Abstract

This paper describes rock art sites in Cerro La Silla and Cerro Pachón, two hills in the semi-arid north of Chile thought to be associated with the El Molle cultural complex of 300 BC–800 AD. The geographic and climatic conditions in this area make it propitious for observing the sky, and the rock art is adjacent to modern observatories. Analysis of the local geography, motifs, themes and orientations of these symbolically charged locations demonstrates links between the sites and cultural expression relating to observation of nature and the sky in the context of a shamanic cult of the mountains.