Alto Ramírez Pampa El Muerto Geoglyphs (El Muerto Plain)
Pampa El Muerto Figures · Lluta El Muerto Geoglyphs
Late Archaic–Formative (1000 BCE–500 CE)·Alto Ramírez·🇨🇱 Arica y Parinacota, Precordillera, Pampa El Muerto above Lluta km 75, Chile
About
About Alto Ramírez Pampa El Muerto Geoglyphs (El Muerto Plain)
Flat pampa surface (1,350 m) 8 km east of classic km 60 Alto Ramírez slope, with extensive pavement (gobi texture). Twenty figures: classic 30-m camelid silhouettes, 50-m arrow, and 15-m concentric circles (unique to this pampa). Figures use bichrome technique: outer dark ring + inner pale cleared disc for circles (wind-stable). Extensive Tarapacá–Cabuza sherd scatter and apacheta cairns at arrow apex indicate ritual maintenance into Late Intermediate.
Why it mattersKey geoglyph illustrating Alto Ramírez hydraulic/geoglyph/kite/kurgan tradition in Arica y Parinacota, Precordillera, Pampa El Muerto above Lluta km 75.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Concentric circle technique unique to El Muerto
Theories
- 01Pampa waypoint precursor to alto-ramirez slope
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.1000 BCE–500 CE
- Period
- Late Archaic–Formative (1000 BCE–500 CE)
- Culture
- Alto Ramírez
- Purpose
- High pampa wayfinding on Lluta–Azapa trunk
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1000 BCE–500 CE
Initial construction
2020
Drone/UAV high-resolution mapping and heritage inventory
On the ground
Structures & features
18.3750° S · 69.8450° W · 1350 m · 3 mapped features
El Muerto Arrow (50 m)
geoglyph50-m arrow pointing to Lluta gorge
18.3740° S · 69.8440° WConcentric Circles (15 m)
geoglyph15-m bichrome circles
18.3760° S · 69.8460° WCamelid Silhouettes Row
geoglyphRow of 30-m camelids
18.3740° S · 69.8440° W