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Cerro Pintado (Tarapacá)

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description Cerro Pintado (Tarapacá) Overview

Cerro Pintado is a hill in the Pampa del Tamarugal of Chile’s Tarapacá Region, known for the Pintados geoglyphs on its slopes. Pre-Hispanic peoples created the figures between about 700 and 1500 CE by removing surface material to expose a contrasting layer of ground; the designs include geometric, animal, and human forms. The site is relevant to the archaeology of the Atacama Desert and to studies of how ancient communities marked routes and landscapes.

help Cerro Pintado (Tarapacá) FAQ

Where can Cerro Pintado be found?

Cerro Pintado is in the Pampa del Tamarugal in Chile's Tarapacá Region. It is part of the wider Pintados geoglyph complex in the Atacama Desert. [Chile National Monuments Council](https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-arqueologicos/geoglifos-de-pintados)

How old are the Cerro Pintado geoglyphs?

Chile's National Monuments Council dates the Pintados geoglyphs broadly from around 700 to 1500 CE. Because the complex contains work made across a long period, not every figure necessarily has the same date. [Chile National Monuments Council](https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-arqueologicos/geoglifos-de-pintados)

How were the figures at Cerro Pintado created?

Builders removed the darker surface material from the hillside to expose lighter soil underneath. That subtractive technique created visible contrasts without needing paint or permanent stone construction. [Chile National Monuments Council](https://www.monumentos.gob.cl/monumentos/monumentos-arqueologicos/geoglifos-de-pintados)

Is Cerro Pintado the same site as the Atacama Giant?

No. Cerro Pintado is the large geoglyph complex in the Pampa del Tamarugal, while the Atacama Giant is a separate anthropomorphic figure at Cerro Unita. UNESCO lists Cerro Unita among the other important geoglyph sites of northern Chile. [UNESCO](https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6885/)

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