Petroglyphs in Context: Documenting and Interpreting the Chillihuay Archaeological Complex, Southern Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

With over 1,000 individual pictorial elements, Chillihuay is among the largest and most impressive concentration of petroglyphs in southern Peru. Carved on geologically distinct rock outcrops high above the Chorunga Valley, these anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, abstract, and geometrical designs were distributed along narrow trails and hard-to-reach canyons from the Early Horizon to colonial and modern periods. While Chillihuay was known to archaeologists since at least the 1990s, little systematic research has been conducted on the function and meaning of this enigmatic site. This presentation builds on the latest results of the Proyecto Arqueológico Corral Redondo, to consider the site in its broader chronological and cultural context. In order to better analyze and visualize individual petroglyphs and intrasite patterns, we employed traditional field methods combined with GPS documentation, 3D digital technologies such as SfM and UAV photogrammetry, and VR. Other significant patterns emerge on an interregional scale, particularly in respect to the site’s position relative to other major petroglyph concentrations such as Caravelí, Illomas, Toro Muerto, and Quilcapampa. Finally, we comment on the site’s importance to the local communities and its alarming rate of destruction by natural and human-induced factors.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36783.0