Alto Ramírez West Quebrada Cardones Geoglyphs (Cardones Ravine Terraces)
Cardones Geoglyphs · Western Lluta Cardones Figures
Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate (Alto Ramírez–Cabuza 600–1100 CE)·Lluta Alto Ramírez–Cabuza–Maitas·🇨🇱 Arica y Parinacota, Lluta Valley km 50–57 Quebrada Cardones West Bank, Chile
About
About Alto Ramírez West Quebrada Cardones Geoglyphs (Cardones Ravine Terraces)
5 km from Lluta confluence. 27 figures on inclined colluvial fan: 16–29 m bow-legged anthropomorphs with rayed headdresses, 11 m feline (Andean cat 62-m Atacama cat kin), 95 m trapezoidal avenue converging downhill toward Lluta river Puquios springs. Figures use large 15–30 cm Cardones andesite cobble borders — coarser than pampa — with interior scraped to caliche, creating high-contrast 3D shadow at low sun (>16:00). Cabuza–Maitas sherds + two apachetas with offering caches (copper tumi fragments).
2020 IFLScience Atacama giant 119 m Cerro Unita comparison; Cardones feline re-emerged after 2019 wind deflation event exposing 5 m tail. Functions as westward descent marker guiding caravans from 1100 m terrace to Lluta spring line.
Why it mattersOnly large-cobble Cardones fan variant linking Atacama giant hill-figure tradition to Lluta–Azapa transition.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 0111 m feline as Andean cat vs domestic prototype
Theories
- 01Descent marker function to Lluta puquios oasis as hydraulic signaling
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.600 – 1100 CE
- Period
- Middle Horizon to Late Intermediate (Alto Ramírez–Cabuza 600–1100 CE)
- Culture
- Lluta Alto Ramírez–Cabuza–Maitas
- Builders
- Cardones fan Lluta slope caravaneers
- Purpose
- Westward descent guide from Precordillera 1100 m to Lluta river puquios springs and valley settlement
- Abandoned
- c.1300 CE
- Rediscovered
- 1978 Briones; 2019 wind deflation feline re-emergence documented
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
600 CE
Earliest bow-legged anthropomorph
2019
Feline tail 5 m re-exposed by deflation
2020
Drone survey Cardones 27 figures
On the ground
Structures & features
18.4200° S · 69.9200° W · 950 m · 3 mapped features
Cardones Bow-Legged Anthropomorph Row
geoglyph16–29 m bow-legged rayed figures in 240 m file
18.4190° S · 69.9190° WCardones Feline (Andean Cat) Figure
geoglyph11 m feline 5-m tail re-exposed 2019, caliche interior
18.4210° S · 69.9210° WCardones Trapezoid Avenue to Puquios
earthwork95-m trapezoid converging to Lluta spring line
18.4230° S · 69.9220° W