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Wall with hands of different sizes (including a ñandú rhea foot), scenes of hunting and herding guanacos, pregnant guanacas, a dancer, a feline and geometric motifs.
© Photo: Irma Käthler

The 200 m high upper cliff of the river, at the base of which are the paintings.
© Photo: Parque Provincial Cueva de las Manos

The area around Cueva de las Manos, on the western bank of the middle course of the Pinturas River, was part of a system of hunting sites for hunter-gatherer communities, whose temporary settlements in the rock shelters followed the seasonal movement of the guanaco herds. The guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the largest camelid in South America, was the basic prey for their subsistence, in addition to the use of its bones, leather and fur. For millennia, the steep ravines that flow into the Pinturas River were used by hunters as "corridors" for herding and capturing guanacos.

The rock art located at the foot of the cliff, which at the Cueva de las Manos may exceed 200 m, together with the paintings found in side gorges, such as those of Charcamata, Arroyo Feo or El Puma, have left evidence of collective practices and symbolic aspects related to guanaco hunting and its fertility, guarantor of abundance. Among the motifs, hand negatives undoubtedly stand out, but there are also scenes of guanaco hunting and herding, large figures of pregnant female guanacos, some other animals such as felines and rheas, human figures, ritual dances and geometric motifs.

The various archaeological surveys carried out since the 1970s, especially by Carlos J. Gradín and Carlos A. Aschero, have excavated material remains that can be dated by carbon 14, making it possible for them to determine that the paintings began to be made from the 10th millennium BCE onwards.

Rocky overhang with hand silhouettes 
© Photo: Irma Käthler

Silhouettes of hands in negative accompanied the hunting scenes from the very beginning. More than 800 have been counted, with palms of various sizes, some very small, others with thin and long fingers, indicating that in addition to men, they are of women and children. Some 70% correspond to left hands, most of them facing upwards or in an oblique position, with a few including the forearm or the imprint of both hands simultaneously, as well as some silhouettes of rhea and guanaco feet.

They have been made using the technique known as "stencilling", with two variants: blowing the powdered pigment onto the cave wall by means of bone tubes, or using swabs of vegetable or animal fibers, hitting the wall to apply the pigments. In both cases, one of the hands was used as a stencil.

The hands were used as stencils for applying the pigment around them. 
© Photo: Irma Käthler

The use of painting implied, from the beginning, the execution of monochromatic sets, that is to say, a single color for all the associated representations at the same time of execution, or added later, to complement them. These monochromatic palettes would have had the function of differentiating the scene to be superimposed on a previous one.

The oldest paintings (dated between 9410 and 9230 years BCE) are ochre-colored, made with a mineral pigment called goethite or hydrated iron oxide. From experiments carried out, the archaeologists concluded that the whole range of colors used could have been obtained by the artists of the paintings from the thermal alteration of this pigment. Exposed to heat at different times, it allows to obtain first a red (hematite); then red-carmine at a higher temperature; followed by violet (maghemite) and a black-violet or grayish product of the maximum exposure to heat.

In relation to the different colors and monochromatic groups, archaeologists have tried to establish a differentiation of execution periods.

Superimposed monochromatic groups, made in different periods. 
© Photo: Irma Käthler

Site access and interpretation center.
© Photo: Irma Käthler

Cueva de las Manos is located at some 118 km from the town of Perito Moreno, accessed from the north on Route 40. From the south, coming from Bajo Caracoles, it is about 47 km along Provincial Route No. 97.

Location on map

This spectacular hike of approximately an hour and a half is a great alternative to direct access by car. It is a trail that has been used for thousands of years by those who lived and traveled through the area. It is accessed from the opposite shore to the Cueva de las Manos, which offers spectacular views of the Canyon. Although the trail down is quite steep, it is very safe because it has been recently improved and also offers a metal footbridge to cross the river.

Location on map (access)