Prehispanic Rock Art in a Mining, Ritual and Caravan Site of the Puna de Salta: The Case of Cueva Inca Viejo in the Macro-Regional Context of the South-Central Andes

Diverse analyzes of pre-Hispanic paintings from the Cueva Inca Viejo site, Puna de Salta, are presented. In particular, a descriptive and quantitative characterization of the representations is carried out, and the first EDX results of two red pigments and one black paint on a panel of the site are...

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Autores principales: López, Gabriel, Seguí, Silvina T., Solá, Patricia
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Centro de Estudios Históricos. UA CONICET 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/comechingonia/article/view/32007
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Sumario:Diverse analyzes of pre-Hispanic paintings from the Cueva Inca Viejo site, Puna de Salta, are presented. In particular, a descriptive and quantitative characterization of the representations is carried out, and the first EDX results of two red pigments and one black paint on a panel of the site are reported. Likewise, the design patterns and themes distinguished in Cueva Inca Viejo are discussed from a macro-regional comparison with respect to similar iconographies in different contexts of the South-Central Andes. The comparative studies were suitable for examining broad-scale shared cultural transmission processes linked to caravan traffic, as reflected by the recurrence of aligned and tied camelid motifs. Another significant issue addressed in this research is related to the role of rock art as an appropriate material record to understand economic and ideological / symbolic aspects, in a site that reveals a strong link between mining activities and rituals. Finally, the evidence that allows establishing a relative chronology of the cave paintings is evaluated. Such analyzes show a certain continuity in the representation of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures from pre-Inca times to Inca expansion. However, it should be noted that the rock art of Cueva Inca Viejo presents an intense Inca impact, in the same way as has been observed from other archaeological indicators.