• In a conversation at Cultura Viva, U. de Santiago Radio program, Gonzalo Pimentel from the Atacama Desert Foundation said that there are 54 sites in Chile where drawings made by native cultures on the soil and hillsides have been discovered.

The geoglyphs are the great chart book that the cultures of the north left us; those native societies that had no writing and drew their social imaginary in the hillsides. Nowadays these figures made on earth are in danger of disappearing, due to a number of factors and archaeologist Gonzalo Pimentel, from the Atacama Desert Foundation, is determined to fight in order to defend a very scarce heritage in the world.

"In the world, there are very few existing geoglyphs and the Andean desert concentrates most of these visual creations. We believe that our desert in Chile has the biggest quantity:  54 sites with geoglyphs,” the scientist said, in a conversation with Cultura Viva radio program.

In this interview with Radio U. Santiago (94.5 FM, 124 AM and www.radiousach.cl), Pimentel complained that there is no cultural policy that considers the protection of this heritage for the future generations. "We see every day how the geoglyphs are being damaged and how they disappear. It would be necessary to close some areas and create archaeological parks, but very few people are interested in protecting them," he said.

Great legacy

Impressive are the nearly 500 drawings -presumably made by Atacama and Tarapacá’s native inhabitants-  which were discovered in the Chug-Chug zone, located in the Antofagasta region, some of which date back to 1000 BC, although most were made between 900 and 1450 AD.

"The main damaging agents are the informal rallies that no one controls which race through new routes without realizing that in doing so they damage the geoglyphs," the archaeologist explains. He also adds two other dangerous factors: larger and formal rallies, such as the Dakar, which do not meet the basic protective measures, and also the activities of mining companies.

The geoglyphs were used by pre-Hispanic cultures as a representation space of their own identity; that is why, a great variety of groups and individuals, showing specific social moments, can be seen. "It's difficult to say what the exact meaning of the figures was; we can only get closer to an explanation," the interviewee says, as part of his dialogue with the radio station.

• In a conversation at Cultura Viva, U. de Santiago Radio program, Gonzalo Pimentel from the Atacama Desert Foundation said that there are 54 sites in Chile where drawings made by native cultures on the soil and hillsides have been discovered.

The geoglyphs are the great chart book that the cultures of the north left us; those native societies that had no writing and drew their social imaginary in the hillsides. Nowadays these figures made on earth are in danger of disappearing, due to a number of factors and archaeologist Gonzalo Pimentel, from the Atacama Desert Foundation, is determined to fight in order to defend a very scarce heritage in the world.

"In the world, there are very few existing geoglyphs and the Andean desert concentrates most of these visual creations. We believe that our desert in Chile has the biggest quantity:  54 sites with geoglyphs,” the scientist said, in a conversation with Cultura Viva radio program.

In this interview with Radio U. Santiago (94.5 FM, 124 AM and www.radiousach.cl), Pimentel complained that there is no cultural policy that considers the protection of this heritage for the future generations. "We see every day how the geoglyphs are being damaged and how they disappear. It would be necessary to close some areas and create archaeological parks, but very few people are interested in protecting them," he said.

Great legacy

Impressive are the nearly 500 drawings -presumably made by Atacama and Tarapacá’s native inhabitants-  which were discovered in the Chug-Chug zone, located in the Antofagasta region, some of which date back to 1000 BC, although most were made between 900 and 1450 AD.

"The main damaging agents are the informal rallies that no one controls which race through new routes without realizing that in doing so they damage the geoglyphs," the archaeologist explains. He also adds two other dangerous factors: larger and formal rallies, such as the Dakar, which do not meet the basic protective measures, and also the activities of mining companies.

The geoglyphs were used by pre-Hispanic cultures as a representation space of their own identity; that is why, a great variety of groups and individuals, showing specific social moments, can be seen. "It's difficult to say what the exact meaning of the figures was; we can only get closer to an explanation," the interviewee says, as part of his dialogue with the radio station.

• In a conversation at Cultura Viva, U. de Santiago Radio program, Gonzalo Pimentel from the Atacama Desert Foundation said that there are 54 sites in Chile where drawings made by native cultures on the soil and hillsides have been discovered.

The geoglyphs are the great chart book that the cultures of the north left us; those native societies that had no writing and drew their social imaginary in the hillsides. Nowadays these figures made on earth are in danger of disappearing, due to a number of factors and archaeologist Gonzalo Pimentel, from the Atacama Desert Foundation, is determined to fight in order to defend a very scarce heritage in the world.

"In the world, there are very few existing geoglyphs and the Andean desert concentrates most of these visual creations. We believe that our desert in Chile has the biggest quantity:  54 sites with geoglyphs,” the scientist said, in a conversation with Cultura Viva radio program.

In this interview with Radio U. Santiago (94.5 FM, 124 AM and www.radiousach.cl), Pimentel complained that there is no cultural policy that considers the protection of this heritage for the future generations. "We see every day how the geoglyphs are being damaged and how they disappear. It would be necessary to close some areas and create archaeological parks, but very few people are interested in protecting them," he said.

Great legacy

Impressive are the nearly 500 drawings -presumably made by Atacama and Tarapacá’s native inhabitants-  which were discovered in the Chug-Chug zone, located in the Antofagasta region, some of which date back to 1000 BC, although most were made between 900 and 1450 AD.

"The main damaging agents are the informal rallies that no one controls which race through new routes without realizing that in doing so they damage the geoglyphs," the archaeologist explains. He also adds two other dangerous factors: larger and formal rallies, such as the Dakar, which do not meet the basic protective measures, and also the activities of mining companies.

The geoglyphs were used by pre-Hispanic cultures as a representation space of their own identity; that is why, a great variety of groups and individuals, showing specific social moments, can be seen. "It's difficult to say what the exact meaning of the figures was; we can only get closer to an explanation," the interviewee says, as part of his dialogue with the radio station.