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Monumental snake engravings of the Orinoco River.

Riris, P., 2024. Monumental snake engravings of the Orinoco River. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology, 98 (399), 724-742.

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DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2024.55

Abstract

Rock art of the Middle and Upper Orinoco River in South America is characterised by some of the largest and most enigmatic engravings in the world, including snakes exceeding 40m in length. Here, the authors map the geographic distribution of giant snake motifs and assess the visibility of this serpentine imagery within the Orinoco landscape and Indigenous myths. Occupying prominent outcrops that were visible from great distances, the authors argue that the rock art provided physical reference points for cosmogonic myths, acting as border agents that structured the environment and were central to Indigenous placemaking along the rivers of lowland South America.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:0003-598X
Uncontrolled Keywords:South America; pre-Columbian; spatial analysis; affordance viewsheds; rock art; petroglyphs; Indigenous myth
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:39604
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:17 Apr 2024 11:49
Last Modified:06 Aug 2024 13:13

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