Toro Muerto, one of the most notable repositories of petroglyphs in the world, is hidden in a ravine just 160 kilometers northwest of the city of Arequipa, heading toward Cotahuasi.
Petroglyphs are carvings on rock made by the hand of man and were a form of communication through symbols, prior to the invention of writing.
Petroglyphs have been dated to 10,000 BC, and can still be found in contemporary locations.
I was on my way to another destination, but was drawn in as if by a magnetic force. I decided to park the 4x4 truck in the front of the site museum. With camera in hand, notebook, water bottle and a hat as protection, I started to walk up hill.
The museum offers very little information, so I head into the field and have a very close look at the petroglyphs.
The vast and arid valley of Toro Muerto was covered that day by a very clear blue sky- very good for photo enthusiasts, very promising, with no shadows, no exaggerated glare, thereby, ensuring the registration of good images.
Excited about the ascent on the sandy soil, I discover the walk is very manageable and suitable for all ages.
What I thought would be a long run, turned into the interesting adventure of advancing step-by-step, exploring the ground, because every rock here has an incredible carved representation on it.
I recommend the company and the services of a certified guide who will provide reliable information on the site, since the museum is so sparse with information.
Toro Muerto has about five thousand boulders of volcanic rock, dacite and tuff. Their date can only be approximated by studying the theme of each carving, so that they can be dated to within 1,000 years.
In some cases figures on the same group of rocks are observed to be from different periods, as these settlements were seen as ritual centers for various millennia
It is believed that the petroglyphs of Toro Muerto were a plea to the Gods for relief from drought and climate disasters caused by El Niño during long periods.
My guide explains that over time, travelers, herdsmen and farmers left these valuable etchings on the rock.
The technique used in most of the pieces was the deep groove carving, worked with sharp hard stone axes. The rocks of Toro Muerto show anthropomorphic, phytomorphic, zoomorphic and geometric representations, in which we find human figures, groups of dancers, headdresses, masks, camelids, birds, eagles, condors, quadrupeds, felines, snakes, catfish, weeping eyes (crying -rain), straight lines, dots and zig-zag lines.
The carvings reflect the inhabitants’ lifestyle, registered families, groups, animals, agricultural production and everything else that could be significant in their environment.
Among all the carvings, “the dancers” of Toro Muerto stand out as a remarkable presence. In other regions of the Andes, dancers also appear on rock sites, but these ones are in different positions, and are the predominant motif.
Historian Dr. Eloy Linares Málaga, who discovered the petroglyphs of Toro Muerto, labeled several successive lines
