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Cueva de las Manos, at the Upper Pinturas River
To the south of the town of Perito Moreno, there is one of the most
significant displays of cave painting in Patagonia. Over 9,300-year-old
handprints and hunting scenes fill the caves and rocky walls of the
Pinturas River canyon.
Cueva de las Manos (Hands Cave) receives its name from the human hand
stencils appearing in the cave; however, there are not only human hand
but also many animal depictions, such as guanacos (Lama guanicoe), rheas,
and pumas, which are still common species in the region. The hunter-gatherer
communities responsible for the paintings inhabited this remote area
of the Patagonia until the arrival of European settlers in the 17th
century.
Cueva de las Manos was declared World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO
in 1999.
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