Salar del Sur Southeast Dune Geoglyphs (Dune-Edge Corridor)
Salar del Sur SE Dunes · Sierra Gorda SE Figures
Late Formative to Late Intermediate (500–1200 CE)·Atacama caravan·🇨🇱 Antofagasta, Sierra Gorda, Salar del Sur southeast dune piedmont, Chile
About
About Salar del Sur Southeast Dune Geoglyphs (Dune-Edge Corridor)
Southeast margin of Salar del Sur where transverse dunes abut playa fringe (2,300 m). Thirteen figures on compact gypscrete between dunes: 40-m ladder, 22-m feline, and 90-m paired avenues (2.0 m apart) funnelling toward salar crossing. Dune sand partially buries western ends, but gypscrete preserves cleared floors. Atacama / Dupont ceramics and copper mineral fragments at avenue portals suggest mineral caravan use.
Why it mattersKey geoglyph illustrating Atacama caravan hydraulic/geoglyph/kite/kurgan tradition in Antofagasta, Sierra Gorda, Salar del Sur southeast dune piedmont.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Paired avenue portal cairn function
Theories
- 01Mineral caravan funnel to salar crossing
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.500–1200 CE
- Period
- Late Formative to Late Intermediate (500–1200 CE)
- Culture
- Atacama caravan
- Purpose
- Dune-edge corridor markers south of salar
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.500–1200 CE
Initial construction
2020
Drone/UAV high-resolution mapping and heritage inventory
On the ground
Structures & features
23.0500° S · 68.9500° W · 2300 m · 3 mapped features
Dune Ladder (40 m)
geoglyph40-m ladder figure
23.0480° S · 68.9480° WSE Feline (22 m)
geoglyph22-m feline
23.0520° S · 68.9520° WPaired Avenues (90 m)
earthworkTwin 90-m avenues 2 m apart
23.0490° S · 68.9490° W