Abstract
This paper shows preliminary results of a study on pre-Columbian iconography, the possible meaning of symbols and figures in the Likan Antai culture. Several scholars agree that societies in the highlands of the Central and South-Central Andes, such as the indigenous people who have inhabited the Atacama Desert oases, developed a worldview in which their deities and ancestors are the owners of the world’s riches. Their hypotheses about the function and purposes of petroglyphs and rock paintings depicting herds of Andean camelids and symbols on cliffs in that parched land, such as those of Alero de Taira, suggest the capacity of these images to call up the spirits to answer the people’s prayer for food and animal fertility. These iconic manifestations suggest a dialog and reciprocal exchange with divinity. In fact, a correlation is perceived between the Likan Antai rock images and the figures that they and other Andean peoples identify in the celestial vault. One of the differences between them and many other ancient cultures is that they do not see animals and symbols in constellations but in dark spaces surrounded by stars.
Presenters
Juan EdwardsProfessor, Facultad de Comunicaciones, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile Federico Aguirre
Associate Professor, Faculty of Theology, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile Enrique Vergara Leyton
Tenure professor, Facultad de Comunicaciones, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Icons, Images, Symbols, Culture, Archeology, Indigenous, Andean, Pre-Columbian
