Río Pinturas Canyon
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The Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas, Santa Cruz province, contains an exceptional assemblage of cave art, executed between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago. It takes its name (Cave of the Hands) from the stencilled outlines of human hands in the cave, but there are also many depictions of animals, such as guanacos (Lama guanicoe), still commonly found in the region, as well as hunting scenes.
The people responsible for the paintings may have been the ancestors of the historic hunter-gatherer communities of Patagonia found by European settlers in the 19th century.
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The cueva itself is less a cave than a series of overhangs: natural cutaways at the foot of a towering ninety-metre cliff face overlooking the canyon below. From this vantage point, groups of paleolithic hunter-gatherers would survey the valley floor for game, though nowadays the view is partly spoiled by the ineffective and heavy-handed iron fence that attempts to keep tourists from etching their own twenty-first century graffiti on the rock. Even so, the collage of black, white, red and ochre handprints , mixed with gracefully flowing vignettes of guanaco hunts, still makes for an astonishing spectacle. Of the trademark 829 handprints, most are male, and only 31 are right-handed. They are all "negatives", being made by placing the hand on the rock face, and imprinting its outline by blowing pigments through a tube. Interspersed with these are human figures, as well as the outlines of puma paws and rhea prints, and creatures such as a scorpion.
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Cueva de las Manos
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The earliest paintings were made by the Toldense culture, and date as far back as 7300 BC, but archeologists have identified four later cultural phases, ending with depictions by early Tehuelche groups - notably geometric shapes and zigzags - from approximately 1000 AD. The significance of the paintings is much debated: whether they represented part of the rite of passage for adolescents into the adult world, and were thus part of ceremonies to strengthen familial or tribal bonds, or whether they were connected to religious ceremonies that preceded the hunt will probably never be known. Other tantalizing mysteries involve theories surrounding the large number of heavily pregnant guanacos depicted, and whether these herds were actually semi-domesticated or at least managed. One thing is for certain: considering their exposed position, it is remarkable how vivid some of the colours still are: the colours were made from the berries of calafate bushes, local mineral-bearing earth and charcoal, while guanaco fat and urine was applied to create the waterproof coating that has preserved them so well.
Graffiti spray-painted on the side of a building is an annoying act of vandalism. Graffiti spray-painted on a natural stone formation is an appalling desecration of nature. Graffiti spray-painted on a natural stone formation and allowed to age for thousands of years is a priceless work of art..
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Beyond Baja Caracoles, rugged RN 40 traverses the northern steppe until the point where, over millions of years, the Río Pinturas has cut a deep, scenic canyon. In the process, it has left countless aleros, stony overhangs often mistakenly called cuevas or caves. One of these is the famous Cueva de las Manos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where stencils of hundreds of human hands, guanacos, and abstract forms cover the rock walls in orange, red, and yellow ochres.
Dating from around 7370 b.c. the oldest paintings at Cueva de las Manos represent hunter-gatherers from immediate post-glacial times, but the more-abstract designs, which are fewer, are far more recent. Oddly enough, nearly all the hands from which the site takes its name are left hands.
Along with Parque Nacional Perito Moreno, this is one of the finest detours off RN 40, with two main access points. From Bajo Caracoles in the south, gravel RP 41 goes directly to the site, where the municipality of Perito Moreno operates a small confitería and a rocky campground (US$1 per tent), and charges US$1.50 pp admission to the caves. Bars now block access to the paintings to discourage vandalism (even touching the paintings repeatedly could damage them), but they do not obscure the view.
The other main access point is from the Río Pinturas drainage itself, with two separate alternatives (both of which also offer accommodations). From Estancia Casa de Piedra, 45 kilometers north of Bajo Caracoles, there’s a 12-kilometer access road, at the end of which it’s a three-kilometer hike to the paintings; from Estancia los Toldos, another 23 kilometers north and seven kilometers east, another 15-kilometer access road permits a close approach. Note that, by either the northern or southern route, mountain bikers can avoid backtracking to RN 40 by hauling their bikes over the river (there is a pedestrian bridge) and out the other direction.
On the east side of RN 40 (ideal for cyclists), the bucolic Estancia Casa de Piedra (tel. 02963/432199) allows camping for $1.25 per tent, plus US$1 for showers; it also rents basic but passable rooms for US$5.50/9 s/d with shared bath. At Estancia Los Toldos, Hostería Cueva de las Manos (tel. 011/4901-0436, fax 011/4903-7161, cuevadelasmanos@hotmail.com) has four modern carpeted rooms with private bath (US$30 d) with breakfast, plus very fine hostel accommodations (US$9 pp) without breakfast. Good restaurant lunches cost about US$3.50. It’s open November–March, and for Semana Santa.
When entering Cueva de las Manos, your first impulse might be to shout, "Hey, that's not art! My 5-year-old can do that." But the cave drawings on the Argentinean side of Patagonia are much more impressive than anything taped to a Fridgidaire.
Between 10,000 and 1,000 years ago, the indigenous hunters and gatherers known as the Tehuelches took a break from searching for armadillos and berries to stencil images of their hands inside the cave walls. Thousands of handprints blanket the red sandstone, some with flat palms and splayed fingers, others painted solid in black, yellow, brown, or white. (Picture a certain eerie scene from The Blair Witch Project.) The caves also exhibit some of the region's finest pictographs of native animals, including lizards, rheas, and guanacos; plus zig-zags, circle patterns, and other sacred symbols.
The cluster of caves sits inside a giant canyon, surrounded by the Rmo Pinturas, vertiginous gorges and outcrops, and cool wading pools. The Tehuelches made this revered ancestral site their home until the Europeans arrived.
The Cueva de las Manos is about 40 miles from the town of Perito Moreno. The unpaved but marked Route 40 wends through grazing lands and semi-arid steppes and leads directly to the site. Once there, you must ask the landowner to enter, as a matter of courtesy. The Perito Moreno tourist office can point you to tour operators who offer day treks, or take a public bus that leaves from the town several times a week during the summer. With a network of trails to explore, allow at least five hours to hike to the caves from the parking area, to take a dip, and to contemplate the history and the art.
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