Cueva De Las Manos located is in Santa Cruz, Argentina.This cave is known for its handprints or hand stencils. This rock art goes back to the archaic ages tracing the ways of pre-Columbian South America.Compared to the oldest cave named the Blombos cave in South Africa, which is almost 100,000 years old - this cave of hands with unique rock art dates back to 75000 BC. Apart from the famous handprints, the Cueva De Las Manos has cavemen drawings that exhibit the different hunting scenes and techniques used to trap or catch the animals as means of food and clothing. The illustrations or cave paintings that make the caves critical archaeological sites are called pictographs or geoglyphs, and inscriptions are called petroglyphs or engravings.One should visit this thousand years old cultural cave situated in Santa Cruz province, Argentina for its uniqueness. One can either travel to the cave through the Ruta 40 or hike from Estancia Cueva de las Manos. The walk is an hour-long adventure wherein one can spot ostriches and guanacos on their way up the unpaved road.Check the Argentina flag meaning and animal and plant cells for kids for more fun facts.Hands Cave Argentina HistoryThe cave of the hands is known to have been one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites and hence was made as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 1999.Based on the archeological findings, the remains on the wall suggest that the hands’ cave was made by the Tehuelches’ forefathers, who were indigenous inhabitants that lived around 9,000 years ago. They used the Cueva de las Manos as a form of cave art wherein they painted hands or stenciled hands on the cave’s rock walls as a way to mark their presence or remembrance in the cave. Additionally, this hand-painted rock cave is amongst one of the oldest cave paintings - this can be decoded with the use of the uranium-thorium technique, which was older than 64,000 years. It is also said that this method was introduced by the archaic humans or the Neanderthal species.The technical details and findings of the cave with the positive handprints were first published by Carlos Gradin, the Argentine archeologist, in the year 1964. He was responsible for researching the cave area, the paintings, and connecting the cultural context with the cave art and styles. Hence, this cave with rock art is recognized all across the world.How were the handprints in Cueva de las Manos in Argentina made?It is said that the hand-prints on the cave walls were made by the Paleoindians who stayed there to mark their presence in the cave.The stenciled handprints are a substantial piece of rock art belonging to the Cueva de las Manos. When observed and studied in-depth, it was concluded that human beings mainly made the hand stencils of their left hands. This meant that they used their right hand to paint and create rock art. These people may have used bone-made pipes to spray the paint in order to develop hand stencils. Further observations conclude that the rock arts seem to bind the whole rock shelter in zigzag patterns due to the stenciled fingers intertwining with the different human hands - making it a unique piece of rock art.Which pigment is used in making the handprints in the hands cave in Argentina?The archeological outcomes are always interesting, as you get to know what all the evolving humans used to make ends meet.Through the study of the cave of the hands rock art, it was understood that the humans who painted on the rock used mineral pigments in order to add color to the hand stencils. They used the following minerals to create the respective colors for their rock art - kaolin for white, manganese oxide for black, copper oxides for green, iron oxides for red and purple, and natrojarosite for yellow. All of these markings of the hands was the human attempt to be remembered, even after they’d passed on their life reign.The Most Famous Cave PaintingEvery painting in the caves across the world is a sign of life existing for thousands of years - to be discovered by the new generations for study and preservation.Altamira cave in the region of Spain is considered to have the most famous and the oldest rock painting in the world. This painting belongs to animals in their art forms. This list of animals includes bison and horses painted in ochre and charcoal material.The other paintings that have been famous ever since their discovery consist of the following names with their respective locations; Serra da Capivara in Brazil, Lascaux painting in France, Bhimbetka in Bhopal, Laas gaal in Somalia, and Magura Caves in Bulgaria. The age of any of these paintings can be depicted with the age of the bone-made pipe that the people may have used while drawing.Did You KnowThe Cueva de las Manos has a lot more relevance in showcasing the historical and prehistorical references in South America.Along with the painted hands - for which the name ‘cave of the hands’ comes in, Cueva de las Manos exhibits a few other important prehistoric references too. These include the rock art or drawings of hunter-gatherers showcasing their hunting scenes and hunting techniques. The most common hunting scene on the rock art portrayed the human figures trying to push the lama guanicoe and other animals into the ravine this helped the hunters chase them and make the hunting scenes easier for perceiving.The rock art absolutely portrayed the animals that the humans ate along with a few different zigzag patterns, geometric shapes, prints that exhibited animals like lizards, spiders, ghosts, and pregnant animals that existed during that era too. These animal figures were usually drawn with the help of red dots and geometric shapes that closely related to the particular animal.The site also has red dots on the rock surface as a sign of stars. This was a form of rock art used by them to portray their beliefs in stars and thus can be assumed that these small things were a part of their culture.Apart from the hunting scenes and the hands as a part of the rock art, the cave of the hands - has a great geological history too.This site of the cave is located in the town of Santa Cruz, Argentina. The formation of this cave was an outcome of the process of erosion and geoformations of the ignimbrite and the volcanic rocks near the site. This cave is considered to have been a byproduct of the Jurrasic period. The process of rock erosion was due to the Pinturas river.Due to the low humidity rate at this site, it has been easier for the reservation organizations including UNESCO to take good care of the property.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! 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Cueva De Las Manos located is in Santa Cruz, Argentina.
