Page 10 - aruba-today-20230706

Thursday 6 July 2023 locAl
A10

Episode 13

Islands Rock Art

Hi guys good morning. Together we
can all be Aruba’s rangers, guard- Petroglyphs are less common than
ians of our patrimony. Let’s create Pictographs. Only one site has
a consciousness that rock Art is our been discovered and is accessi-
heritage; yes, much more than just ble to public. The incrustations are
meaningless doodles made by our found on the dark, exposed sur-
Aruban fore fathers. Contrary to faces of a granite builder at a site
popular belief it was not created known as Siribana (No.2) The top
by some underdeveloped canni- layer or surfaces of the rock served
bal inhabitants of mythical epoch, as the base color for the abstract
it does not reflect buried treasure representational of the ”Mythical
maps. Neither were they meant twins” supernatural beings also re- designs. purple reddish stain. Binders were
to just scare demons or bad spirits ferred to as alien figures. Abstract used to stabilize the coloring mate-
away. figures that were used by hunters Pictographs are usually created on rial and allow it to stick to the rock.
and gatherers in the oldest known light colored, protected from the The colors generally used were red,
What rock Art in general does pro- new world rock Art bear no resem- elements granite, Quartz Diorite, orange, white and black.Red pig-
vide is means of understanding the blance to the real world. Pecking surfaces or on limestone walls and ment probably came from hema-
sacred as well as the mundane into the rock to create Petroglyphs caves ceilings. Stylized animals, tite or iron oxide; orange from a
perspective of life “in our case” was accomplished with a ham- humans and geometric object de- combination of hematite, ocher,
with what prehistoric Amerindian mer stone or stone chisel. Different signs are common subjects. Picto- limonite, lichen or Brazil wood.
cultures as a community could pecking techniques created dif- graph pigments and binders were
regionally and specially insularly ferent styles. Incising or scratching probably obtained from soot, veg- Other sources of pigment included
have experienced by means of with a sharp tool was also prac- etal pigments and blood or pul- white clay, silica, gypsum, chalk,
rock art expressions and practices ticed. Incised designs are more ex- verized minerals. While even some calcium carbonate, and charcoal.
relating to it. Here we can examine pressive and detailed than pecked sea snails could have provided a Pastels were created from clay
something in great detail in order mixed with other minerals. Water
to understand it better or to discov- was used to create consistency
er more about it, windows for ana- but the binding agent could be
lyzing cultural interaction through anything from saliva, to vegetal
symbolic patterns. juices and vegetal oils, to a mix
of water and calcium meal, tree
The pre historic artist had the goal gums, even the whites of bird eggs
in mind to inform, create beliefs or guano were employed in many
and handing over knowledge regions of the world. The surface of
among peers. Communication the rock was sometimes smoothed
abilities were a valuable in trade and abraded in preparation for
and commerce among neighbor- painting. Tools were sticks or prob-
ing tribes like away of life. Rock art ably brushes made from the tips of
was also a way of telling stories and agave leaves chewed or beaten
archiving it for future generation`s to remove the pulp, leaving vertical
use. Changes in rock art styles of- fibers for painting small solid areas,
ten reflect new ideologies and/or clear lines, and other fine details.
religious practices.The quality of Wider areas could be painted for
the rock art and the level of sophis- example with a corn husk or cot-
tication of the culture it belongs to ton wrapped around the finger or
are not necessarily related. even the finger itself depending on
the time frame which these where
made. Dots were applied with the
fingertips. Entire hand prints could
have been created using for ex-
ample a stenciled design by spray-
ing or blowing the paint around
the hand that has been placed
with spread fingers on the surface
of the rock.

The official Native rock artist was
often a mystical Medicine Man,
herb mixer, the colormaker but
most probably because of his
power to heal and communicate
with the supernatural. A continua-
tion of the early shaman, endemic
believe tomost tribal societies,most
likely survived from before the mi-
grations across the Bering Street
over twenty thousand years ago.

Source; Island Insight column by Etnia
Nativa.