The Geoglyphic Art Of Atacama Desert

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Geoglyphs Art of Atacama Desert Messages, Memories and Rites of the Landscape More than 5,000 geoglyphs—prehistoric works of art placed on or worked into the landscape—have been recorded in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile over the past thirty years. A summary of these investigations appears in a paper by Luis Briones entitled “The geoglyphs of the north Chilean desert: an archaeological and artistic perspective”, published in the March 2006 issue of the journal Antiquity. The best known geoglyphs in the world are the Nazca lines, built between 200 BC and 800 AD, and located approximately 800 kilometers away in coastal Peru. The Chilean glyphs in the Atacama Desert are far more numerous and varied in style, cover a much larger region (150,000 km2 versus the 250 km2 of the Nazca lines), and were built between 600 and 1500 AD. Both the Nazca lines and the Atacama glyphs had multiple symbolic or ritual purposes; while scholars believe the Atacama glyphs additionally had a vital role in the transportation network connecting the great South American civilizations. Built and refined by several South American cultures—likely including Tiwanaku and Inca, as well as less-advanced groups—the widely varied geoglyphs are in geometric, animal and human forms, and in about fifty different types. Using artifacts and stylistic characteristics, archaeologists believe the earliest were first constructed during the Middle Period, beginning around 800 AD. The most recent may be associated with early Christian rites in the 16th century. Some geoglyphs are found in isolation, some are in panels of up to 50 figures. They are found on hillsides, pampas, and valley floors throughout the Atacama Desert; but they are always found near ancient pre-Hispanic trackways marking llama caravan routes through the difficult regions of the desert connecting the ancient people of South America.

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