Argentina - Cueva de las Manos and associated sites of the Pinturas river basin

The archeological importance of the Pinturas river basin was first recognized in the Cueva de las Manos, Alto Río Pinturas, research. It is an archeological site with art located over the cave cliffs along the Pinturas river canyon, on the northeast of Santa Cruz province (See the attached map). Magnificent pictographs were discovered in the cave and on several rock shelters, surrounded by an exceptional natural habitat. Cueva de las Manos was declared National Historic Monument in 1993, Law 24225, and inscribed as World Heritage in 1999. It is considered the most important cave art site in Patagonia, with well-preserved examples belonging to the early Holocene period in good conservation condition. The paintings of the cave, rock shelters and cliffs, make a strong impact because of its location over the cliffs that surround the deep Pinturas river basin and the river affluents. They show a profusion of pictorial motifs made with different tones and numberless superimpositions that happened along the last eight millenniums. The pictorial motifs are diverse and there is a great variety of hand prints. Even though this type of artistic manifestation has a universal character, Cueva de las Manos is one of the few places with such a high number of hand stencils that can be found in concentrations of various sizes and shades.