THE LORD OF THE SCEPTERS: PRESENT AND PAST IN THE ATACAMA DESERT

Abstract

This article is an aesthetic analysis of the development of specific ancestral and contemporary representations, in the Chilean Atacama Desert, of the character known as Lord of the Scepters. In this place, there has been an evolution of the visual role attributed to this anthropomorphic figure, ranging from the influence of the Tiwanaku cultural horizon in pre-Columbian times to its representation in contemporary visual works of art and crafts, which currently denote that this Lord belongs to the contemporary visual identity of the Atacama Desert. The current representations of the Lord of the Scepters are part of a cultural renewal of the Atacama Desert associated with the identification of its local inhabitants with this celebrity, as well as increased tourism.