﻿Vol.2] 
  DIAGUITA 
  OF 
  ARGENTINA 
  — 
  MARQUEZ 
  MIRANDA 
  653 
  

  

  Some 
  animals, 
  such 
  as 
  rheas 
  and 
  pumas, 
  are 
  represented 
  not 
  by 
  their 
  

   outline 
  but 
  by 
  their 
  footprints. 
  There 
  are 
  also 
  geometric 
  figures, 
  

   perhaps 
  extreme 
  conventionalizations. 
  These 
  include 
  circles 
  with 
  or 
  

   without 
  a 
  central 
  dot, 
  triangles, 
  straight 
  lines, 
  curves, 
  zigzags, 
  frets, 
  

   etc., 
  the 
  significance 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  unknown. 
  Sometimes 
  the 
  elements 
  

   are 
  grouped 
  in 
  general 
  scenes, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  famous 
  caves 
  of 
  Carahuasi. 
  

   Boman 
  (1908) 
  has 
  listed 
  the 
  places 
  where 
  petroglyphs 
  were 
  found 
  

   during 
  his 
  classic 
  work. 
  Subsequently, 
  only 
  isolated 
  references 
  have 
  

   been 
  published. 
  

  

  Some 
  persons 
  have 
  seen 
  these 
  representations 
  as 
  true 
  ideographic 
  

   writing, 
  others 
  as 
  plans 
  to 
  hidden 
  treasures. 
  Neither 
  intrepretation 
  

   can 
  be 
  defended. 
  Against 
  the 
  first 
  is 
  the 
  circumstance 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  

   innumerable 
  signs, 
  no 
  two 
  being 
  identical, 
  except 
  such 
  elements 
  as 
  

   the 
  triangle 
  and 
  the 
  circle, 
  which 
  have 
  an 
  ecumenic 
  distribution. 
  In 
  

   writing, 
  the 
  signs 
  and 
  combinations 
  of 
  signs 
  should 
  be 
  repeated 
  with 
  

   certain 
  frequency. 
  Against 
  the 
  second 
  interpretation, 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  

   that 
  no 
  so-called 
  plan 
  has 
  ever 
  been 
  deciphered 
  or 
  has 
  ever 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  

   uncovering 
  of 
  a 
  treasure. 
  Most 
  likely, 
  as 
  Boman 
  holds 
  (1908, 
  2:170- 
  

   77), 
  these 
  representations 
  were 
  made 
  for 
  their 
  own 
  sake, 
  some 
  reveal- 
  

   ing 
  exceptional 
  artistic 
  capacity 
  but 
  none 
  carrying 
  significance 
  as 
  

   conventional 
  writing. 
  They 
  might 
  have 
  had 
  a 
  religious 
  purpose. 
  

  

  Other 
  manifestations 
  of 
  decorative 
  art 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  so-called 
  Santa 
  

   Maria 
  and 
  Draconian 
  Styles, 
  which 
  appear 
  on 
  ceramics 
  and 
  some- 
  

   times 
  also 
  on 
  metalwork. 
  3 
  These 
  styles 
  must 
  be 
  reexamined 
  in 
  the 
  

   light 
  of 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  materials 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  archeological 
  collections. 
  

   For 
  the 
  present, 
  Santa 
  Maria 
  and 
  Draconian 
  will 
  remain 
  convenient 
  

   descriptive 
  terms. 
  The 
  most 
  artistic 
  ceramics 
  of 
  the 
  region 
  are 
  repre- 
  

   sented 
  by 
  the 
  fine 
  specimens 
  of 
  Los 
  Barreales. 
  

  

  Jars, 
  vertical 
  mortars, 
  etc., 
  present 
  anthropomorphic 
  and 
  zoomor- 
  

   phic 
  figures 
  in 
  relief, 
  some 
  with 
  true 
  artistic 
  character. 
  Some 
  large 
  

   smoking 
  pipes 
  also 
  have 
  anthropomorphic 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  geometric 
  

   decoration. 
  

  

  Music. 
  — 
  As 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  were 
  warlike, 
  their 
  music 
  was 
  probably 
  

   military. 
  Lozano 
  (1873-75) 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  pingollos 
  and 
  

   trumpets 
  preceded 
  battles 
  and 
  warned 
  the 
  Spaniards. 
  The 
  Cayapan 
  

   also 
  played 
  music 
  when 
  torturing 
  a 
  prisoner. 
  Panpipes 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  

   reed 
  or 
  clay 
  (pi. 
  142, 
  /, 
  g); 
  a 
  very 
  few 
  stone 
  panpipes 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  

   northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Diaguita 
  region. 
  Ambrosetti 
  (1907-08) 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  a 
  specimen 
  of 
  stone 
  panpipes 
  from 
  La 
  Paya, 
  where 
  he 
  also 
  

   found 
  one 
  of 
  wood, 
  an 
  exceptional 
  discovery 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  perishable 
  

   material. 
  An 
  " 
  offertory 
  tablet" 
  discovered 
  at 
  La 
  Paya 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  

  

  » 
  Debenedetti 
  (1931) 
  objected 
  to 
  the 
  term 
  "style" 
  saying 
  that, 
  "although 
  it 
  was 
  commonly 
  accepted 
  in 
  

   Argentine 
  archeology 
  these 
  styles 
  had 
  not 
  yet 
  been 
  adequately 
  denned 
  nor 
  their 
  distribution 
  stated, 
  the 
  

   deductions 
  and 
  attempted 
  generalizations 
  not 
  having 
  included 
  the 
  analysis 
  of 
  manv 
  rare 
  specimens 
  and 
  

   those 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  selected 
  failing 
  to 
  include 
  those 
  which 
  were 
  most 
  representative." 
  

  

  