Rallies, motorbikes and buggies destroy geoglyphs in the Atacama Desert – 09/28/2024 – Science

Every year, hundreds of runners from all over the world gather in northern Chile with their motorcycles, jeeps, quads and buggies. They compete on hundreds of kilometers long circuits around the Atacama Desert, leaving tire tracks in one of the driest places on Earth.

What many of these runners possibly ignore is that the Atacama was once a canvas for the ancient indigenous people of South America. 3,000 years ago, these indigenous people carved vast figures of animals, humans and objects into the desert slopes. Known as geoglyphs, the examples in Alto Barranco, in the Tarapacá region, stand out for their remarkable preservation.

But it is exactly in this place that both authorized and illegal off-road vehicle races have taken place.

Drone images released this month by Gonzálo Pimentel, an archaeologist and president of Fundación Desierto de Atacama, a Chilean non-governmental organization, highlighted the accumulated damage to what he calls “the desert’s history book.” Vehicles — including trucks from mining operations — drive over geoglyphs in Alto Barranco and other areas of the desert, marking them with hundreds of tracks.

“When we saw the drone footage, we couldn’t believe it,” Pimentel said, noting that several key figures were now almost unrecognizable. The worst part, he added, is that “the damage is irreversible.”

Faced with the increasing destruction of Alto Barranco’s art by off-road drivers and other encroachments, and the potential damage to other desert regions of archaeological importance, activists say governments at all levels in the country are not doing enough to preserve them. .

“It’s a tragedy,” said Luis Pérez Reyes, director of the Iquique Regional Museum, who credits his childhood love of geoglyphs as inspiring him to become an archaeologist.

The Atacama Desert receives rain only a few times a year. The intense sun and harsh conditions make plant and animal life almost non-existent. This left the desert virtually untouched, Pimentel said: “This landscape has remained the same for 25 million years.”

The exceptional weather conditions have made the desert not only a treasure trove for archaeologists, but also an irresistible arena for extreme sports enthusiasts. And now, “just like the geoglyphs, the vehicle tracks will remain there,” Pimentel said.

Damage to geoglyphs also takes a heavy toll on those who depend on income from leading archaeological tours in Alto Barranco. Tarapacá resident Luis Araya said this included more than 30 families.

Marcela Sepúlveda, president of the Chilean Archeology Society, noted that large signs have been placed around archaeological zones to prevent damage, meaning drivers should be fully aware of what they are entering. “The geoglyphs are gigantic,” she said. “No one can claim they didn’t see them. That’s impossible.”

Pérez Reyes began filing formal complaints in 2017 about the damage to geoglyphs caused by the rallies. Since then, he and the residents of Tarapacá have been gathering evidence, monitoring pilots who venture too close to the ancient figures. But he said the government continued to approve large racing events.

Organizers of a major race, the Atacama Rally, have denied any responsibility for the damage in Alto Barranco, where they last raced in 2022. Gerardo Fontaine, director of the Atacama Rally, said all participants knew their route, were tracked by GPS and they were warned if they went off course. He added that race organizers defined the routes, which were then approved by regional authorities.

“The real problem is with drivers who ride rented motorcycles in the desert without permission,” he said.

Daniel Quinteros Rojas, a regional official, approved the 2022 rally on the condition that runners stay on pre-established roads. But he said rally organizers did not turn over GPS tracks followed by riders after the race, so authorities could not determine whether the riders could be linked to any damage observed, Quintero Rojas said.

No rally has been approved in Tarapacá since then.

Fontaine responded that the cost of turning over the GPS tracks to authorities was prohibitive for both the rally and the government. “Officials are welcome to sit with us during the race and see that the competitors are following their maps,” he said.

After the 2022 race, Pérez Reyes filed a complaint with judicial authorities in Tarapacá, alleging that the rally route had overlapped with archaeological sites, along with photos of runners passing through dunes near legally protected areas. Since the complaint was filed, no one has been penalized.

The last Atacama Rally, on September 7, moved to Tierra Amarilla, which is more than 965 km from Tarapacá. In a statement sent to regional authorities a month before the event, the National Monuments Board warned that the rally route crossed 16 areas with important archaeological and paleontological sites. The council asked race organizers and regional authorities to provide more information about what measures would be taken to prevent damage to these areas.

Those who damage archaeological sites in Chile can face more than five years in prison and fines equivalent to more than US$14,500, according to the Ministry of National Assets. But José Barraza, director of cultural heritage for the Tarapacá region, said that in many cases, complaints were filed or investigative files were left open due to a lack of evidence, as catching someone in the act is a challenge in the vastness of the desert. .

The latest drone images have caught the attention of Chilean federal authorities. Marcela Sandoval, Chile’s minister of national assets, said authorities visited Alto Barranco to begin an investigation. However, she noted that prosecuting those responsible would present challenges, as many of the tire tracks at the geoglyphs had been present for years.

For now, the government is calling on experts to develop strategies to raise awareness among desert rally enthusiasts, protect remaining geoglyphs that have not yet been damaged, and improve signage around archaeological areas.

“The government’s responses have always been reactive rather than preventive,” said Pérez Reyes. Across the desert, he said, there are dozens of informal businesses renting motorcycles and jeeps to runners who venture into the desert on weekends without supervision.

Pérez Reyes added that several of the geoglyphs that inspired his childhood interest in archeology will soon no longer exist. But he said he believed displaying the grim images in his museum could help raise awareness of the enormous ancient treasure that lies in the dunes of the Chilean desert.

“The intention was never to do it this way,” he said, “to create a ‘never again’ museum.”