UN MAR DE FORMAS: EXPLORACIÓN DE LA VARIABILIDAD ESTILÍSTICA DEL ARTE RUPESTRE DE EL MÉDANO DESDE EL SITIO DE IZCUÑA, NORTE DE CHILE

Since the 1970s, the pre-Columbian paintings of El Medano, on the Atacama desert coast innorthern Chile, have been conceived as a rock art style. New sites and research have opened thedebate about the supposed uniqueness of the style by breaking its tight geographical boundaries.This article discusses its homogeneity and uniformity based on the study of one of these new sites,that of Izcuna. Through two typological exercises it gives evidence of the internal diversity ofexpressions and visual manifestations in the site, from which it try to stress the use of the conceptof style and think on possible alternative ways. As an epilogue, the idea of visual expressiontendency serve as a conceptual mechanism to untangle the obstacles inherited from the style