A SEA OF FORMS: EXPLORATION OF THE STYLISTIC VARIABILITY OF THE EL MÉDANO ROCK ART FROM THE IZCUÑA SITE, NORTHERN CHILE

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the pre-Columbian paintings of El Médano, on the Atacama desert coast in
northern Chile, have been conceived as a rock art style. New sites and research have opened the
debate about the supposed uniqueness of the style by breaking its tight geographical boundaries.
This article discusses its homogeneity and uniformity based on the study of one of these new sites,
that of Izcuña. Through two typological exercises it gives evidence of the internal diversity of
expressions and visual manifestations in the site, from which it try to stress the use of the concept
of style and think on possible alternative ways. As an epilogue, the idea of visual expression
tendency serve as a conceptual mechanism to untangle the obstacles inherited from the style