The Construction of Social Memory in Cerro Colorado Rock Art (Córdoba, Argentina) During the Late Pre-Hispanic Period (ca. 1500–450 BP)

ANDREA RECALDE; ERICA COLQUI

Rock Art and Memory in the Transmission of Cultural Knowledge

Springer

Año: 2022; p. 171 - 194

This chapter looks at the social dynamics involved in the construction of social memory during the Late Pre-Hispanic Period (ca. 1500–450 BP) in Cerro Colorado, in the central region of Argentina. Within this context, rock art constituted one of the material and symbolic expressions from which both memory and history were constructed and redefined by the experiences lived at different levels of social interaction. The identification of motifs circulating in time and space is fundamental for this analysis since they negotiate and express a shared way of experiencing the social diversity of the surrounding world. During this study, the methodological tools deployed were based on the analysis of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures, canons, superimpositions, and colors. Their study provides clues for interpreting the materialization of the Cerro Colorado identity, and their repetition and circulation in time and space transformed them into a trace in the collective memory. The repetition of different regular or habitual social practices helped the Cerro Colorado communities to construct and negotiate social memory and identity. Residential sites, grinding areas, cultivation land, burial areas, and rock art sites are evidence of an intensely occupied and significant landscape during the Late Pre-Hispanic Period. Furthermore, rock art sites were frequently reused or revisited during this period, which made routine practices possible. Thus, both the changes and the continuities in the art repertoire helped to preserve and reinforce the links established with the local communities’ past and present.