Graffiti, Historical Inscriptions and Prehispanic Rock Art: A Comparative Study of Different Key Sites from Argentina

RE, A.; ROMERO VILLANUEVA, G.; PODESTÁ, M. M.

Congreso; WAC-10 Tenth World Archaeological Congress; 2025

Many different behaviours underlie the production of historical inscriptions and graffiti. Hence, there has been a long-standing debate regarding the information that can be gathered through their study and what, if any, management and conservation practices should be undertaken. In this work we will address some of these issues through the comparison of three diverse case studies from different cultural contexts and geographical settings in Argentina. We select key rock art sites from the Strobel plateau in the Santa Cruz province,Barrancas-Buta Ranquil locality in Neuquén and Inca Cueva in Jujuy. In particular, we will analyse the placement of historical inscriptions/graffiti in relation to previous images. We will evaluate if they are superimposed over older images and, if so, how they are superimposed. This comparative study will allow us to identify different behaviours and attitudes towards previous rock art across different regions, mainly during the 20th century.