art
Rock art in Cuchimachay Cave, in the Sierra of Lima. The larger animal seems to be a pregnant camelid; the smaller ones may be yearlings Rock art that can be dated to the preceramic is found in many areas through the Andean puna of Peru. Usually the art is pictographs of camelids and human figures drawn on rocks with red color, although sometimes different colors and methods were used. Though they may appear small in photographs, some figures are more than 2 meters across.

Other Cuchimachay rock art, in this case one of the largest panels. Adult male and females seem to be represented, as well as young Surprisingly, rock art is not found in the base camps where people spent extended time in their daily lives. Most is found on the walls of hunting camps which were made in shallow rock shelters. It seems likely that this art was involved in ritual that was not appropriately conducted in a home setting. This also correlates well with the abundance of camelid-like images in the art. Sometimes the camelids appear to be accompanied by hunters, but the best preserved rock art scenes do not seem to depict hunts. Rather, the paintings seem to portray the social structure of the vicuna, and also a preoccupation with reproduction, as seen in the paintings of pregnant animals. John Rick believes that the predominance of preceramic materials in most painted shelters indicates that the art comes from this time period.

Pictographs from Cuchimachay; another large panel with similar distribution of large and small animals One issue that is often raised when trying to interpret the rock art of prehistoric people is whether or not it depicts their real experiences. This seems to be less of an issue when dealing with the art from this time in the Andean plains. There really is not a question about whether or not they really hunted camelids and this is what is usually drawn. However, greater detail really can not be assumed. For example, there is no evidence that these drawings were any sort of hunting record. Though it would be nice to learn more from these pictures, as with any form of art, this is really impossible without asking the artists.

Ornamental objects from Pachamachay Other forms of art that have been found include ornaments, rare finds in these sites. Different types of decorations include beads, masks, and other items that are do not serve a purpose for daily use. They are usually carved from rocks, but sometimes from vicuna bones and other resources that are around. The picture shows items that were found in Pachamachay from the preceramic age.

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