily on the visual resemblance three gateways at the final destination of the pilgrimage
to the geometric Inka carving style at Bebedero and in the to the Island of the Sun as pilgrims approached the
heartland. There are no associated material artifacts or sanctuary.
radiocarbon dates which might confirm that Altarani was
sculpted by the Inka. Other researchers, like Hyslop, have I concur with Arkush (2005, 236) that two factors were
offered different interpretations (cited by Stanish 2003, important to the Inka in this site selection:
274). I treat Altarani as one monumental local example of
rock art which was clearly worked on by the Inka but may 1. The plain view of Lake Titicaca where the Islands of
have had earlier versions associated with the cliff face. the Sun and Moon as the region of their origins are
The Inka commonly co-opted local wak’as in conquered situated.
territories by cultivating them into a geometric Inka-style 2. The geology of the cliff, which facilitated the
order. Local wak’as were typically of modest size and had construction of the walkways and niches, could have
limited modifications or carvings (with the exception of functioned as a stage background for political and
the Yaya-Mama religious tradition c. 500 BC to AD 200). ritual performances clearly visible from the fields
The lack of precise data invites new inquiry regarding the below (Area 4). This setting combined restricted elite
case-specific interactions between the Inka, the Lupaqa, access to the stage with a larger public viewing area.
local wak’as, stone formations, the road, and the lake (see
below). Location, place, and material data suggest that Kenko
has been a small settlement of farmers from the Late
The third carved rock site is known as Kenko. It is Intermediate Period until today. The older, possibly Late
located in the environs of Puno, Comunidad Ccopamaya, Intermediate Period occupation has been documented in
Parcialidad Kencco, about 1 km from the shores of Lake Areas 2 and 3 behind the ceremonial cliff, on terraced
Titicaca, on the eastern edge of a range of hills east of strips of land featuring two simple tomb structures. The
the plains between Acora and Ilave. It is reached by Inka turned the cliff face into an elite wak’a of the state
taking an unpaved 15 km lake detour from the modern marked by monumental rock art and coursed masonry
and presumed Inka road which links Acora and Ilave in a with a public viewing area (see Figure 9.10).

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Jessica Joyce Christie

Figure 9.8. Altarani carved rock outcrop, full view (photograph by the author, 2015).

9.3. Discussion

9.3.1. Rock art among the Lupaqa and Inka

I will now analyze more closely the historical layers of

engagements and interactions between human agents, the
Inka and Lupaqa, the beings of rock formations, stone
wak’as, the earth and the waters of the lake as well as the
Kollasuyu road and local foot trails. How did wak’as come
to be located in these specific places? How did they change
the social relations between people, the land, and natural
features? In which ways did notions of movement and
direction alter geopolitical networks? What was the role
of visibility, permanence versus transiency in reference to
rock art and within the cultural landscape? I will approach
this inquiry through the tropes of ‘Rock and Rule’ and
‘Rock and Reciprocity’4 (sensu Dean 2010, 65–142).

Bebedero clearly falls under ‘Rock and Rule’: it is

positioned on the Kollasuyu road, and its carved seat and

4
‘Rock and Rule’ explores how the Inka culture of stone supported the
agenda as well as the sense of order of the expanding state (Dean 2010,
103). ‘Rock and Reciprocity’ analyzes the reciprocal and complementary
relationship the Inka maintained with the natural environment through stone.
Figure 9.9. Altarani, smaller niche with central hole inside In such relationships, rock became a vehicle for and a visual articulation of
the monumental niche (photograph by the author, 2015). communication between the Inka and their territory (Dean 2010, 65)

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 Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

platforms suggest practical functions as a rest station and

area for depositing cargo. The carved channel would have
served for pouring liquids in libation rituals. In essence,
Bebedero was a state-sponsored wak’a on the Inka
pilgrimage route along the Kollasuyu road. Its geometric
rock art signaled the presence of the Inka state. It was truly
intrusive in the sense that the Inka made a new wak’a;
there is no evidence of an earlier empowered site.

Bebedero flanks the road, and its natural rock setting

aligns with the northwest to southeast flow of the road.
The primary reason for selecting this outcrop and turning
it into a wak’a was surely the road context. The carving
process would have been initiated by Inka officials. Even
though the rock surface is quite weathered today, the
geometry of the seats is clearly recognizable. This style
follows Cusco models. The actual carvers were likely local
Lupaqa artisans who worked under Inka supervision. They
would also have known nearer models in the stonework
of Tiwanaku. Tiwanaku was the great Middle Horizon
center (ca. AD 500–1100) near the southern end of Lake
Titicaca; its monumental buildings exhibit ashlar masonry
of large cut stone blocks and surfaces with geometric
sculptural decoration. Tiwanaku stonework was admired
and imitated by the Inka. The degree to which Tiwanaku
influenced Inka rock art and the specific examples in the
Figure 9.10. Kenko, distant view and site plan (adapted Titicaca Basin under discussion is difficult to extrapolate
from Arkush 2005, 231, fig. 14.20). from archaeology and ethnography.

Figure 9.11. Kenko, walkways supported by Inka coursed masonry and one of the complete niches (photograph by the author,
2015).

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Jessica Joyce Christie

Figure 9.12. Kenko, walkway retained by coursed masonry and two incomplete niches below (photograph by the author, 2015).

The contexts of Altarani and Kenko are different. They We must caution that the rock art at Altarani was most
are situated near but not on the Kollasuyu road. Carved likely made not by Inka artisans alone. Tiwanaku influence
niches are found in the Inka heartland near Cusco but not probably played a role but the exact process cannot be
of the monumental size of Altarani nor of the hollowed- specified beyond visual resemblances. The cliff at Altarani
out concave form at Kenko. They will be discussed along may well have been an ancient wak’a long before the
the lines of Dean’s (2010, 65–102) perspective of ‘Rocks Inka and Spanish invasions and was modified by local
and Reciprocity’. In Inka ontology of the landscape, groups over time, including the Lupaqa in the Altiplano/
rock art manifested ayni, a relationship of reciprocity, Late Intermediate Period. The small rock outcrop covered
of receiving and taking, between the Inka and wak’as of by cupules found by Arkush (see above) is one instance
mountainous outcrops. Rock art visualized the borderline of such ongoing site modifications. These physical
of engagement where the Inka left markings in the natural modifications were accompanied by social activities and
surfaces of stone. Rock art, as well as architecture and continuing engagements with the other-than-human social
agricultural terraces, were materializations of the Inka agents in landscape features. Without doubt, the Inka left
civilizing mission, bestowed on them by the Sun in Lake the most forceful and geometric impressions on the cliff
Titicaca (as discussed above), to bring the world under a face.
new order.
Kenko might be seen as another tour-de-force impact
The specific example of Altarani is all monumental, on the mountain; there is, however, a greater play of
worked stone surface. Here, the Inka or possibly earlier reciprocity through gradations and levels of stonework. It
craftsmen affiliated with Tiwanaku, modified the cliff is an integrated outcrop or tiqsirumi (Dean 2010, 88–89)
aggressively and on a monumental scale. A notion of where the architectural and sculpted meet the natural
complementary reciprocity is minimal. The Inka seem to environments, and where tamed and untamed nature
have taken the land with great force. In a manner similar to touch. Backed by a Quechua oral narrative, Dean (2010,
Wiraqocha, who caused the mountain Kinsich’ata to erupt 89) views Inka structures that incorporate living rock as
as volcano (see above), the Inka altered the face of the sites of marriage between the Inka and the Earth/rock
mountain at Altarani. made visible, and structures that grow from the outcrop

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 Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

as children of this union. Taking this perspective, Inka Unlike the Pacific Ocean on the north coast (see
presence at Kenko would have been fruitful in the sense Weismantel 2018), Lake Titicaca appears calm, glassy,
of increasing resources. This is partly confirmed by the and transparent most of the time, at least in the dry season.
agricultural land which still stretches between the Kenko But winds can build up later in the day and at night and
cliffs and the lakeside. churn the waters. I myself have experienced waves so
high that they threaten to capsize the small transport
Further, the rock art of carved niches at Altarani and Kenko motor boats.
was sculpted into tall and fairly smooth cliff walls facing
Lake Titicaca, the empowered region of origins of the Sun With regard to the line of sight from west to east, any ritual
and Moon, of the Inka dynasty, and Andean peoples in activities would have been performed communications
general. A clear link of visibility was established between between the rock art niches and the lake. In the broader
the rock art and the lake; this view reached beyond the context of the road and movement running from northwest
road to the watery horizon line of these ancestral waters to southeast, I argue that these rock art sites functioned as
(Figure 9.13). At about 3810 m a.s.l., Lake Titicaca is the a static counterpoint to the fluid traffic in the landscape of
highest large lake in the world. Local residents as well as motion of the Kollasuyu road into which Bebedero, on the
visitors have surely felt humbled by its size, extension, and other hand, was integrated. At Altarani and Kenko, time
resources (freshwater fish, totora reed along the southern pauses and is reflected in the ancestral past of the Lake
shores, navigable to large vessels). The lake occupies the Titicaca waters.
low point of the Andean Altiplano and is fed by the rivers,
glaciers, and runoff from the higher altitude mountains. In 9.3.2. Rock art today
the Andean hydrological cycle, it exists as collector of the
life-giving liquids the mountain beings dispense. Out of Ethnographic consultations in 2015 showed an ongoing
these waters on the Islands of the Sun and Moon, the Sun, engagement by the local people, who are Lupaqa
the Inka and all human ancestors first emerged and came descendants, with the Altarani rock art niches known as
into being. Wilka Uta or Puerta del Diablo. In early August 2015, I
asked a family who had prayed at the central niche why
In a provocative article, Mary Weismantel (2018) discusses this place was worthy of worship. They told me that during
the element of water as an agentive wak’a with whom Inka times, the state extracted tribute all over the region. A
people on the north coast of Peru wrestled during the group of wise men or priests wanted to protect their disk
periodic, fertilizing as well as destructive, El Nino floods. of knowledge. They inserted it into the center hole of the
Deriving her evidence from the authoritative Huarochiri carved niche. This is why the rock wall emits energy and
manuscript, full of rich stories about powerful, other-than- wisdom (personal communication with local family, 2015)
human actors who could take on multiple bodily forms, (Figures 9.9, 9.14).
she reasons that the element of water could also become
a wak’a in the sense of the Huarochiri manuscript. Very Other more popular stories view the carved niche as a door
importantly, in its context, the primary form of human- which can swallow up people, a place of very bad energy.
wak’a relation is affinal (Weismantel 2018, 190). On For example, a band of musicians was once traveling
one level, the relation between the Inka and the Sacred through the countryside. A man on horseback asked them
Rock on the Island of the Sun was consanguineal: Inka to play for his fiesta and promised to pay them. They
dynastic ancestors were called forth by the Sun from rock agreed and he opened the door at the Wilka Uta niche. All
openings; similar empowered rock outcrops were known but one entered. This one man had to go pee and when he
in the heartland. On a second level, the Sacred Rock and wanted to follow, the door was shut with stone. He was
its island are floating on Lake Titicaca, a waterbody of a very sad and looked for his friends but he could never find
size and vastness unknown in the heartland. The Inka had them again (shared by my driver Juan who had heard this
to enter into taming relations with this unknown wak’a story from local people).
to be reckoned with. Relating back to the Huarochiri
manuscript, such a relation would have been affinal. Its The first narrative binds the Inka past to the present
tales speak of unpredictable, shape-shifting, male social and constructs Altarani/Wilka Uta as a place of Lupaqa
beings who enter into marriage with human communities. resistance against the Inka. The rock art, modified and/
Their contributions can be fruitful as well as destructive. or carved by the Inka, is turned into the receptacle of
The concept of marriage and need to reproduce brings Lupaqa traditional wisdom which is hidden from Inka
potentially dangerous strangers into the heart of the eyes but continues to be accessed today. Its power and
family. In the Huarochiri document, conquest is seen energy are timeless. Thus Altarani/Wilka Uta started out
parallel to marriage as powerful masculine wak’as from as a wak’a selected by the Inka. In a secondary relational
the highlands take less-powerful lowland human women network, the Lupaqa made the niche their active guardian
(Weismantel 2018, 191–192). The Inka conquest of the of traditional wisdom who continues to interact with local
Titicaca Basin might be added as another parallel when the people through time. While Inka occupation has dissolved,
Inka aimed to enter into the geopolitical wak’a network of this Lupaqa wak’a dispenses help to an ethnic rural,
the region as affines. Ritual negotiations of this nature may impoverished minority in the modern nation state of Peru
have been performed in front of the rock art niches. (Figure 9.15).

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Jessica Joyce Christie

Figure 9.13. Kenko, view toward Lake Titicaca (photograph by the author, 2015).

Figure 9.14. Altarani, family praying at the niches (photograph by the author, 2015).

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 Rock Art on the Inka Pilgrimage Route in the Titicaca Basin

Tiwanaku, and far away regions in the southeast of the

Inka empire. Bebedero was carved in the geometric
style of the heartland to serve as a tampu/rest station
on this vital transportation artery. Altarani and Kenko,
on the other hand, lie outside this imperial landscape of
motion. The Inka modified and/or carved them as rock art
wak’as directed to the local Lupaqa people and to Lake
Titicaca. I have documented how Altarani/Wilka Uta has
been re-appropriated and redefined by the Lupaqa as a
place of resistance and local wisdom which continues to
be consulted today. Other consultations show that local
people view the niches at Kenko (and likely Altarani) as
eyes of the Inka who watches over them and out on the
lake.

Referring back to Gose (2018) and Sillar (2018), the Inka

came with the force and power of Wiraqocha capable of
altering mountains and cliff faces. Local residents today,
on the other hand, view cliffs, peaks and mountain ridges
as apus or empowered beings per se or in themselves
to whom they bring their modest gifts and offerings to
petition for their wellbeing.
Figure 9.15. Altarani, traditional offering of three coca
leaves (photograph by the author, 2015). As a final point, Bebedero, Altarani, and Kenko in their
landscape of motion can be brought in perspective through
comparison with a fascinating study of rock art in southern
Peru by Justin Jennings et al. (2018). The authors track
Kenko might have been seen as an affiliate wak’a or a petroglyphs, geoglyphs, cairns, painted cobbles, and
partitive aspect of Altarani/Wilka Uta. Another quality architecture to trace human movement through the Ocona,
of wak’as is that they are not persons in the familiar Majes, and Sihuas valleys up through the Pacific Piedmont
sense of Western individuals but rather multi-authored, into the Cordillera Negra, following a west-east direction.
distributed, pluralistic agents defined on the basis of what Up-valley travel is intersected by north-south trails which
they do rather than how they appear (Bray 2015b, 10). I run across the Pacific Piedmont pampa. Many of the rock
have no ethnographic consultations with residents in the art as well as larger sites are found at such intersections.
Comunidad Ccopamaya to confirm this. Jennings et al. (2018, 417) place the trail network and
accompanying rock art under the pan-Andean umbrella
Nevertheless, one woman who lives in one of the houses of circulating life forces kept in motion by the moral
below the Kenko cliffs clearly said that the name of the site imperative of reciprocity between kin and ethnic groups
is Incanatawi. This term may well contain the Quechua and different ecological zones as well as by the notion of
word nawi referring to the ‘eyes’ and ‘vision’ (see above). a proper cosmological order maintained through the flow
I think this reinforces the assumption that local residents of goods, shaped during the Late Intermediate Period. As
look up to the niches and view them as eyes of the Inka we have seen, Inka rock art in the Titicaca Basin was not
who watches over them and overlooks the lake. part of a steady, circulatory model of life forces. Rather,
movement was very much one-directional and state-driven
9.4. Conclusions from Cusco to the southeast, following an agenda of
conquest and expansion. At the same time, though, there
I have sketched out the rich and multi-layered ontological was ideological movement, the spread of ideas, identities,
network which connected the Inka with the Lupaqa people and validation, from the sites of origin in Lake Titicaca
and their present descendants, the heartland of Cusco back to the heartland. Inka rock art played its role in both
with the Lake and Basin of Titicaca, and their other- directions of movement.
than-human social agents present in the mountains, stony
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 Contributors

Ana M. S. Bettencourt is Professor with a habilitation and projects related to tourism and cultural heritage. From
degree in prehistoric archaeology and Director of the PhD 2005 to 2021, she worked as a museum senior technician
programme in archaeology at the University of Minho, in Sociedade Martins Sarmento, Guimarães, Portugal.
Braga, Portugal. She has been invited to lecture at several
foreign universities in, among others, Spain and France. Paz Casanova is an independent conservator-restorer in
Her main research interests are: prehistoric burial contexts Chile. She received her BS in Arts from the Pontificia
and practices, rock art and metallurgy and mining in the Universidad Católica de Chile in 1998, and finalised
Iberian Peninsula. She published numerous books, book a postgraduate specialisation in Cultural Heritage
chapters and articles on these subjects, and developed, as Conservation-Restoration from the Universidad de Chile
a principal investigator or researcher, several projects with in 2002. In 2019, she also obtained an MS degree in
international funding. Virtual Heritage from the Universidad de Alicante, Spain.
Currently, she works in the management and conservation
Luis Briones † (19 December 1939 – 17 February 2021). of archaeological collections and sites in northern Chile.
An art professor and painter, Luis Briones dedicated his Her main research and professional field of work focuses
life to the study, preservation and dissemination of the on 3D documentation and conservation-restoration of
geoglyphs of northern Chile. In his explorations throughout rock art sites. In addition, she has also collaborated in
the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, he discovered and management plans for cultural heritage, such as the
recorded hundreds of geoglyphs, analysing them from an Chinchorro Culture settlements and geoglyphs.
artistic and spatial perspective, especially in relation to
pre-Columbian routes and trails. He led the preservation, In her work, Jessica Joyce Christie has always been
enhancement and restoration programme of geoglyphs multi-disciplinary approaching visual culture through
in northern Chile during the 1970s and 1980s and methodologies from art history, archaeology, and
published several scientific, education and public outreach anthropology. Rock art precisely fits into this niche as
books and articles on geoglyphs and caravan routes. it materializes visual form in landscape settings. Her
In recognition of his contribution to cultural heritage Master’s thesis at the University of Texas in Austin, USA,
conservation, he received numerous awards, including the explored the Pecos pictographs in West Texas. On the
Award for the Conservation of Chilean Cultural Heritage doctoral level, her focus shifted toward the ancient Maya
in 2012. Formerly, he was professor at the Departamento and performance space of their Period Ending ceremonies.
de Antropología, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile. During her career as professor at East Carolina University
After retiring, he was still engaged in research until the (Greenville, USA), she has published about Maya palaces
last day of his life, before passing away suddenly. As was and elite residences. Since 2009, she has turned toward
his wish, his ashes are scattered on the desert hillsides landscape studies. Her book Memory Landscapes of
overlooking the geoglyphs of the Atacama Desert. the Inka Sculpted Outcrops (2016) brought Inka carved
rock complexes to life from before the Spanish invasion
Daniela Cardoso graduated in archaeology from the to the present. Whereas the sites discussed in this book
Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Portugal. In 2002, she are centered near Cusco, Jessica Christie has also been
obtained her Diplôme d’Études Approfondies (DEA) exploring related Inka rock art sites in the periphery. Her
in “Quaternaire: Géologie, Paléontolongie Humaine, current work has been shifting toward the topics raised
Préhistoire” at Institut de Paléontologie Humaine (Paris, in her new book, Earth Politics and Intangible Heritage:
France), and, in 2015, her PhD in “Quaternary Material Three Case Studies in the Americas (University Press of
and Cultures” at Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Florida, 2021), and toward Hawai`i through a similar lens.
Douro, Vila Real, Portugal. During her PhD studies, she
participated as a collaborator in the project “TEMPOAR Marta Crespo is an archaeologist specialised in
II” in the group “Quaternário e Pré-História do Centro de digital visualisation, 3D virtualisation and geospatial
Geociências (u.ID73 – FCT)”, and as a researcher in the informatics technologies in cultural heritage. Her main
projects “Natural Spaces, Architectures, Rock Carvings research interests are the development and application
and Depositions of the Late Prehistory of Western Facade of 3D surveying techniques for modelling landscapes,
of the Central-Northern Portugal: From Agencies to archaeological sites and objects. She has worked on several
Meanings – ENARDAS” and “Rota da Arte Rupestre do projects dedicated to the documentation, enhancement,
Noroeste (RAR Project Lab2PTOct2014)”. As a researcher management and dissemination of cultural heritage. Her
at the Center for Geosciences of the University of Coimbra research interests also include the use of new technologies
(CGeo) and the Landscape, Heritage and Territory for documentation, modelling and virtualisation of cultural
Laboratory (Lab2pt), she focuses her research on rock art heritage.

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Rock Art in the Landscapes of Motion

Frank Förster studied Egyptology, classical archaeology enterprise “Ergo Culture Human Traces” (ECHT). As a
and prehistoric archaeology at the University of Cologne, member of ECHT, he is responsible for the organization
Germany, where he earned his Master of Arts in 1998. In and implementation of both national and European funded
2011, he earned his PhD with a thesis on the Abu Ballas projects dedicated to the enhancement, promotion and
Trail, a Pharaonic donkey-caravan route in the Libyan management of cultural heritage sites, e.g. “Lighting of
Desert. He has worked in Egypt since 1995, participating, Four Medieval Castles in Cyprus: Pafos, Kolossi, Limassol
among others, in excavations of the German Archaeological & Larnaka” (EU Commission/Department of Antiquities
Institute in Cairo at Buto/Tell el-Fara’in (1996–1999) of Cyprus, 2016).
and at various sites in Egypt’s Western Desert, the latter
within the scope of the interdisciplinary Collaborative Pablo Mendez-Quiros is an archaeologist dedicated to
Research Centre 389 ACACIA (2002–2007). His research the study of farming communities in the Atacama Desert
interests have focused on Predynastic and Early Dynastic in South America. His main research focus is on mobility
Egypt, Pharaonic trade and economy, rock art of various and territorial articulation in the past through the analysis
periods, sports in ancient Egypt, and the archaeology of of Andean road networks. Currently, he works at the
desert roads. Between 2009 and 2015, he held a position Departamento de Prehistoria, Universidad Autónoma de
as research assistant at the University of Cologne (Wadi Barcelona, Spain.
Sura Project), and was responsible for the computer-aided
recording and analysis of the prehistoric rock art in the Indira Montt received her BA degree in archaeology
‘Cave of Beasts’ (Gilf Kebir, SW-Egypt). Since 2016, he from the Universidad de Chile, and her MA and PhD in
has been curator of the Egyptian Museum at the University anthropology from the Universidad Católica del Norte
of Bonn, Germany. and Universidad de Tarapacá, Chile. Since 2010, she
has been the head of the archaeological department of
Gernot Grube, Dr. phil., is an independent scholar, who the Museo Histórico Arqueológico de Quillota, focused
lives in Berlin and São Paulo. His university background on the management of archaeological collections and
is philosophy and computer science with main interests in the dissemination of the prehistory and cultures of
semantics and artificial intelligence. From 2001 to 2007 he central Chile. She has developed her research for more
was a member of the interdisciplinary research group “Bild than 20 years in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile,
Schrift Zahl” at the Hermann von Helmholtz Centre for participating in several projects funded by the National
Cultural Techniques at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Fund for Scientific and Technological Development
In 2011, he received a fellowship of the “Collegium for (FONDECYT). Her research interests and publications
the Advanced Study of Picture Act and Embodiment” have focused on social archaeology, corporealities and
(founded by Horst Bredekamp and John Michael Krois). embodiment in rock art, and artificially treated bodies of
Until 2018, he was associated member of the Cluster of the Chinchorro culture.
Excellence “Image Knowledge Gestaltung” at Humboldt-
Universität zu Berlin. Since 2008, his focus has been on José Moreira obtained his MA degree in Archaeology
social epistemology, symbol theories and Palaeolithic art. from the University of Minho, Braga (Portugal) in 2018.
He is currently working on an approach for a cross-cultural Since then, he has been involved in various fieldwork
view of images. A monograph on this subject entitled A activities related to commercial archaeology. Since 2020,
Cross-Cultural View of Picasso’s Guernica and its Iconic he has been a PhD scholarship holder of the Foundation
Twins is in preparation. for Science and Technology (reference no. 2020.04732.
BD) at the History Department of the University of
Giorgos Iliadis graduated from Aristotle University of Minho, Braga. His research focuses on rock art in northern
Thessaloniki in Greece, Department of Theology, Sector Portugal, particularly on podomorphs.
of Science, History and Phenomenology of Religion. In
2007, he defended his Master’s thesis entitled The figure of George H. Nash is an Associate Professor at the
the horseman in Philippi Rock Art in Eastern Macedonia Geosciences Centre of Coimbra University (u. ID73-
(Erasmus Mundus Master in Prehistoric Archaeology and FCT), Earth and Memory Institute (ITM) in Portugal.
Rock Art, IPT/UTAD – Portugal). His research is focused He has undertaken extensive fieldwork on prehistoric
on the study of prehistoric and protohistoric rock art in rock art and mobility art in Denmark, Indonesia, Israel,
northern Greece and the Aegean Sea. He has more than 10 Malaysia, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Sweden and Wales.
years experience in the development and implementation Between 1994 and 1997, he directed excavations at the
of rock art projects in the region of Eastern Macedonia La Hougue Bie passage grave in Jersey, one of Europe’s
as well as the region of Evros in northern Greece, e.g. largest Neolithic monuments, and has directed preliminary
“Prehistoric & Contemporary Interventions in the excavations at Westminster Hall, London. He has also
Landscape, Rock Art & Land Art” (Department of Fine written and edited many books on prehistoric art and
Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2012); “Rock monumentality including Status, Exchange and Mobility:
Art in the Region of Evros” (Northern Greece, 2014); Mesolithic. In addition to fieldwork and research, George
“Documenting Rock Art in the Island of Thassos, North Nash has also written and presented programmes on
Aegean Sea” (Department of Antiquities of Kavala- European rock art and contemporary graffiti for the
Thassos, 2019). He is a founding member of the social BBC. He later undertook fieldwork in Brazil and central

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 Contributors

Chile, which culminated in a co-edited volume on South Chile. He is also completing his PhD thesis in anthropology
American rock art, published by Routledge in 2018. at the Department of Anthropology, University College
George Nash is currently involved in the Origins Project London. His current research is devoted to the analysis
in the Arabian Peninsula, undertaking fieldwork in the and comparison of the rhythms of traditional and religious
United Arab Emirates and southern Jordan, mapping the dances in the central Peruvian Andes. Since 2008, his
movement of early modern humans. research interests have focused on the production of
material culture and the anthropology of art, as well as on
Paweł Lech Polkowski, PhD (2015, University of Poznań, aspects of time, techniques and landscapes in pre-Hispanic
Poland), is in charge of the Rock Art Unit at the Poznań South America. He has participated in the development
Archaeological Museum and a researcher at the Polish and organization of international and national conferences,
Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of and in the edition of special volumes devoted to the study
Warsaw. He is Director of the Dakhleh Oasis Project and of rock art.
its Petroglyph Unit. He specialises in Egyptian and Nubian
rock art studies, as well as in archaeological theory. Paweł
L. Polkowski is currently carrying out a project financed
by the Polish National Science Centre, entitled “Rocks
in Motion. Research on the Dakhleh Oasis petroglyphs
in the context of paths, roads, and mobility” (2016/23/D/
HS3/00805). He is also a member of the University of
Warsaw mission to Miseeda in the Third Nile Cataract
region in Sudan. His next publication is a forthcoming
edited volume entitled Stone Canvas: Towards a better
integration of ‘rock art’ and ‘graffiti’ studies in Egypt and
Sudan (Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale).

Thibault Saintenoy investigates past territorial dynamics

in the Andean area, with an emphasis on the history of
socio-ecological systems and landscapes in mountainous
regions. His interests also lie in uses of the past today in
the field of cultural heritage.

Kate E. Sharpe is a researcher at Durham University,

England. Her work has three key strands which often
overlap: investigating the use of stone in prehistoric Britain
– including megaliths, stone tools and, primarily, rock
art; using digital heritage to improve understanding and
awareness of the ancient past; and copy-editing and writing
about archaeology. Her doctoral dissertation, the starting
point for her chapter in this volume, explored the rock art
of Cumbria in northern England, and its relationships both
with the landscape and with other monuments.

Daniela Valenzuela has degrees in archaeology (BA,

Universidad de Chile, 2001) and anthropology (MA,
Universidad de Tarapacá, 2007; PhD, Universidad
Católica del Norte, 2013). She is currently a full professor
at the Universidad de Tarapacá in Arica (Chile). She has
developed research on rock art, covering subjects such as
style, chronology and the social contexts of production
and use of art. In recent years, she has focused her
research on the study of human and animal interactions
in the past, bringing together different lines of evidence
from an interdisciplinary perspective. Results of her past
and ongoing studies, funded by national and international
agencies, have been published in scientific journals in
collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of senior and
junior researchers, as well as students.

Francisco Vergara Murua is currently lecturer at the

School of Archaeology of the Universidad Austral de

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BAR INTERNATIONAL SE RIE S 3092

‘This is new data in an emerging and promising field of research.

The issues and case studies are effectively placed within a wider
theoretical and geographic context. I particularly like the
connection between place, road and pathways.’
Professor Claire Smith, Flinders University

‘This intriguing anthology investigates one of the many paradoxes of

rock art: how thorough analyses of emplaced artworks in the landscape
can be used to reveal insights into people’s movements. It presents an
enjoyable global exploration that will take the reader on an odyssey
into people’s mindscapes. It’s a must-read!’
Professor Joakim Goldhahn, University of Western Australia

This volume presents a collection of papers focusing on the dynamic relationship

between rock art, movement and the surrounding landscape. The contributors offer
a wide range of theoretical perspectives from broad geographical and chronological
contexts, encompassing case studies from three continents, and spanning a timeline
from the European Palaeolithic to the Colonial Period of South America. The diverse
approaches and contexts converge over themes of movement, motion and mobility –
all inherent to rock art and its production.

Paweł L. Polkowski (PhD 2015, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań) leads the
Rock Art Unit in the Poznań Archaeological Museum and is a researcher at the
University of Warsaw, Poland. He is director of the Dakhleh Oasis Project and its
Petroglyph Unit. He specialises in Egyptian and Nubian rock art studies, as well as in
archaeological theory.

Frank Förster (PhD 2011, University of Cologne) is an Egyptologist currently working

as curator of the Egyptian Museum at the University of Bonn, Germany. His research
interests include Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt, pharaonic trade and economy,
rock art, sports in ancient Egypt, and the archaeology of desert roads.

Contributors: Ana M. S. Bettencourt, Luis Briones (†), Daniela Cardoso,

Paz Casanova, Jessica Joyce Christie, Marta Crespo, Frank Förster, Gernot Grube,
Giorgos Iliadis, Pablo Mendez-Quiros, Indira Montt, José Moreira,
George H. Nash, Paweł L. Polkowski, Thibault Saintenoy, Kate E. Sharpe,
Daniela Valenzuela, Francisco Vergara Murua

Printed in England