VISIBILITY OF THE ANIMAL SPIRIT: FOOTPRINTS, CLAWS AND HOOVES IN THE ROCK ART OF NORTHERN MEXICO

Abstract

The form and content in rock art constitute an inherent unit of group thought, which includes beliefs
and symbolisms. In hunter-gatherer groups, discourse and narrative are visualized, among other
ways, through rock iconography being the figure of fauna one of the most representative. The
identification of the animals, by these groups, was essential for their survival that is reflected in the
representation of the fauna, either realistically but also through specific parts, footprints, claws or
hooves selective elements that would make visible the spirit essence of the animal, as codes or
metonymic signs that would respond to a synthesis of the narrative. Not everything is revealed as
evident in the rock art panel. The challenge of these lines is in direction of recognizing these figures
as builders of narrative shared by various groups of hunter-gatherers in northern Mexico.