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Considering rock art as the result of human labour in a region, we discuss how the intensity of rock art intervention can be used as a proxy for understanding the human use of space in valleys of north-central Chile. This region has a long sequence of rock art production , ranging from the beginning of the late Holocene until the 18th century. Our results show variability in rock art intervention during this period, with two outstanding moments: the initial appearance of rock art and the intensification of its production after 1000 CE. Both points in time are related to major transformations in the social dynamics and use of space by its inhabitants.
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Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
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Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
KEYWORDS: Rock art – Production – Intensity of intervention – Spatial distribution – Chile
REGIONAL TRENDS IN ROCK ART
PRODUCTION ACROSS ANDEAN FOOTHILL VALLEYS
OF NORTH-CENTRAL CHILE
Andrés Troncoso, Francisca Moya, Francisca Ivanovic, Paula Urzúa,
Amalia Nuevo-Delaunay, Sebastián Grasset and César Méndez
Abstract. Considering rock art as the result of human labour in a region, we discuss how
the intensity of rock art intervention can be used as a proxy for understanding the human
use of space in valleys of north-central Chile. This region has a long sequence of rock art pro-
duction, ranging from the beginning of the late Holocene until the 18th century. Our results
show variability in rock art intervention during this period, with two outstanding moments:

points in time are related to major transformations in the social dynamics and use of space by
its inhabitants.
Introduction
The regional distribution of the archaeological

of the social life of past communities (e.g. Willey 1953;


of rock art, its distribution has been discussed within
the conformation of regional identities, the production
of landscapes and the construction of social networks
-

approaches have focused mainly on revealing how the
visual aspects of rock art were articulated with human
behaviours and social meanings, which is consistent
with the primacy of representational perspectives for
understanding this manifestation of the past (Jones

However, rock art does not refer solely and exclu-
sively to the visual. This material record results from a
spatially localised social practice that reveals a process



This perspective allows us to address how labour in-

evaluating its spatial and temporal trends considering
the logics of occupation of the territory by human com-
munities. In particular, the labour investment involved
in the elaboration of rock art can be evaluated across
time, allowing us to qualify and compare the intensity
of rock intervention on a regional scale. The intensity of
rock intervention is understood as the relative amount of
work that communities invest in producing rock art per
unit of time. It is relevant for understanding how the
unequal distribution of rock marking within a territory
varies in relation to the sociohistorical processes and


In this work, we explore how the variation in
 

intensities in the territory. For this, we studied an as-
semblage of rock art distributed in the Combarbalá (~

beginning of the late Holocene to colonial times (Tron-


hunter-gatherer communities and later by sedentary
farmers, which towards the middle of the sixteenth
century were impacted by the colonial dynamics of
the Spanish Empire.
Our results show variability in the intensity of
rock art production across time as well as in its ter-
ritorial distribution. This variation is consistent with
the changes in landscape use and preferences for
residential spaces. In this way, the presence, absence
-
stand the relationships that communities established
with their inhabited space through the act of marking


approaches, in turn, allow us to consider rock art as
a proxy-data record for
evaluating the intensity
of occupation through
time and space, as oth-
er studies have done
with sets of radiocarbon
dates, deposition rates
and artefact assemblages
(i.e. lithics, archaeofauna

others (Rick 1987; Espi-




Evaluating production
intensity through rock art
All human action va-

space; therefore, evalu-
ating its variability has
been widely discussed
in archaeology. For
this, two analytical per-
spectives have been ad-
dressed: the recurrence
 
and the kind of activities and their distribution (spa-
 
to address these aspects, ranging from furnishing
residential spaces to the distribution and frequency
of absolute dates from archaeological sites across a

In this context and as indicated by Rademaker and

dispersion in a territory are indicators of the intensity
of activities a group develops.
The relationship between rock art production and
its spatiotemporal variability has been the basis of
multiple investigations, although generally empha-
sising the frequency and visual heterogeneity of the

turn, other studies have focused on evaluating the re-
lationship between the rate of rock art production and
the occupation of a territory from biogeographic and
communicative perspectives. For this purpose, rock art
sites in a territory and their variability over time have

motifs are interpreted as indicators of the intensity or
-
tion in the territory and, therefore, are associated with
an increase or reduction in the occupational intensity of


As a result of the above, some studies have pro-
posed that spatially circumscribed spaces with large
carrying capacity present high occupational intensity
associated with higher frequency and variability of

territorial competition. Likewise, a lower intensity of
rock art spatial demarcation is associated with less

motifs, alongside the frequency of lithic artefacts and
environmental access restrictions, has been interpreted


Although these studies provide a way to address
the relationship between the occupation of a territory
and the presence of rock art, they emphasise its visual


  
of rock art production and its relationship with space
occupation as work investment indicators has not been
  
the result of a social practice that involves the appli-
cation of energy and human work discontinuously
 -
ment in rock art unfolds through operational chains




of marked rocks, techniques and images that compose
the studied archaeological record.

production intensity as the amount of work applied

work is deployed based on a production rate that can
vary within a region and ultimately be comparable in
Figure 1. Map of the study area showing the river basins under study.
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
34 35
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.

  






and their variability. However, as recognised by Fiore

in the archaeological record due to their low visibility

comparisons.
However, a feasible aspect to address at the regional
level is the intensity of rock intervention. This concept
refers to the magnitude of intervention in generating
rock art. Such an intervention is directly related to the
amount of labour and, therefore, is associated with the
intensity of production. In turn, the intensity of rock

rock markings occur in a territory and, therefore, with
the use of space by human groups. In addition, the
intensity of rock intervention could vary based on the
intervention generated by other social practices in the
environment and, therefore, could change over time.
Three analytical levels can be used to evaluate the
intensity of rock intervention

sites. This corresponds to the number of places marked
in a territory. As an eminently discontinuous spatial re-
cord, an uneven distribution indicates a concentration
of rock marking practices, work and energy in partic-
ular places, as opposed to spaces where this does not

The second level corre-
sponds to the number
of rocks marked at each
archaeological site. This
level is complemented
by the previous one and
refers to the intensity of
marking between dif-
ferent rock art sites. In
this regard, rock art sites
are concentrations of
intervened rocks that are

limits defined by the
absence of rock mark-
ings at a distance greater

last observed evidence.
Although this measure
is an arbitrary value, it
is based on the spatial
characteristics of local
rock art sites (intra-site
organisation and spatial

third level corresponds to the number of rock marking
events and how they are associated with the labour in-
vested in their manufacture (e.g. size, techniques, rock


events correspond to motifs, but on many occasions, as
in the case of rock paintings, shapes have vanished and
cannot be recognised, but paint traces can be digitally
   


it is not an approach that is feasible at a regional scale
due to the large amount of work and time involved.
Study area: characteristics of the
occupation and regional rock art
In this work, we evaluate the intensity of intervention
associated with the creation of rock art in the Choapa
and Combarbalá river basins (~31°-


Additionally, the frequency of motifs is evaluated on
this same scale. However, given the high number of



  

North-central Chile is an appropriate area for a
diachronic comparison of rock art due to the high
profusion of this type of evidence, which has been
the subject of systematic research over the last two

is characterised by a semiarid environment and is
located south of the Atacama Desert . It
shows a marked west-east altitudinal gradient; within



occupied this territory, with archaeological evidence


. Human
occupations became concentrated in valleys during the


the potential for agricultural development and have
geomorphological characteristics that create important

Local communities have carried out rock art pro-
-
facturing traditions have been suggested. The chronol-
ogy for each assemblage is based on the combination of
multiple lines of evidence, including the comparison of
rock art motifs with other material media, the spatial
association of rock art with stratigraphic deposits bear-
ing anthropogenic remains, as well as superpositions


to paintings made by mobile hunter-gatherers, and it
-
carbon dates obtained from charcoal-made paintings


results are coherent with other evidence, such as the
use of similar motifs in rock art and decorated bone

pigments and rock painting in late Holocene hunt-



pigments, red paints were made from iron oxides, and
black paints were made from charcoal and manganese


The second tradition is deep petroglyphs manu-
factured by mobile groups. These petroglyphs mostly
depict nonfigurative motifs and heads with large

-
sition of deep petroglyphs over rock paintings, as well
as visual resemblances between rock art motifs and the
 

characterised by deep grooves created by repetitive
scraping and pecking along the same lines. This implies
that each motif requires a substantial labour investment
and temporal redundancy, a choice that privileged the
re-marking of motives instead of intervening in new
Figure 2. Examples of dierent environments in the study area: (A) coastal landscape (0
– c. 200 m.a.s.l.), (B) coastal plains (c. 200 – 800 masl), (C) river valley (c. 800–1500
m.a.s.l.), (D) Andean mountain range (above 1500 m.a.s.l.).
Figure 3. Examples of rock art traditions from north-central Chile: (A) rock paintings (site Pintura de Pama, digital
image enhanced with D-Stretch, channel LRE); (B) deep petroglyphs (site Mincha); (C) shallow petroglyphs
(site Rincón de Las Chilcas-1); (D) colonial petroglyphs (site El Colihue).
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
36 37
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.

Finally, the third tradition is shallow petroglyphs.
These petroglyphs are associated with agricultural

-


-
semblage is based on the visual resemblance (motifs

decorated bone tools. Also, rock art superpositions
show shallow petroglyphs over rock paintings (as-


The groups responsible for this assemblage, known
in the archaeological literature as the Chilean Diaguita
culture, had contact with the Spanish Empire during
-
formation of this rock art tradition, for example, in the
incorporation of visual references typical of the colonial
world, such as Christian crosses, scenes of humans
riding on quadrupeds (equestrian ensemble sensu



divided into late pre-Hispanic and colonial subtypes.

associated with rapid weathering zone removal, and
unlike the previous tradition, there is no re-marking
and deepening of the motifs. This has led to the sugges-

rocks with multiple motifs rather than repeatedly
working over earlier specimens (Vergara and Troncoso

called colonial petroglyphs. The colonial subtype only
includes images associated with this period in the

of post-Hispanic contact rock art in our region. As a
result, we have excluded from our analysis more recent
rupestrian manifestations associated with Republican


The history of rock art production in this region
suggests a sequence of assemblages replacing one
another through time. Although this may come as a
rigid scheme, we have no evidence supporting the

the region. This situation contrasts with the results
obtained from other areas of north-central Chile; for
instance, , where a
longer-term hunter-gatherer rock painting tradition
extends from the beginning of late Holocene until
 
This situation can be the result of two aspects: the
lower intensity/recurrence of rock art production in our

pre-Hispanic communities in the Choapa/Combarbalá
area in comparison to other areas of north-central Chile


Material and methods
The Choapa and Combarbalá basins are among the
rock art. This
territory has been intensively investigated in recent

resource management projects, which have produced

sites and 3194 marked blocks have been recognised,

km-
tion was performed at the site and block level for each
of these assemblages, and subsequently, their spatial
frequency was evaluated in two dimensions. The north-


dimension evaluated the frequencies and distribution

altitude ranges. This variability was analysed for each
rock art assemblage to discuss the continuities and
changes that occur across time and the variations in
the intensity of rock intervention in the region.
A rock art intervention ratio was calculated con-
       -
ing events for each assemblage and the time range
         
      -
termined based on the chronology associated with
each assemblage established in the regional litera-
ture, which combines absolute and relative dating


limited because of the chronological assignment of
rock art itself and because it assumes a stable rock
marking rate across time, this procedure serves as a
comparative resource based on the concept that the
archaeological record corresponds to an average of

Results
Table 1 summarises the total number of sites and
blocks and the minimum number of recognised events
for each rock art assemblage in the area. Given that
marked sites, blocks and the minimum number of
events increase in time, there is a problem regarding
the comparability between assemblages. As such, the


Although a certain degree of loss of rock painting can

First, the study area’s large size and the research plan’s
-
search bias and taphonomy and allow the observation

Second, quantifying paint traces (eye-direct or digi-

highly damaged rock paintings. Finally, the number
of rock art sites is a solid expression of the human
intervention in a territory, reducing the impact of ta-
phonomic problems associated with the endurance of
each marking event, and increasing the probabilities
of recognising regional trends. In our case, the notable
observed between the rock art assemblages

of rock art production and transformations by human
communities in north-central Chile.
Tradition 1: rock paintings
Rock paintings made by mobile hunter-gatherer
communities of the late Holocene occur at a low fre-

area surveyed, there is one site every 43.4 km. Howev-
er, this tradition has a slightly higher representation in
the Combarbalá area, both at the block and site levels.
For Combarbalá, there is one site with paintings every
15 km.
In terms of the altitudinal gradient WE, the paintings


Similarly, intervened blocks and the minimum
number of recognised events are scarce. Considering
that the chronology associated with the paintings in the

the Christian era (Troncoso 

time span, the regional rate of rock intervention and
painting events was
age of this tradition and the friability of the paintings
-
nomic loss is undeniable.
As seen from the data, although the intensity of


 
preservation. Likewise, given that neighbour basins to
the north show more rock painting sites using similar

here are not considered a research bias.
Tradition 2: deep petroglyphs
Like rock paintings, this tradition has very low
representation. It was only recognised in the Choapa




only the Choapa basin, a site with deep petroglyphs
. These manifestations are

 
in the previous tradition, not only are sites scarce, but

events are also low.

CE has been proposed for this tradition, an interval


As in the case of paintings, we consider these results

are not the product of a research bias. The recording
methods used at the regional level are the same and
have consistently yielded promising results in recog-
nising blocks. Additionally, the technical nature of
deep petroglyphs indicates repeated marking over
the same motifs, which would lead to more intense
motifs, but fewer marked blocks across time (Vergara
Rock art tradition Combarbalá Choapa Total
Rock paintings

Sites 4 (1/15 km 5 (1/43.4 km
Rocks
marked 




(1/43.3 km
   
Deep petroglyphs

Sites   
Rocks
marked 





   
Shallow petroglyphs

Sites 33 (1/1.8 km  
Rocks
marked 


(11.8/km


  11 
 14 
Colonial petroglyphs

Sites   
Rocks
marked 




(1.1/km
   
Table 1. Quantifying rock intervention by rock art tradition (MNE = minimum number of events) in relation to years
and square kilometres.
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
38 39
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.

Tradition 3a: shallow petroglyphs
This tradition is the most recurrent in the entire
region. There is high representativeness at the level
-

-
tionship between sites and the area surveyed, with a
. At the basin scale, there
is a higher frequency of sites in Choapa (1 site every
  
However, when considering only marked blocks, the


blocks. This is common throughout the study area be-
cause, in both basins, small sites that contain between


  


variability in the intensity of rock art production in
the region. Concerning previous traditions, there is an
apparent increase in the minimum number of mark-
ing events in both areas, without particular trends for
each basin.


-
served in the middle and lower courses of these water-


most extensive sites in both basins


with the deep petroglyph tradition.
Likewise, it indicates an expansion
of rock art production at the regional


altitudinal distribution, no major

Combarbalá and Choapa basins.
Zooming in at each of the basins
shows, in the case of Choapa, that
these petroglyphs are more recurrent
in valleys such as Illapel than in the
-
veyed in each being similar. In the case

higher frequency of petroglyphs than
Pama, with similar survey areas (Fig.

-
es characterised by high agricultural
productivity within their respective
hydrographic watersheds and where
a concentration of Diaguita residential
occupations is recognised (Iribarren
1973; Castillo 1991; Troncoso 1999;

Considering the chronology as-
sociated with this rock art tradition

years was assigned to evaluate its
rate of rock intervention. There is a
noticeable increase in the rate of rock
art production relative to previous

there is no spatial coexistence with
manifestations of the two previous
traditions.
Tradition 3b: colonial petroglyphs
Petroglyphs that date to colonial
times constitute the second-most frequent assemblage.
At the site level, these are mostly concentrated in the
Choapa basin, although when considering the sur-
veyed area, their densities are similar (one site every


per km recorded in Cho-

This greater frequency in Combarbalá is also sup-

  


of the above, one aspect to highlight is that all these
sites were previously marked by the pre-Hispanic
Diaguita; therefore, the petroglyphs of the colonial era
are indicative of a purposeful marking of previously
marked spaces. This tradition shares technical aspects
and spatial distribution with the previous tradition but
-
ally, the petroglyphs of the colonial era do not share
space with paintings or deep petroglyphs.
The reduction in sites and blocks marked during
colonial times is linked to a decrease in the altitude
range of rock art because these are absent in spaces

recorded, the blocks and colonial sites are concentrated

for pre-Hispanic shallow
evaluating the distribution, it is interesting to note that
Figure 4. Regional distribution of rock art sites: (A) rock paintings; (B) deep petroglyphs; (C) shallow petroglyphs;
(D) colonial petroglyphs (site El Colihue).
Figure 5. Altitude distribution for each rock art tradition in north-central
Chile.
Figure 6. Frequency of shallow petroglyphs (Tradition 3a) across valleys of
north-central Chile.
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
40 41
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
in the Choapa basin, colonial rock art is concentrated in
the Chalinga valley and not in the Illapel valley, which
is evidenced in a greater number of sites and rocks
marked per site. In Combarbalá, this tradition is con-



rock art, they are spaces that were minorly inhabited
by the Diaguita during pre-Hispanic times, as opposed

mentioned above.
Finally, considering the extension of the colonial


production rate in contrast to that of the immediately

higher than that of rock art production of mobile
groups.
Discussion
Rock art production was a recurring and long-
term activity in north-central Chile. It spanned from
at least the beginning of the late Holocene by mobile
hunter-gatherer groups until the mid-sixteenth century
by agricultural communities subject to the rule of the

-
tion and variations in the frequency and recurrence of

a marker of the intensity of rock intervention in their
environment, comparing their rates over time. In par-
ticular, the records from the Choapa and Combarbalá

rate that are related to the forms of land use and,
therefore, serve as a proxy to understand this process.
Results obtained show a marked increase in rock
art production in association with the appearance of

increase is sudden and coincides
with important changes in the so-
cio-economic dynamics of the region,
as these communities are the first
agrarian sedentary groups (Tronco-


  
the intensity of production between
-

is evidenced not only in a greater
number of sites and blocks but also in

from the sea to the high mountain
range. The areas with the most rock
art coincide with concentrations of
residential and productive spaces

-
leys. The enhanced intensity of rock
art production and, therefore, greatest environmental


signature at the regional level. This is expressed by a
greater number of radiocarbon ages, which have been
interpreted as indicating an increase in population
.
The recurrence with which the Diaguita commu-
nities produced rock art was also projected after the
contact with the Spanish Empire. A decrease in the
performance of these practices by local communities
has been recognised as a result of the violence and de-
mise of indigenous populations as well as the control
exerted by the crown over local traditional practices


spatial trends associated with this process; however,
our study reveals two interesting aspects. First, al-
though a reduction in production is recognised, rock
art continued to be recurrent, indicating its relevance
as a social practice for these communities. Second, this
reduction co-occurs with a decrease in marking at the
altitudinal level, indicating a decrease in the range of
social action of these communities tied to the control
of the Spanish crown. In turn, petroglyph production
served as a resource for articulating the groups with
their past, using and demarcating ancestral spaces pre-

In this context, it is relevant that these petroglyphs are
not concentrated in the most productive agricultural
spaces, as was the case in pre-Hispanic times, but in
areas with a lower productive yield. Investing in such
spaces was consistent with colonial logic, as the most
productive land was used for dwelling and activities
by the Spanish crown, displacing traditional practices
-
hind these transformations, indigenous communities
deployed rock art as a resilient memory process against
the Spanish colony.
In contrast to this situation, mobile groups em-

is expressed not only in the low frequency of marked
sites and blocks but also in the fact that the marking
acts are temporally distant, in contrast to what is ob-
served for the Diaguita and colonial petroglyphs. At
the regional level, there is no apparent concentration of
rock art for these communities, except for their location
in inland spaces and, in the case of paintings, at an al-

Holocene, redundant and sustained human occupation
has been recorded in many spaces of north-central
  

had repeated occupations, both in the open air and

On the other hand, the coast has abundant shell
middens that indicate a transition towards high res-
  

greater pressure on the space, where more people co-
existed in the same territory, the context under which
rock art began. Although this stage is associated with a
low-intensity rate of rock marking, the novelty suggests

the region. In fact, at this same time, shell mounds be-
gan to be built on the coast, another space demarcation
  


the spatial trends between the northern and southern
areas, there are more sites and blocks with paintings
  -
sistent with a broader social process associated with


basin, immediately north of Combarbalá, show an
even greater number of sites and blocks with paintings


a north-south arrangement across the region. These

in the archaeological record, such as a decrease in the
frequency of manufactured bedrock mortars along the
same spatial axis .
Our results reveal two major points in the evolution
of rock art. First is the appearance of rock art as a form
of spatial intervention that occurred at the beginning
-


strongly related to changes on a broader scale. At the
-
graphic increase was associated with marked changes
in local communities’ spatial, behavioural and material
. This process has been

constraints produced by millennial droughts during
the middle Holocene 
. Coincidentally, the beginning
of the marking of space occurred in a context of de-
mographic increase and was possibly mediated by a
greater interaction between groups coexisting in the
same territory.
 -

and agricultural communities in the region. This
  -
 
the distributional trends of radiocarbon dates in the
region, indicating consolidation and demographic

. The two moments of



of the ways of relating to spaces, the resources within
spaces, and neighbouring communities. The results
obtained show coherence in the long term between the
intensity of the marking of spaces, as expressed by rock
art, and the occupation of the territory and variability
in the forms of use of space-based on altitude. This
variability is also observed in the three main rock art
traditions described herein, which do not share space
  
distributional logic at a smaller scale, an aspect that has
been recognised in another research (Troncoso 
Conclusions

involves the deployment of time, energy and labour.

record as a proxy to address the intensity of production
and intervention of space, as the number of sites and
marked rocks are the direct results of human actions
and indicators of furnishing space for inhabitation.

of producing rock art involve several factors, such as

and time invested in production. However, from our
perspective, broader indicators such as those used in
this article constitute an input to address production
processes from a regional scale and provide a large
dataset to analyse it from spatial and temporal per-
spectives.
In the case presented, meaningful trends indicate
differential rates of rock intervention across time.
There is a marked contrast between the form, type and
intensity of art associated with mobile hunter-gatherer
groups and sedentary agricultural groups. Further-
more, a contraction of this process was observed in
association with the colonial-repressive practices estab-
lished by the Spanish crown in the sixteenth century.
Our analysis recognised two crucial peaks: the
initial appearance of rock art in the region and its sub-

are consistent with population dynamics changes, as
Figure 7. Frequency of colonial petroglyphs (Tradition 3b) across valleys of
north-central Chile.
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
42 43
Rock Art Research 2023 - Volume 40, Number 1, pp. 32-44. A. TRONCOSO et al.
independent studies suggested. The initial appearance
of rock art was contemporaneous with the release of a

 and with other forms of spatial demarca-
tion, such as the appearance of bedrock mortars and
shell mounds in some bays 


of an agrarian and sedentary way of life that involved


.
Finally, an aspect that seems essential to address
from these results is that unlike other material records,
   
of a territory is a direct indicator of the process of
furnishing the space and of human transformations
of the territory. This process of conditioning a space
is related to the intensity of rock art production and
technology. As we have seen in this case, while the
Diaguita shallow petroglyphs are characterised by an
extensive intervention of the space-based on surface
engravings, earlier deep petroglyphs were based on
intensive and repeated interventions over the same
motifs. Therefore, it is necessary to continue exploring
strategies to understand and evaluate the intensity of
rock art production, considering that the technologi-
 
  
approach like the one presented here constitutes an
alternative to address this variability. Although tapho-
nomic processes always produce some noise in rock art
research, the use of a regional perspective, the improve-
ment of digital technologies and an approach centred
on the act of making rather than on motifs allows the

technological rock art assemblages. In our case, the het-
erogeneous trends recognised in the intensity of rock
art production in north-central Chile shed light on the

impact upon the territory. Through studies such as this
one, it is possible to broaden the range of questions
about rock art, addressing the representational and
semantic problem by considering aspects that allow it
to be integrated as another indicator in understanding
social, economic and historical processes.
Acknowledgments



We thank the editor and two anonymous RAR referees for
their comments and suggestions.
Prof. Andrés Troncoso,1*  Francisca Iva-
novic,3 Paula Urzúa,3 Dr Amalia Nuevo-Delaunay,4 Sebastián
Grasset54
1Departament of Anthropology, Universidad de Chile,
   
atroncos@gmail.com
SERP, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de

frmoyaca7@alumnes.ub.edu
3
 fran.ivanovic.t@
gmail.com; purzuaj@gmail.com
4   
   
amalia.nuevo@ciep.clcesar.mendez@ciep.cl
5-
  
Spain; sgrassetm@gmail.com
*Corresponding author: Prof. Andrés Troncoso, atroncos@
gmail.com
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


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
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
Quaternary International

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
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Boletín del
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
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  Cambridge
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
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amongst hunter-gatherers of the Western Desert of Aus-
In-
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
  
cazadores recolectores del litoral. Chungara
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cia, relaciones entre cambios ambientales y sociales en


Chungara
, C. and D. G. -

sintética. Chungará (Arica)
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, C. , V.  and A. 


space organization. Quaternary International
, C. and A.  
relation between human beings and shellfish in the
  
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South American contributions to world archaeology,
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-
ological contexts, chronology, and assemblages of El
Land
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

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  -
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
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Boletín del Museo
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 , A.   and O. -
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 
   
Prehistoria en Chile. Desde
sus primeros habitantes hasta los Incas
Universitaria, Santiago.
, A., F.  and J. J. 
First absolute dating of Andean hunter-gatherer rock
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art under the Spanish empire: a comparison of hunter
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Chile. Australian Archaeology
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saberes: un ensayo sobre el desarrollo de las comunidades
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Dimensiones sociales de la tecnología de
producción del arte rupestre del valle de lluta, norte de Chile.

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technology: an exploratory study of hunter gatherer and
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Rock Art Research

   
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undergraduate thesis, Universidad de Chile, Santiago.
   
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