Rupestrian representations from historical times: continuities and ruptures in southwest Chubut, Argentinean Patagonia

GUTIÉRREZ, LUCÍA ALEJANDRA; CASANUEVA, MA. LAURA; RONCO, FLORENCIA ELIANA; CASTRO ESNAL, ANALÍA; PÉREZ DE MICOU, CECILIA

Boario Terme

Congreso; 20th International Congress of Rock Art IFRAO; 2018

Centro Camuno di studi Presitorici

Casa de Piedra de Roselló (CP) is located in a ravine in southwest Chubut(Argentinean Patagonia) in an ecotonal area of steppe and forest. CP consistsof a main cave (CP1) and two shelters (CP2 and CP3) located at a higher level,all of which contain numerous rupestrian motifs executed by hunter-gatherergroups that inhabited the region. This research area, through different sourcesof information (excavation, historical documents, travelers? stories), providesevidence of the impact of European-Indigenous contact manifested in thechanges in life styles, subsistence, habitational structures, etc. However, there is a continuous tradition of occupation of the same spaces, which seems to transcend the cultural frontiers. This is reflected, for example, in the occupation of CP1 from 9000 cal yr BP to the present.The aim of this essay is to discuss the role of historical rupestrian expressions as a line of inquiry for: addressing intergroup relationships after contact and new ways of occupying and appropriating space; evaluating the continuity, rupture or neutrality of this (icono)graphic repertoire towards preexisting motifs; and integrating results of the above with local history and evidence of pre- and postcontact sites.