Cueva de las Manos

A river runs through a deep canyon with steep cliffs here.

The cliffs have natural shelters under the rock.

The Pinturas River area has low plateaus, 800 to 1,000 meters above sea level, cut by deep canyons with steep cliffs. The main canyon is the Pinturas River's own. There are many natural rock shelters in these cliffs, and UNESCO says the site has many painted rock shelters, including a cave.

The canyons are sheltered from the winds that sweep across the plains around them, and their winters are mild.

ICOMOS's 1999 evaluation describes low plateaus at 800-1,000 m cut by deep canyons bordered by steep cliffs, the main one that of the Pinturas River, with many natural rock shelters in the cliffs. The soil is rocky and poor.

The canyons have a temperate climate because they are protected from the winds that sweep the pampas. Studies of the cave's sediments suggest that present conditions had been established by 11,000 years before present.

People made outlines of hands in paint on the rock.

The paint came from colored minerals.

The hands are stencils: outlines of hands left in paint on the rock. UNESCO says the paints were natural minerals, ground and mixed with a binder. Iron oxides gave red and purple, kaolin clay gave white, a mineral called natrojarosite gave yellow and manganese oxide gave black.

A rock wall covered with many hand stencils screens the entrance to the cave, and newer pictures often lie on top of older ones.

The paintings were made with natural mineral pigments ground and mixed with a binder whose nature is unknown: iron oxides (hematite and maghemite) for red and purple, kaolin for white, natrojarosite for yellow and manganese oxide for black, sometimes with gypsum added (ICOMOS, by X-ray diffraction).

The cave entrance is screened by a rock wall covered by many hand stencils; inside the rock shelter there are five concentrations of rock art, with later figures often superimposed on earlier ones (UNESCO).

People painted here for thousands of years.

They painted hands, guanacos and hunting scenes.

UNESCO says the art was made over a long time, beginning more than 9,000 years ago. The oldest group shows hunting scenes with guanacos, the hunters' main prey.

From about 7,000 years ago, hand stencils filled the walls, along with a few stencils of rhea feet. From about 1,300 years ago, artists painted geometric shapes and simple animals and people in bright red.

The artistic sequence, with three main stylistic groups, began as early as the 10th millennium BP; the rock shelter's occupation is dated by excavation and radiocarbon to about 9300 BP (ICOMOS). Group A shows hunting scenes of people whose main prey was the guanaco.

Around 7000 BP, Group B is dominated by hand stencils, with some stencils of rhea (ñandú) feet, until about 3300 BP. Group C, from around 1300 BP, uses bright red for abstract geometric figures and schematic animals and humans. UNESCO says the site was last inhabited around AD 700.

Guanacos are painted on the cave walls.

Guanacos still live near the cave today.

UNESCO notes that guanacos, painted on the walls thousands of years ago, are still commonly found in the region.

The soil around the canyon is rocky and poor, but ICOMOS says the region supports many kinds of wild animals, and the guanaco stands out among them. UNESCO says the land around the cave still has the same animal and plant species that the cave art shows.

The guanaco (Lama guanicoe), depicted in the art, is still commonly found in the region (UNESCO). ICOMOS describes a rocky, poor soil but a diverse natural fauna in which the guanaco figures prominently.

UNESCO's integrity statement says the habitat around the site remains intact, with the same animal species depicted in the cave art approximately 10,000 years ago, and the same applies to plant species.

Never touch the paintings. Hands can harm them.

Wear a hat and stay in the shade on sunny days.

UNESCO says most of the paintings are in excellent condition because the shelter is very dry, water does not seep in and the rock is stable. But more visitors have brought damage, including graffiti, broken-off pieces of painted rock, touching of the paintings, dust and litter. Look, but never touch.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says to protect your skin with shade, sunscreen, long sleeves and a hat with a brim all the way around.

Very low humidity, no water infiltration and stable rock strata have kept all but the most exposed paintings in excellent condition (UNESCO). Rising tourism has brought vandalism (graffiti, removal of fragments of painted rock, touching of painted surfaces, dust and refuse), though measures have reduced these impacts.

For sun safety the CDC recommends shade, sunscreen, protective clothing and a hat with a brim all the way around.