Petroglyphs at Cerro Tunduqueral, Uspallata, Mendoza (Argentina): A Landscape Approach in a High-Altitude Desert

SERGO, FLAVIA; ZÁRATE BERNARDI, MARÍA SOL

Tunuyán, Mendoza

Conferencia; 4TH Southern Deserts Conference.; 2014

Laboratorio de Paleoecología Humana, FCEyN, UNCuyo.

Here we present the preliminary results of an ongoing study of pre Hispanic rock-art in Cerro Tunduqueral archaeological locality (Las Heras Dept., Mendoza Province, Argentina). This site presents the largest concentration of engraved rock-art of northwestern Mendoza, in a context characterized by the deposition of desert varnish in rock surfaces. Due to its position between the Andes mountain range in the west, and the Precordillera to the east, the locality is relatively isolated from incoming humid air masses from the Pacific, receiving only around 100 mm of annual precipitations. This first archaeological approach is intended in recording and systematizing the rock panels containing engravings. This has allowed adding a set of four previously unrecorded panels with rock-art. By means of graphic models, we assess the intra-site positioning of the motifs in the site. A ?landscape approach? focusing on different forms of visibility of the motifs is used. This perspective provides one means to tackle the reasons behind the location of different motifs, highlighting the existence of different communicational goals at a local scale. On the basis of this evidence, we suggest a diachronic formation of the rock-art record of this high-altitude desert.