Victoria, Guanajuato, Mexico — The Central Highlands (North America)

Rock art in contact

Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, June 11, 2022

1. Rock art in contact Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Un arte ruprestre en contacto
En el semidesierto guanajuatense cientos de paneles pintados muestran colores y formas de un imaginario rupestre ancestral: figuras humanas asociadas a círculos, improntas de manos, escenas de danza, representaciones de la vida animal y vegetal o personajes con arco y flecha. A partir del siglo XVI esta imaginería rupestre es sustituida por motivos en color blanco: cruces, altares, glosas y personajes a caballo, aparecen pintados en los mismos lugares antes empleados por el cazador recolector, reactivando con ello el carácter sagrado de estos parajes. Es probable que en las primeras décadas del siglo XVI esta nueva iconografía fuera guiada por sacerdotes católicos que trataban de nulificar el discurso ancestral de los nómadas.

English translation:
Rock art in contact
In the Guanajuato semi-desert hundreds of painted panels show colors and shapes of an ancestral rock art imagination: human figures associated with circles, hand prints, dance scenes, representations of animal and plant life or characters with bow and arrow. From the sixteenth

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century this rock imagery is replaced by motifs in white: crosses, altars, short notes and characters on horseback. These are painted in the same places previously used by the hunter-gatherer, thus reactivating the sacred character of these places. It is likely that in the first decades of the sixteenth century this new iconography was guided by Catholic priests who tried to nullify the ancestral discourse of the nomads.

Erected by Secretaría de Cultura.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Churches & Religion • Colonial Era • Native Americans.

Location. 21° 11.546′ N, 100° 12.324′ W. Marker is in Victoria, Guanajuato. Marker can be reached from Carretera Tierra Blanca - Victoria, on the right when traveling north. The marker is on the "La Tortuga" trail at the Arroyo Seco Archeological Zone. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Victoria GTO 37928, Mexico. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The human figure (within shouting distance of this marker); A Fragile Testimony (within shouting distance of this marker); The Bow and Arrow (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); The Imagination of Rock Art (about 90 meters away); The Mythical Environment and Time Cycles

Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, June 11, 2022

2. Rock art in contact Marker

(about 120 meters away); The Arroyo Seco Archaeological Site (approx. 0.2 kilometers away); The Social Function of Rock Art (approx. 0.2 kilometers away); A Long-Term Painted History (approx. 0.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Victoria.

Nearby Rock Art Detail image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, June 11, 2022

3. Nearby Rock Art Detail

A view from the marker at an abandoned building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, June 11, 2022

4. A view from the marker at an abandoned building

Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2022, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. This page has been viewed 26 times since then and 5 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 23, 2022, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.