Rock art and technology. A spatio-temporal proposal from the upper basin of the Limari river, north central Chile.

Abstract

In this chapter we develop a methodological proposal to overcome the distinction between temporal and spatial dimensions in the technological study of rock art. We built a set of analytical units and variables that render visible the repetitions of technical actions and the aggregation of motifs on the blocks, tested through the analysis of a specific rock art site located along the Ponio River, in the central north of Chile. We consider the repetition of technical actions in each petroglyph and the aggregation of them per block. Bringing rhythms into the study of technology of rock art opens new pathways through which to approach a multiplicity of aspects related to how people lived and produced a spatio-temporal world.