Cueva de las Manos

Since the paintings are made by mineral inks they are not in danger of deterioration from exposure to the environment and the impact of visitors. Thus, the cave is open to visitors provided they join a tour. A wooden walkway has been constructed to enter the cave where the paintings can be viewed close up, guided by a park ranger.

It is believed that the people responsible for the paintings in Cueva de las Manos, also called Cueva de Las Manos Pintadas (Cave of the Painted Hands), were the ancestors of the hunter-gatherers indigenous to Patagonia before the arrival of Europeans. Paintings in the cave include depictions of people, guanacos (camelids), rheas (flightless birds kind of like ostriches) and other animals native to South America, as well as geometric shapes, images of the sun and hunting scenes. They are colored, using red, yellow, white and black inks made from local minerals. The images of hands contain a mix of positive and negative impressions.

The paintings are dated to some 9,000 years ago. Since the inks are of mineral composition the age of the paintings was calculated from the remains of bone-made pipes found in the cave. The pipes were used to spray the paint on the wall. By blocking the wall with their hands like a stencil the artists were able to produce the numerous negative hand images.

In attempts to understand the purpose of the paintings the hunting scenes, like those found in cave paintings in other parts of the world, some have suggested that they represent hunting victories, or perhaps a spiritual act of empowering the hunters to be successful in killing those animals painted before setting out on the hunt. The sizes of the hands in most of the images resemble those of adolescent boys. Thus, it has also been speculated that the hand prints could have been a tradition among the adolescents marking their advancement into manhood by stamping their hands on the walls of this sacred cave.

For me, even though it is important and fascinating to know why these artists produced these paintings, particularly the hand images, I find it even more thrilling to be able to see, almost touch, the hand prints of these people. It makes them seem so much more real, so much more human. It connects them to our lives in a deep way, even if I can't see them or talk to them. Just knowing their hands touched this rock is such a meaningful connection to their lives in a substantial way - almost like we can touch hands across time.