Van Hoek, M. 2011. The Chavín Controversy - Rock art from the Andean Formative Period. Oisterwijk, Holland.
Abstract
My book ‘The Chavín Controversy’, published in 2011 is now available as PDF at ResearchGate. It exclusively deals with Andean Rock Art from the Formative Period (roughly between 2000 B.C. to A.D. 0) and focuses on imagery that has been labelled ‘Chavín-style’ in the past. Yet, rock art constitutes the main body of the book.
The book begins with an extensive introduction to the subject (Chapter 1). Then follows an ‘inventory’ of more than a hundred ‘Chavín-style’ rock art images (Chapter 2 - after 2011 [up to 2020] several more images have been recorded ), while Chapter 3 offers a comprehensive analysis of the ‘Chavín Controversy’, in which I challenge the Chavín supremacy in the Andean world. I also challenge the idea that - generally speaking - ‘Chavín-style’ rock art images are of Chavín manufacture. I propose that they are much older. In order to demonstrate my points not only many rock art panels, but also architectural art (especially Sechín), textiles from the Ica Region and ceramic art support my hypotheses. For instance, I propose that one specific piece of pottery establishes a link between Chavín de Huántar and Cerro Sechín.
The book explores rock art sites from the very north of Peru to the Atacama Desert in Chile and several sites and/or rock art panels have not been published until 2011. Important sites like Cerro Mulato, Alto de la Guitarra, Palamenco and Tolón are described in detail. But also rather ‘unknown’ sites like Tomabal, Río Salinas, Río Seco de Santa Ana, Santa Rita and Bogotalla are most important when discussing the ‘Chavín Controversy’. But it proved that especially the rock art site of Chillihuay is most important when discussing the ‘Chavín Controversy’. Chillihuay is notably located many hundreds of kilometres south of Chavín de Huántar and yet features several interesting rock art images. Moreover, very specific rock art images - mainly from Jequetepeque but also from Chillihuay- demonstrate that an enigmatic process of ‘disintegration’ has taken place in ‘Chavín-style’ rock art imagery.
The book (10 x 8 inches / 25 x 20 cm - soft cover only) has been written in the English language. It has 222 pages. The text has been printed in Times New Roman - 10 points. The book has more than 86.000 words; more than 78.000 words, when not counting the Contents, the Appendices, the extensive List of Figures (captions and sources) section and the Bibliography and the like. The book has been lavishly decorated with 174 illustrations (mainly black-and-white drawings, but also including 23 colour plates), plus two Time Charts.
... Hostnig apparently never published on the site, and instead passed his images to another prolific rock art researcher, Maarten Van Hoek. Although he himself had not yet visited the site, Van Hoek published a series of articles, book chapters, and numerous notes on Chillihuay, focusing primarily on stylistic and iconographic parallels with other petroglyph sites in the Andes (most notably Van Hoek 2011, 2014. Like Chumpitaz Llerena and Rodríguez Cerró, he too assigns most of the major petroglyphs to the Formative/Early Horizon, and especially to what he defines as the "Manchay-Sechin-Cupisnique" (MSC) Style. ...
... In terms of chronology, we concur with earlier observations (Chumpitaz Llerena and Rodríguez Cerrón 2020;Van Hoek 2011, 2014 that certain motifs in the "lord" and "warrior" figures, and particularly the nearby "shaman" petroglyph in subarea West-A, may all draw from Early Horizon iconography, while the posture of the "lord" largely resembles "Staff God" representations such as in the famous agnathic being on the Raimondi Stele and other Chavin-related objects bearing iconography (see further discussion below). At the same time, Van Hoek (2018:56) points out that the "warrior" and the "lord" are seemingly armed with atlatl and spears and, citing Donald Proulx, proposes that the profile-facing stance of the "warrior" may allude to a later production date, influenced by Middle Nasca militaristic iconography (see also Carmichael 2015Carmichael , 2016, for discussion on feet position and atlatl-carrying warriors in Nasca art). ...
... In addition, we recorded at least six suspected instances of fanged agnathic iconography in Chillihuay West and East, including a partially pecked one adjacent to the example previously published by Van Hoek 14 (2014). Similar agnathic motifs to those at Chillihuay were recorded at other petroglyph sites in the region of study, particularly at the neighboring site of Caravelí ( Van Hoek 2011. Further up the coast, akin agnathic imagery appears in the petroglyph site of Tolón in the Jequetepeque Valley (Bischof 2008:129) and painted on Paracas textiles from the site of Carhua, described as "Frontal agnathic feline head with recurved ray headband and trilobe side 'whiskers' with simple fanged mouth elements" 15 (Wallace 1991:91). ...
In this article, we provide an in-depth analysis of the petroglyph site of Chillihuay, a significant archaeological complex located in southern Peru. The study examines hundreds of petroglyphs distributed along canyons and slopes in a remote mountainous region, emphasizing their historical and cultural significance within broader Andean contexts. We challenge previous interpretations focused on stylistic analysis, arguing for a more holistic understanding that integrates archaeological data with regional and intersite perspectives. Utilizing modern methods such as GPS mapping and photogrammetry, the research documents and contextualizes the petroglyphs, highlighting their connection to broader ritual and social practices over millennia. Our findings suggest that Chillihuay served as a long-term ceremonial site with possible links to other major archaeological centers in the region.
... 31 Esta nueva figura fue reportada por Martín Caipo Berrocal (2009), joven aficionado al arte y a la arqueología de su tierra natal (Ingenio). Adicionalmente, se debe hacer referencia al petroglifo del mismo estilo que se encuentra en el sitio de Huancor, en Chincha (ver Núñez, 1986;Van Hoek, 2011b;Echevarría y Mora, 2012). de Palpa. ...
... También se conocen referencias puntuales sobre algunos sitios con petroglifos en el valle de Ingenio(ver Caipo, 2009;Van Hoek, 2011b).4 El sector d corresponde al sitio que actualmente es conocido como Quebrada de la Viuda (verHostnig, 2003). ...
En este artículo se presenta el estudio de un conjunto de petroglifos del periodo Formativo de los valles de Palpa, vinculados al periodo Paracas (800-200 a.C.) y con la época de transición de Paracas a Nasca, conocida como Proto Nasca (200-1 a.C.). Asimismo, se presentan los resultados de un estudio que enfoca aspectos relacionados con su ubicación, tipología, cronología y función, así como el significado que tuvieron en el proceso cultural de la región.
... The Inventario Nacional published by Rainer Hostnig (2003: 45-46) only mentions the site and simply refers to another publication by Linares Malaga (1991-1992: 111 (2008) reported two petroglyph sites on the slopes of the same hill. They labelled the two sites, which are about 910 m apart, Chillihuay 1 and Chillihuay 2. However, because they are definitely out of sight of each other, I prefer to distinguish the two petroglyph sites: San Juan de Chorunga (previously Chillihuay 1) and Chillihuay (previously Chillihuay 2) (Van Hoek 2011a: 38, 2012). Yet, for matters of convenience I will refer to the two sites combined as Chillihuay in this study. ...
This book deals with a group of valleys in the Department of Arequipa: from Caravelí to Vítor. The book (156 pages in English with 105 numbered illustrations [and many more]) - called Formative Period Rock Art in Arequipa, Peru. An up-dated analysis of the rock art from Caravelí to Vítor - offers many, previously unpublished illustrations of rock art panels that prove beyond any doubt that there certainly is a much larger amount of Formative Period rock art imagery in this area than previously accepted, including more MSC-Style petroglyphs. The book also discusses and rejects the authority of the purported Siguas Culture, as I argue that this specific, individual culture never existed. An important but still modest role in the creation of the many rock art layers in the Study Area is by the Paracas Culture, while the Wari Culture has had only very, very little impact. Finally, the study offers a tentative, up-dated Time Scale for especially the rock art of the Majes Valley. I hope that this up-date will be useful to a large number of rock art researchers in Peru and outside Peru.
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Este libro trata de un grupo de valles en el Departamento de Arequipa: de Caravelí a Vítor. El libro (156 páginas en inglés con 105 ilustraciones numeradas [y muchas más]) - llamado Formative Period Rock Art in Arequipa, Peru. An up-dated analysis of the rock art from Caravelí to Vítor - ofrece muchas ilustraciones inéditas de paneles de arte rupestre que demuestran más allá de toda duda que ciertamente hay una cantidad mucho mayor de imágenes rupestres de Período Formativo en esta área que antes se aceptan, incluyendo más petroglifos al Estilo-MSC. El libro también discute y rechaza la autoridad de la supuesta Cultura Siguas, ya que sostengo que esta cultura individual específica nunca existió. Un papel importante pero aún modesto en la creación de las muchas manifestiones de arte rupestre en el área de estudio es por la Cultura Paracas, mientras que la Cultura Wari sólo ha tenido muy, muy poco impacto. Finalmente, el estudio ofrece una escala temporal tentativa y actualizada para especialmente el arte rupestre del Valle de Majes. Espero que esta actualización sea útil para un gran número de investigadores del arte rupestre en Perú y fuera del Perú.
This paper describes the several rock art panels recorded by us after 2012 at the rock art site of Cerro Mal Paso in the Chancay Valley of northern Peru. In addition also some other petroglyph- panels at the site have been recorded by other explorers, as well as a few petroglyph panels recorded by others beyond Cerro Mal Paso. The focus of the paper is on a rather enigmatic image, a possible anthropomorphic-zoomorphic figure (lizard or bird?), while this study also offers a tentative explanation of the anthropomorphic-zoomorphic figure.
The paper describes the petroglyph site of Cerro San Diego, north of Lima. The site has a rather unusual location. Moreover, it has some exceptional petroglyphs, for instance a large purported “eye-motif” from the Andean Formative Period.
This book was written by me to serve as a supplement to a most extensive survey of the Wari Settlement at Quilcapampa in the Sihuas Valley of Southern Peru, the results of which were published in 2021 after many years of meticulous excavation and research, which started in 2013 by the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Quilcapampa La Antigua (PIAQ). Their surveys resulted in the publication of a most informative book called: Jennings, J., W. Yépez Álvarez and S. L. Bautista (eds.). 2021. Quilcapampa. A Wari Enclave in Southern Peru. University Press of Florida (https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066783).
However, my study only deals with the rock art at Quilcapampa, which was discussed in their Chapter 3: “Making Quilcapampa: Trails, Petroglyphs, and the Creation of a Moving Place”, written by Stephen Berquist, Felipe Gonzalez-Macqueen and Justin Jennings.
Besides more general remarks about Quilcapampa rock art, I also focus on specific types of Quilcapampa petroglyphs in my book, like the “Carcancha”, the Quilcapampa Abstract Anthropomorph and in particular on the “Trophy” Head, for which I propose a purpose that differs from the generally accepted theory. The findings of the PIAQ regarding the Plaza at Quilcapampa Settlement (discussed in their Chapter 4) seem confirm my theories that Quilcapampa rock art is firmly related with Apu Ampato.
Certain rock art images prove to occur at numerous places in the world, like cupules and zigzags. In most cases this is a matter of parallel invention. However, a number of motifs may have travelled across the globe for short or even enormous distances. This study investigates the distribution of one of the enigmatic rock art features, the serrated edge and explores the possibility that this practice diffused from North America to South America (or vice versa).
In this study the image of the Majes feline and its graphical anomalies will be discussed, as well as the unexpected distribution pattern of feline imagery in the Majes Valley.
In 1951, Alberto Fuentes Llaguno and-somewhat later-Eloy Linares Málaga reported the discovery of a large collection of petroglyphs at Toro Muerto in the Majes Valley, Arequipa, Peru. One of the many petroglyphs at this site depicts a skeleton-like anthropomorph. Since then several similar images have been recorded in Arequipa rock art. This study presents the description of two new sites in Majes, both featuring an example of such a skeleton-like petroglyph that may spiritually be linked with the Sacred Mountain of Coropuna, 70 km further north. The documentation of those two new sites thus reveals new information about the symbolic spatial organization and ritual functions of the "Death Valley of the Andes". It is especially hypothesized here that the specific setting of those two new sites may indicate a physical "Road to Coropuna".
The book is available as a PDF (again only) from ResearchGate. It concerns a mainly photographic presentation of the petroglyphs at Quebrada de los Boliches, a major petroglyph site in the north of Peru, surveyed by us in 2011. The study offers a short description (including 5 maps) and briefly reviews the history of the site, while about 109 panels (on 69 boulders with petroglyphs) are illustrated in a total of 126 Figures. Accompanying this study is a short video about the rock art at Quebrada de los Boliches, stressing the fact that this endangered site should be officially protected (available at YouTube https://youtu.be/zlkZLnEZ2CM).
Besides a tour along the many examples of polycephalic biomorphs found at rock art sites across the globe, the book also offers a special Case Study involving a most specific bicephalic anthropomorphic figure from the west of North America. The book has 147 pages, including an extensive list of references and list of Figures (plus the full captions). Included are 120 numbered illustrations (colour photographs and drawings) comprising altogether 350+ illustrated examples of petroglyphs, pictographs (and even a few geoglyphs) that seem to involve polycephaly. Several other rock art examples are only mentioned; not illustrated.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.