Resumen

MENDEZ MELGAR, César A.. Rock Art Chaînes Opératoires: A Case Study From El Mauro, A Mountainous Valley In Semiarid Northern Chile. Intersecciones antropol. [online]. 2008, n.9, pp.145-155. ISSN 1850-373X.

Rock art production is a marginal issue in specialized discussions. Independently of the reasons for this bias in the current understanding of the subject, it is argued that an examination of production processes is crucial in order to fully account for the phenomenon. It is suggested that the elaboration of motifs is itself a communicative act, as loaded with social content as the images themselves, which have received more attention in specialized studies. This paper proposes a series of methodological procedures aimed at understanding rock art production through its production tools and recovery contexts. The study area comprises El Mauro mountain basin in semiarid northern Chile, where there is a high density of these manifestations from the late Holocene. A methodological strategy is discussed in light of the idea that every technological act is itself a social act, utilized tools are defined, and a synthetic view of the process as a chaîne opératoire is proposed.

Palabras clave : Rock art production; Lithic analysis; Semiarid North of Chile.

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