Apacheta

Stones shot from near US assembly site, looking towards the Japanese assembly site (and Japanese antenna). This formation is called an “apacheta": a man-made formation of stones gathered as offerings by indigenous people to the keeper of the roads, placed on special locations, such as the peaks of hills or upon cordillera/mountain paths (openings or crossing points), water sources, or refuge places. There, the indian walkers would leave a rock, coloured wools, coca leaves, strong drinking alcohol or water, as symbolic offerings to the ancestral spirits and to their divinities. They are places for meetings and departures, a demonstration of profound devotion within Andean religiosity.

This work by the OSF of Conservation and Validation of the Cultural Patrimony of the “apacheta”, is included in the program of the Study of Enviromental Impact undertaken by the Chilean Archaeologist Ana María Barón, in the entire territory covered by the ALMA Project, from its beginnings in 2003, also including the protection of “The Barrio Estancia”, which today is a Site Museum.