WARRIORS AND DANCERS IN ROCK ART IN THE TEHUACÁN-CUICATLÁN BIOSPHERE, MEXICO

Abstract

The Tehuacán Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve, in Mexico, is characterized as a semi-desert area
where, over the centuries, human groups have adapted and transformed it according to their needs.
In it, there are several areas with rock art that had a cultural function at a given moment. As an
example, we have Cerro Dade that is located in the Mixteca region, in the north of the Biosphere.
Among the existing panels, made with red paint, there are several anthropomorphs that represent
warriors with attributes and objects than they carry. The use of the human figure extends to the
south of the Reserve, in the Cañada region but in this case the figures, executed with white paint,
seem to be part of a ritual act. It should be noted that most of them use vertical rock supports. An
opposite case is “the Cave of the Musicians” in the current state of Puebla, where the rock scene
defines a confrontation of warriors executed in various shades of pigment, and whose location
corresponds to a covacha located in a set of desert elevations of difficult access. The objective of
this work is to show an overview of the cultural heritage existing in this ecological niche based on
rock art, highlighting the role of the human figure as a leading image. The result of this first
approach resulted in the identification of differences in styleand technique, but coincides in the use
of topography according to a cultural objective: make it evident in sight or reserve it for some how
many, behavior depending on, perhaps, the intention of the message.