RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ROCK ART AND THE ARCHAEOFAUNAS

IN THE CENTRAL PATAGONIAN PLATEAU (ARGENTINA)

Laura Miotti* and Natalia Carden *
*

CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Divisin Arqueologa. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Paseo del Bosque S/N,
1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: lmiotti@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar, ncarden@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar.

The attraction of Shultzs Snoopy is his humanity

R. Tapper (1986)

RESUMEN
El objetivo de este trabajo es cruzar la informacin arqueofaunstica y del arte rupestre de la regin de la Meseta del Deseado
a fin de visualizar, de este modo, las actitudes de la gente hacia a los animales en el pasado prehispnico.
A lo largo de la ocupacin indgena, se observan cambios en el registro arqueofaunstico, por lo tanto se pretende conocer
si hubo una co-variacin entre la apropiacin de los recursos y las manifestaciones artsticas. Ciertos cambios de actitudes
pueden demarcarse, al menos, como hiptesis de trabajo. En este sentido, las preguntas clave de este trabajo son Cmo se
manifiestan los cambios de las expresiones artsticas, a travs del tiempo y el espacio? Y Cules son las actitudes y
relaciones entre la gente y los animales, preferentemente cazados y representados?
Para explorar estas cuestiones se utilizaron dos tipos de anlisis: estadstico y espacial, tanto intra como intersitio, para los
dos conjuntos de datos. Esta aproximacin metodolgica tomando dos aspectos de la cultura material, comnmente tratados
en la arqueologa argentina en forma separada, puede aportar informacin relevante para arribar a niveles tericos ms altos
que integren los planos econmicos, sociales y simblicos de la relacin entre la gente y su entorno.

ABSTRACT
The goal of this paper is to relate the archaeofaunistic information to the rock art in the Deseado Plateau region, with the aim
of visualizing in this way the attitudes of people towards animals during the prehispanic past.
Along the Indian occupation, certain changes are observed in the archaeofaunistic record, therefore, the goal is to know if
there was a co-variation between the appropriation of resources and the artistic manifestations. In this contribution, certain
changes of attitudes can be mentioned, at least as a hypothesis. In this sense, the key questions are: How are the changes
of the artistic expressions along space and time? And which are the attitudes and relations between people and animals,
especially those preferred to hunt and consume?
To explore these questions, two kinds of analysis were used for these two assemblages of data: statistical and spatial, both
intrasite and intersite. This methodological approach, considering two aspects of the material culture which have been
generally treated as separate in the Argentinean archaeology, can yield relevant information that may allow to reach higher
theoretical levels, integrating the economical, social and symbolic aspects of the relation between people and their
surrounding.

INTRODUCTION
The objective of this paper is to establish a relationship
between the archaeofaunal information and that obtained
from the rock art panels of the Central Patagonian Plateau.
Changes in the human behaviour and attitude towards
animals may reasonably be inferred from the analysis of
different archaeological materials. Since the Late Pleistocene

(Figure 1), the economies of several groups have been based

only on hunting and gathering. In the Central Patagonian
Plateau area, only recently -i.e., in the last 200 years-, have
western economies such as herding and mining been
incorporated.
Despite all the efforts to study the enormous variety of the
Patagonian rock art and all the archaeozoological papers on

!

as a domain, including Homo sapiens in the animal

kingdom; but on the other, it is considered as a
state or condition, excluding humanity from
animality. However, there are exceptions to that
opposition, especially if we consider totemic
thought (Lvi-Strauss 1964). Thus, the concepts
of animal and human should be seen as
intellectual constructs and as culturally relative, so
that the different meanings that animals had for the
hunter-gatherer societies could be understood
beyond their material utility as sources of food,
clothes or artefacts and be interpreted as symbols,
taboos and metaphors of human morality and
society (Tapper 1986).

Figure 1. Distribution of the archaeological sites in the study area:

Patagonian Plateau, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

human technology and mobility, the possibility of making

categorical assumptions about these topics is still remote,
due to a lack of basic works to rely upon. Among the many
rock art sites known in this area, only a few are relevant to
our analysis because not all of them count with the
archaeozoological quantitative information necessary to
relate them to rock art.
In spite of having little information available about the huntergatherers of the area, it is expected that cultural changes especially regarding the attitude of societies towards
animals- will be discovered (see Altuna 1983), either through
the study of rock art or food residues.
In order to understand the concept of animal it is important
to revise the concept of human being. The cultural
attitudes of people from different places/of different origins
and times towards animals have been studied from many
different disciplinary and theoretical standpoints [it would
be interesting to analyse the discussion among
anthropologists, archaeologists, psychologists, biologists,
ecologists and philosophers during the World
Archaeological Congress held in Southampton, UK, which
was later compiled by Ingold (1986)]. According to him, there
are two ways of approaching animality from the point of
view of western thought. On one hand animality is regarded

We expect to find tendencies in the human attitudes

across space and time, from which we could infer
cultural changes, at least as a hypothesis. For this
purpose, we consider a temporal division developed
in previous works (Miotti 1998; Miotti and Salemme
1999; Miotti et al. 1999a, 1999b) that uses the
concept of archaeological landscape to explain
spatial and temporal changes; it has always been a
complex task to relate rock art panels to stratigraphic
layers and to establish relative chronologies. At
the moment, there are two classic stylistic
sequences for Patagonia: one, by Menghin (1957),
is a general sequence for the entire Patagonian area,
Central
while the other, by Gradin (1983), is specific for the
area of Ro Pinturas in northwestern Santa Cruz,
adjacent to the Central Plateau. Therefore, we shall try to
integrate the available information in order to trace the
changes in the attitudes of humans towards animals in the
following way:
1. Colonisation landscapes:
These are constituted by societies with hunting and
gathering economies. There is a strong emphasis in the
hunting of guanacos and, though in less proportion, megamammals and medium-sized birds. This is the Pleistocene/
Holocene transition, from ca. 13 to 9 ky BP. It is a moment of
important environmental changes (Coronato et al. 1999;
Heusser 1989; Heusser et al. 1999; Pez et al. 2003) in which
the disappearance of mega mammals is one of the most
important events in the ecosystems in a world-wide scale
(Miotti and Salemme 1999). The period when the first huntergatherers arrived and began the exploration of the territory
in order to build this new landscape -where volcanic
eruptions had a strong influence and it was frequent for
rock shelters to collapse- their own is called the colonisation
moment. This period lasted nearly until 9 ky BP. The climate
was modelling a geological structure containing
hydrological basins with a higher availability of water. This
landscape, as any unknown landscape, implied a high risk
and generated uncertainty among the new groups. Following

"

Gamble (1993), social-territorial inclusion has been one of

the ways historically used by humans to minimise
environmental risk. Gamble and Soffer (1990) incorporated
the concept of artic hysterics to refer to the moments of
maximum expansion of ice (Last Glacial Maximum) during
the Old Worlds Upper Palaeolithic when a strong emphasis
was put on plastic representations, including rock art and
mobile art, thus drawing an analogy between this and the
process of social-territorial inclusion.

technological goods and raw materials from the Atlantic

coast -such as marine bivalves and snails- which had also
appeared, though in lower quantities, in previous
archaeological contexts (see tables 1A, 1B and 2).
Zooarchaeological objects from the Andes are also present
in the Central Plateau. This evidence demonstrates an
important population growth and, although societies
continued to be mobile, the exchange networks widened as
compared to the periods of colonisation and territorial

The concept of artic hysterics can be related to the

conception of animals as metaphors (Tapper 1986) and
symbols of human communication, and not simply as
economic symbols (Sebeock 1986). The following are the
representations that could be identified as belonging to that
moment in the Central Patagonian Plateau:

Mytilus sp.
Birds
Felis sp.
Canis sp.
Mylodon sp.
Zaedyus pichiy
Lama sp.
Hippidion saldiasi
Homo sapiens sapiens
Total

- Hand negatives and rows of dots found in Caves 2 and 3

at Los Toldos, El Ceibo, and Piedra Museo (Cardich et
al. 1973; Menghin 1957).
- Large felids. These are naturalist representations and
therefore are not part of scenes, found at El Ceibo and
La Reconquista (Cardich 1979).

2. Landscapes of Territorial Consolidation:

At this moment, from ca. 9 to 3 ky BP., hunting and gathering
are still the most important means of subsistence for
societies with a pedestrian mobility. There is an increase in
the hunting of the guanaco, which becomes a more
specialised activity, with a corresponding decrease in the
hunting of other mammals, birds and reptiles presently found
in Patagonia (Miotti 1998), and an increase in social
territoriality (Miotti and Salemme 1999).
The rock art which can be related to this period includes:
- Naturalistic hunting scenes and compositions with
guanacos and anthropomorphic figures, found at La
Mara, El Ceibo (Franchomme 1991), and Cerro Tres Tetas (Paunero 1995/1996). Dancing scenes, found in Cave
5 at Los Toldos and La Martita (Gradin and Aguerre
1983; Menghin 1957).
- Animal tracks (ungulates, felids and birds) carved on the
surface of large boulders, at Piedra Museo.

n
0
85
18
0
0
0
19
0
52
174

%
0
49
10
0
0
0
11
0
30

%
0
22
0
1
1
0
75
1
0

NISP
0
171
0
7
5
0
575
9
0
767

NISP
2
50
1
3
0
2
384
0
1
443

%
0
11
0
1
0
0
87
0
0.2

Table 1A. %NISP Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at

Piedra Museo. In Archaeofaunas, the column corresponding to the
Pleistocene/Holocene, Lama corresponds mainly to Lama guanicoe
and to Lama gracilis. Birds: Rheids (Pterocnemia pennata and Rhea
americana) and medium-sized birds.

Taxa
Marine bivalves
Birds
Felis sp.
Canis sp.
Mylodon sp.
Zaedyus pichyi
Lama sp.
Hippidion saldiasi
Homo sapiens sapiens
Total

Rock Art
n
0
85
18
0
0
0
19
0
52
174

%
0
49
10
0
0
0
11
0
30

Archaeofauna
Archaeofauna
Pleistocene/Holocene middle Holocene

MNI
0
13
0
1
1
0
15
4
0
34

%
0
38
0
3
3
0
44
12
0

MNI
1
10
1
1
0
1
14
0
1
29

%
3
34
3
3
0
3
48
0
3

Table 1B. %MNI Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at Piedra
Museo.

- Hand negatives and abstract signs are still present in all

these sites.

Taxa
Mytilus sp.
Aulacomya (cf) ater
Fisurella sp.
Birds (Pterocnemia
pennata)
Canis (Pseudalopex) sp.
Hippidion saldiasi
Lama sp.
Homo sapiens sapiens
Total

3. Landscapes of the Hunter-Gatherer Expansion:

This moment of pedestrian hunting and gathering began in
ca. 3.5-3 ky BP. and continued into the equestrian or
Tehuelche period, in 1725. The guanaco continued to be the
most hunted species, although there was an increase in the
consumption of other species. A new change in the use of
space and resources is detected, with increments in the
relative abundance of birds and small mammals in the
archaeofaunistic contexts and increase of exotic

Archaeofauna Archaeofauna
Pleistocene
middle Holocene
/Holocene

Rock Art

Taxa

Archaeofauna
Archaeofauna
Pleistocene/Holocene middle Holocene

Rock art

NISP

NISP%

NISP

NISP%

1
1
0

1
1
0

0
0
2

0
0
10.5

0
0
0

0
0
0

5.3

0
4
92
0
98

0
4
94
0

2
0
14
0
19

10.5
0
73.7
0

0
0
1
293
299

0
0
0.33
98

Table 2. Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at Cave 2, Los

Toldos. In the archaeofaunistic record, Lama sp. is Lama guanicoe.
Pterocnemia pennata is present in the archaeofaunas and one case
could be identified in rock art.

#

Several problems arouse during the procedure; one of them

was the lack of temporal detail for the rock art manifestations
in some of the localities considered. It is still necessary to
establish a stylistic sequence for the Central Plateau.
Franchommes doctoral dissertation (1991) focuses on the
study of the rock paintings of El Ceibo and La Mara localities,
among others, which shall be analysed later in this work
and are among the most abundant as regards animal
representations. Nevertheless, these studies are oriented
towards the spatial distribution of rock art rather than to
temporal change. That is why there are more temporal details
for the archaeofaunal assemblages than for rock art. This

The NISP was used as a unit of comparison of the faunal

abundance in the different sites, because these measures

ien

ap

om

sa

pi

en

on
di

pi
ip

ss

sa

ld

as

ias

p.

iy

ich

The relative abundance of the recorded species assumed as

economically relevant for the different temporal segments
of human occupation considered above, was used in the
quantification of the archaeofaunas.

La

sp

sp
yu

Za

ed

ylo

do

p.
ss
M

yt

ilu

ss

p.

The Central Plateau localities which shall be analysed are:

Piedra Museo, Los Toldos, El Ceibo, La Mara and Cerro
Tres Tetas (Figure 1).

ni

METHODOLOGY

sp

The objective of this paper is to understand the attitudes of

people towards animals, -particularly those hunted and/or
represented in rock art- and their relationships along time.

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Ca

The main economic activity was sheep herding. It started in

the late nineteenth century with the Desert Military
Campaign and the Argentinean occupation of the Indian
territories, leading to the disappearance of the most
important Tehuelche tribes, whose ancient and vast tracts
of land were reduced to small reserves. The introduction of
horses had a great impact and produced important changes
in the mobility and the economy, as well as in the social
structure of the tribes. From these historical times to the
present, people have continued to mark rocks with graffitis,
which consist of names or initials of names, dates, different
kinds of phrases, and human body parts. However, animal
representations are rare.

4. Herding Landscapes:

lis

- There is a constant repetition of rectilinear figures and

hand negatives in Cueva de La Hacienda and Cueva
Moreno, at Aguada del Cuero (Miotti et al. 1999c).

A descriptive database was used for the analysis of rock art

in order to obtain a percentual proportion of animal figures.
Those which did not make direct or indirect reference to
humans or animals were not quantified. The purpose was
not to study the relation of proportions between
zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and abstract figures, but to
establish the relation between animal/human rock art figures
and the archaeofaunas from each stratigraphic context.

rd

- Abstract rock carvings on basalt walls associated to

lagoons. These are simple and complex circular figures
and a few schematic animal tracks, mostly of birds; they
were found in Laguna Cerro Bonete and La Leonera,
from Aguada del Cuero locality (Miotti et al. 1999a,
1999b). Gradin (1976) reports similar contexts for the Ro
Pinturas area.

Fe

In the Central Plateau, the rock art associated with the

pedestrian phase consists of:

are available in all the published data considered for the

analysis. Given that the MNI was not present in all cases,
the NISP was taken as a unit. There was only one case
(Piedra Museo) in which the taxonomical abundance was
obtained from NISP and MNI (sensu Lyman 1994) so as to
demonstrate that both measures of taxonomic abundance
can only assess general tendencies in the size of samples,
but they do not provide with an idea of the number of
animals consumed in the past (Grayson 1984; Lyman 1994).
The comparative analysis of both quantitative parameters
yielded curves of a similar tendency (see Figures 2A and
2B). Therefore, due to space constrain, MNI is only
introduced as an example of what should be expected for
the other localities considered.

Bi

consolidation. Martnez and Gutierrez (2004) observed a

similar tendency in the strategies of appropriation of faunal
resources in the Pampean region during this same lapse.
Guanacos were the basic resource complemented by a wide
variety of mammals, birds and reptiles of small and medium
size. From this evidence they concluded that societies had
undergone a change from the specialised appropriation of
guanacos in the middle Holocene to a generalised strategy
in the Late Holocene.

6=N=
Rock Art
Archaeofauna Pleistocene/Holocene
Archaeofauna Middle Holocene
Figure 2A. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at
Piedra Museo, based on %NISP.

$

60%

Piedra Museo

50%
40%

Cueva Grande and AEP-1

30%

These rock-shelters are located in a volcanic area, near the

lower sections of the Blanco and Elornia creeks, at 146 m
a.s.l. The tuff conglomerate in which they are located is a
relict of a Jurassic sea ingression.

20%
10%

M
ari
ne

biv

alv
es
Bi
rd
s

Fe
lis
sp
.
Ca
ni
ss
p.
M
ylo
do
n
Za
sp
ed
yu
sp
ich
yi
La
m
H
as
ipp
p.
id
H
om ion
s
ald
os
ap
ias
ien
i
ss
ap
ien
s

0%

6=N=

Archaeofauna Pleistocene/Holocene"
Archaeofauna Middle Holocene
Rock Art
Figure 2B. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at
Piedra Museo, based on %MNI.

was even more problematic in the localities with more than

one occupational component. In spite of all, this work
intends to be a preliminary contribution to the study of the
archaeological relationships between humans and animals
from a symbolic perspective.
Complications were also found when trying to identify
different taxa in the rock art fauna. Only in some cases was
it possible to identify a species, whereas in the others it was
only possible to classify the figure as zoomorphic. More
details could be obtained from the archaeofaunistic analysis;
however, when necessary, the categories were made general
so they could be compared with rock art categories.
There were further problems (related to meaning)
encountered in the taxonomic identification of rock art,
especially because the plastic representation of a given
animal and/or human as a signifier does not necessarily
imply that that animal and/or human is the concept. In the
archaeofaunas there were clearer indicators of the capture
and consumption of certain animals for food. However, there
were no strong indicators to make assumptions about their
symbolic value. Perhaps it would be better to search for this
value by complementing zooarchaeological studies with the
analysis of plastic animal representations. Thus, the
exploration of symbolic aspects in the faunal remains is a
topic that needs further research.

SUMMARY OF THE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
INFORMATION IN THE REGION
The tables and graphics in this work summarise the
information obtained about the distribution of art and the
number of faunal remains in each of the selected sites.

The Pleistocene occupations have left printed scenes of

the primary processing of preys which were probably caught
near the rock-shelters (Miotti et al. 1999d), whereas multiple
activities were recorded from the Holocene Component.
The expectation for camelids, flightless birds, horses,
middle-sized birds, and big carnivore species must have
been high during the first moments of human occupation,
especially considering the present abundance of guanacos
(Lama guanicoe), ostriches (Pterocnemia pennata), wild
geese (Chloephaga sp.), partridges (Eudromia elegans),
foxes (Canis pseudalopex), and pumas (Felis concolor) in
the springs next to the rock formation (the only springs in
20 km nearby), and the greater availability of water in other
occupational moments (Miotti and Hermo 2000). This is also
observed in the archaeological record of the archaeofaunistic
remains found in the lower stratigraphical units: mainly Lama
guanicoe, followed by Rhea sp., Hippidion saldiasi, Lama
gracilis, Canis sp., and Mylodon sp. However, the
biodiversity available for the Pleistocene hunter-gatherers
gradually decreased; the most important species that was
incorporated during the middle Holocene was Lama
guanicoe (Miotti and Salemme 1999). The only human
remain found in Piedra Museo is an incisor tooth from the
Upper Holocene Component.
The paintings and carvings of the rock-shelters are
summarised in Tables 1A and 1B, and in Figures 2A and 2B.
There is a great amount of animal tracks carved over the
horizontal surface of some boulders inside the rock-shelters.
Among these, bird tracks are the most abundant, followed
by guanaco, felid and horse tracks (see de Aparicio and
Frengelli 1933/1935 and Miotti 1991, for the interpretation
of hooveless horse tracks in Piedra Museo). At this point, it
is worth noting that if those figures represent horse tracks,
two different hypotheses could be formulated:
a) They belong to European hooveless horses; therefore,
they would be postHispanic petroglyphs, or
b) they belong to an extinct horse (Hippidion saldiasi) and
the petroglyphs were made during the late Pleistocene
or the early Holocene, i.e., before the extinction of these
animals.

Although it is known that the feet of Hippidion had a wider

metapodial and were more robust than those of modern
horses (Equus caballus), their tracks are not easily
distinguished (Brink 1967; Casamiquela and Chong Daz
1975). Thus, the question of the chronology of the

%

petroglyphs shall be answered in future excavations, in order

to establish the relation of the carved block to the
archaeological layers. Until this task is accomplished, these
motives do not qualify as horse tracks and so cannot be
related to the proportions of Hippidion remains. This topic
will be further discussed in the conclusions.

motives were carved in abundance in Piedra Museo, one of

the centres of the Style according to the author. The relation
between the taxonomic abundance represented in rock art
and the archaeofaunistic record can be observed in Figure 3.

The human figures consist of a few hands and feet carved

on the boulders and of positive and negative hand paintings
on the walls and roofs of the rock-shelters. Modern graffiti
only represent human signs.

This cave is located in the southern margin of Las Cuevas

Canyon. It is 20 m wide and 22 m deep, with heights that
decrease from 6 m in the entrance to 1.5 m in the deepest
area of the cave. It is divided into two chambers. Both the
structure of the cave and the archaeological remains in it
suggest that it was a site of multiple activities.

The three caves considered in the analysis are located in

Las Cuevas Canyon, at Los Toldos farm, southwards of the
middle course of Deseado river. This place is very rich in
archaeological remains, many of which were found in the
numerous caves. The landscape is conformed by plateaus
which are cut by temporary river courses that determine
levels from 300 m a.s.l. up to 600 m a.s.l. at the highest terraces.
Cave 2
It is located at the southern slope of Las Cuevas Canyon
(Cardich et al. 1973) at 120 km NW from Piedra Museo (Figure
1). The archaeofaunistic assemblage considered for this
paper comes from test pits excavated by Menghin in 1951,
later analysed by Mengoni-Goalons (1976-1980) and by
Miotti (1998). They represent two different stages of human
occupation. Menghin called them Toldense (11-8.5 ky BP.)
and Casapedrense (7.3-4.8 ky BP.) respectively. Most of the
identified remains in both cultural layers belong to Lama
guanicoe. However, other species were identified, such as
Hippidion sp. and Aulacomya ater for the Toldense, as
well as canid remains and Pterocnemia pennata for the upper
layer d (Casapedrense). Likewise, two beads made from
Fisurella and a fragment of Mytilus were recovered from
the excavations in 1986 (Miotti 1998: Figure 2). Unfortunately,
the numerical data of the archaeofaunistic materials from
Cardichs excavations in 1986 and 1988 could not be
incorporated in this analysis, since they are not published.
The rock art information comes from the record of motives
and the analysis of overlapping figures and photographic
documentation made by L. Miotti and A. Castro in 1987
(Cardich et al. 1987). A large amount of hand negatives were
recorded, as well as some geometrical signs, hand positives,
a foot negative, and negatives of guanaco and and
(ostrich-like) feet (Table 2). Menghin (1957) included the
hand negatives in what he called a Style of Negatives
which was related to the oldest Toldense layers. However,
the positive hands and negatives of animal tracks could be
more modern and their origin could be explained by relating
them to the Style of Tracks from around 4 ky BP. These

The quantitative faunal analysis is the most detailed for the

locality (Miotti 1998: Chapter 7). Although there is no
systematic information concerning rock art, it is important
to mention that all the motives are hand negatives, which
would constitute the oldest Style of Negatives (Cardich
et al. 1973; Menghin 1957).
Guanaco remains are predominant in the Pleistocene/
Holocene transition, as well as in the Holocene, although
Lama gracilis, Hippidion sp., and bird remains were also
identified. The high percentage of guanaco in the
Casapedrense and Patagoniense upper layers, shows an
increasing tendency towards the specialisation in the
hunting of this animal (Miotti 1998). It was not necessary to
illustrate the relation between rock art and the archaeofaunas
in this cave through tables and graphics, since this is an
extreme case in which the representation of animals, or their
parts, is completely absent in the paintings and the total
NISP for all the identified species and genus includes 3,523
specimens.
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

M
yti
Au
lus
lac
sp
om
ya
(cf
)a
ter
Bi
rd
Fi
s(
s
u
Pt
re
ero
lla
cn
sp
em
ia
Ca
pe
ni
nn
s(
ata
Ps
eu
)
da
lop
ex
Hi
)s
pp
p.
idi
on
sa
ldi
asi
Ho
La
mo
ma
sa
sp
pie
.
ns
sa
pie
ns

Los Toldos

Cave 3

Taxa

Archaeofauna Pleistocene/Holocene
Archaeofauna Middle Holocene
Rock art
Figure 3. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at Cave
2, Los Toldos.

&

Cave 13

El Ceibo

It is located in the left margin of Las Cuevas Canyon. The

excavated area in the cave is not significant, especially if it
is compared with the total surface (100 m wide and 7 m
deep). Some anthropomorphic figures and a hand negative
can be observed next to the excavations. Remains of red
painting were found along the cave, although no motives
could be distinguished due to the bad preservation of the
paintings.
Human occupations belong to the middle Holocene. In both
components, Casapedrense and Patagoniense, the guanaco
was the species selected by hunters as a basic resource,
but towards the end of the period, small birds (Passeriforms;
Phalacrocorax sp.), the armadillo (Zaedyus pichiy) and the
red fox (Canis (Pseudalopex) culpaeus) could have been
used as complementary resources (Table 3 and Figure 4).
The analysis of these remains, together with those from
lithic materials, the presence of a pole mark, and several
hearth remains, brought the excavators to infer the
secondary processing of preys, their consumption and the
production of lithic and bone instruments. This means that
the site could have functioned as a locus of multiple
activities.
Archaeofauna
middle Holocene

Taxa
Birds
Canis (Pseudalopex) sp.
Lama guanicoe
Zaedyus pichyi
Homo sapiens sapiens
Total

NISP
3
2
383
10
0
395

Rock Art

%NISP
0.8
0.5
97
3
0

n
0
0
0
0
4
4

%
0
0
0
0
100

Table 3. Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at Cave 13, Los
Toldos. No genus or species were identified for birds.
100%
90%

Caves 6 and 7
These sites are located on a Chon Ake tuff formation cliff
which surrounds a depression with a shallow lagoon. They
occupy 19 m of the same wall face. Rock-shelters 6A, 6B, 6C
and 7 conform a big protection that must have been even
larger during the early Holocene, when it was covered by a
roof that later collapsed and conformed the boulders that
can be observed nowadays.
The greatest concentration of paintings is in rockshelters
6A, 6B, and 6C, where there are no archaeological remains
or evidences of domestic occupation. The camelid
representations, generally in profile, are predominant,
although birds (birds and bird tracks), canids (see figure in
Franchomme 1991:96-97), and felids can also be observed.
One among the latter was mentioned by Cardich (1979) as
the most conspicuous motive of the locality. It is 1.50 m
long, painted in red with black dots. Later, Franchomme (1991)
analysed this motive in his doctoral dissertation. Cardich
(1979) suggested that its origin could be traced back to the
late Pleistocene/early Holocene and that it could represent
an extinct species, Panthera ona mesembrina. Bones of
this species were found in Ultima Esperanza region (Gruta
del Mylodon and Cueva del Medio). These kinds of motives
are also present in Cueva de los Felinos, at Sin Nombre
Canyon, in La Reconquista farm, though they are yellow
with black dots. Other taxonomic alternatives were suggested
for these figures, such as jaguars, wild cats or puma cubs
(Arrigoni 1996). These feline figures seem to be
circumscribed to the Central Plateau. They occupy central
positions in the panels and caves and are much larger than
the rest of the figures. They are represented in a dynamic
position and some of them could be said to be in an ambush
attitude. This, together with the absence of domestic
evidence, led us to assume that the caves were used for
ritual purposes and that the feline figures were sacred.
The only excavated rockshelter is number 7. Two red
paintings of guanacos were found on the wall under the
sediments. Cardich suggested that they could be related to
the oldest cultural layers: Toldense or Level 11 (Cardich
1979; Cardich et al. 1981-1982).

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%

Ho
m
o

sa
pi
en

ed
yu
s
Za

ss
ap

pi
ch

ien
s

yi

e
ni
co
m
ag
ua
La

Ca
ni

s(
Ps
eu
da
l

op
ex
)

sp
.

Bi
rd
s

0%

Taxa
Archaeofauna Middle Holocene

Rock Art

Figure 4. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at Cave

13, Los Toldos.

Extinct species such as Hippidion sp. and Lama gracilis,

and present fauna such as Pterocnemia pennata, Felis
concolor, and Lama guanicoe have been recovered from
the lower strata (Table 4 and Figure 5).
All the faunistic remains correspond to the metapodial and
acropodial bones. This leads to the hypothesis that the
area was used for activities such as skin processing and
consumption of meat and bone marrow (Cardich et al. 19811982; Mansur-Franchomme 1983; Miotti 1998). Furthermore,
the location of the cave facing the lagoon -which would

'

Archaeofauna
Rock Art
Pleistocene/Holocene

Taxa

NISP
% NISP
n
%
Birds (Pterocnemia
1
4
2
1
pennata)
7
30
2
1
Felis sp.
0
0
1
1
Canis pseudalopex
2
9
0
0
Hippidion saldiasi
13
57
77
49
Lama sp.
0
0
75
48
Homo sapiens sapiens
23
157
Total
Table 4. Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at Caves 6 and 7,
El Ceibo. Felis concolor remains appear in the archaeofaunistic
records. Lama sp. corresponds to bone remains from Lama gracilis
and Lama guanicoe.
60%

and M. E. Mansur, is considered. The archaeofaunistic

information about Casa del Minero 1 and La Mesada comes
from a preliminary analysis made by one of the authors (LM),
Martn Vzquez and palaeontologist Mariano Bond (Paunero
2003). The rock art information was published by
Franchomme (1991). Our own field observations,
documented between 1999 and 2000, were also used in this
analysis.
At the highest section of La Mara, with a landscape
conformed by ravines, the two caves with archaeofaunistic
data -La Lavandera and La Mesada- were related to the
rock art data from the same caves and from others in the
proximity (see Table 5 and Figure 6). The rock art from the
lowest section of Casa del Minero 2 was related to the faunal
bone remains from the excavations made in the contiguous
cave, Casa del Minero 1.

50%
40%

Cueva La Mesada

30%

Rock Art

Figure 5. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at Caves

6 and 7, El Ceibo.

n
6
2
67
51
126

%
5
2
53
40

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Ho
m
o

The study of the surface sites and the systematic

excavations have also been very scarce, and the only
relevant works are those started in 1995 by Rafael Paunero
(UNLP).
In this contribution, the archaeofaunistic data obtained
through Miottis studies (1989) on the bone remains from
Cueva La Lavandera, excavated at that moment by A.Cardich

Rock Art

Table 5. Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at La Mara

Quebrada. In the archaeofaunistic record birds are Rheids.

is
sp
.

Up to the present, this is the most important archaeological

locality in the Central Plateau as regards the quantity, variety
and diversity of rock art sites. These are distributed in the
lowest and highest sections of a centripetal drainage system,
with more than 40 canyons and creeks that end in a lagoon,
which is situated in a big depression facing the main houses
of the farm.

Birds
Felis sp.
Lama guanicoe
Homo sapiens sapiens
Total

Fe
l

La Mara

Taxa

Bi
rd
s

attract animals (mammals and avifauna)-, the presence of

springs less than 100 m from the rockshelters, and the larger
proportion of lithic instruments as compared with bones,
suggest that the site functioned as an area of multiple
activities.

Archaeofauna
middle
Holocene
NISP
%NISP
15
4
2
1
331
95
0
0
348

ss
ap
ien
s

Archaeofauna Pleistocene/Holocene

Guanaco remains from one individual (MNI=1) were

recovered in the excavation. A geometrical motif has been
painted, together with a group of hand negatives. Two

sa
pi
en

Taxa

ss
ap
ien
s

La
ma
sp
.

asi
on
sa
ldi
pid
i
Hi
p

sp
se
ud
alo
pe
x

sp
.
Fe
lis

Ca
ni

Ho
mo
sa
pie
n

Bi
rd
s(

Pt
er

oc
ne
mi

ap
en
na
ta)

0%

ni
co

10%

This small cave is situated at 350 m a.s.l., at the lowest section

of a ravine which is approximately 600 m long, where 31
caves with rock art paintings were recorded. It is a small
rockshelter that has an entrance facing a large damp terrain
(malln) where several other ravines with caves
containing rock art converge.

La
m
ag
ua

20%

Taxa
Archaeofauna Middle Holocene
Rock Art
Figure 6. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at La
Mara Quebrada.



radiocarbon datings were obtained from charcoal samples

at different stratigraphical units, and as a result two
occupations were established, one belonging to the early
Holocene (ca. 9 ky BP.) and the other to the middle Holocene
(ca. 4.5 ky BP.).
Up to the moment there is no information about the activities
performed in the cave. There are many lithic materials on the
surface of the entrances to the other caves which could be
related, due to their rawness, to a formation of opals situated
at the head of the ravine (Franchomme 1991).
Cueva La Lavandera
This cave is located in a secondary canyon that runs W-E
to join the main damp terrain malln that collects water
from several subsidiary canyons. It is situated at an altitude
between 200 and 250 m a.s.l, facing a spring. It is a small
cavity that occupies an area of 7 x 10 m, formed in a cliff of
volcanic ignimbrites (Miotti 1998: Figure 7.1.38). It has a low
density of rock art manifestations on the wall at the back of
the cave. The motives are not well- preserved, maybe
because they are exposed to sunlight the most part of the
day. The only figures that can be distinguished are two
hand negatives and a foot, all three painted in red.
The excavations were conducted in 1984 by A. Cardich and
Mansur. The archaeological context occupies 15 cm within
the artificial layers 4 and 6. The bedrock appears at 85 cm
depth, within what was denominated layer 9. The lithic
assemblage includes materials made on short blades, which
Cardich attributed to the Casapedrense, i.e., to an
occupation from the middle or late Holocene.
The archaeofaunistic assemblage of this unicomponent site
includes 500 bone specimens. Only 52 of them could be
identified at a taxonomic level of species (Miotti 1998: Tables
7.1.8 and 7.1.9). The guanacos are the most represented
animals in this sample, followed by and (American ostrichlike) shell-eggs.

by miners who extracted kaolin from the zone, and therefore,

the paintings of this cave could have been covered by soot
from the hearths and by the lime with which the interior
walls were painted. Unifacial tools on large flakes were found
in this cave, as well as slimmed bifacial flakes. The presence
of extinct fauna and the dating from 10 to 11 ky BP., indicate
an early occupation of this site. Studies about its function
have recently started. The structure of the archaeofaunistic
assemblage from the excavation and the quantification of
the rock art motives are summarised in Table 6 and Figure 7.

Cerro Tres Tetas

This archaeological locality is situated at 450 m a.s.l.
northwards from La Mara and El Ceibo, and 75 km SW from
Piedra Museo. Cave 1 from C3T is a multicomponent site
with datings from the Pleistocene and the Holocene (Paunero
1995/1996). It is located next to a spring.
The evidences of thermal treatment in the lithic pieces from
the first occupational component, together with a few
hearths and faunal remains, show that the cave was used
for a limited number of activities, related mainly to the first
steps into the confection of lithic instruments and the
processing of bone and hide. From the archaeological record

Taxa

NISP
1
8
31
0
40

Rhea sp.
Canis (Pseudalopex) sp.
Lama sp.
Homo sapiens sapiens
Total

Rock Art

%NISP
3
20
78
0

n
0
0
2
3
5

%
0
0
40
60

Table 6. Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at Caves 1 and 2,

Casa del Minero. In the archaeofaunistic record, Lama sp. corresponds
to Hemiauchenia paradoxa, Lama gracilis and Lama guanicoe.

It is suggested that this site was used only temporarily

(probably in spring because of the presence of shell-eggs)
for a number of activities such as hide and skin processing,
consumption of certain parts of the guanacos hunted nearby,
confection and resharpening of the lithic materials, and
preparation of the bone materials, possibly for making blade
handles (Miotti 1998).

90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Casa del Minero, caves 1 and 2 (CM1 and CM2)

These rockshelters are located in a formation of ignimbrites,
18 km southwards from Cueva La Mesada and 17 km SW
from Cueva La Lavandera (Paunero 2003). At their foothill,
down a steep canyon, there is a big depression with a shallow
lagoon in the middle, at a distance of 800 m. Only CM2
contains rock art (hand negatives and guanacos). However,
CM1 was occupied at the beginning of the twentieth century

Archaeofauna
Pleistocene/Holocene

ea
Rh

sp

ni
Ca

x)
pe
al o
d
u
se
(P

.
sp

m
La

as

p.

s
mo
Ho

s
ns
pie

ap

s
ien

Taxa

Archaeofauna Pleistocene/Holocene

Rock Art
Figure 7. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at Cave
1 and 2, Casa del Minero. La Mara.



of the Middle and Late Holocene occupations, it was inferred

that the cave was used for multiple domestic activities
(processing and consumption of food, confection of
instruments, etc.). Most of the faunal remains in both
components correspond to guanaco (Table 7 and Figure 8).

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
ARCHAEOFAUNA AND ROCK ART
FAUNA

Among the rock art manifestations, the scene considered in

the analysis includes two guanacos in profile and six small
anthropomorphic figures. One of the human figures seems
to be lacing the smallest guanaco (see Figure 8 in Paunero
2000). The scene has not been related to any component
yet though, according to the classical sequences and the
periods suggested for the Style of Scenes (Menghin 1957)
or A style (Gradin 1978), it could belong to the early
Holocene. Another lacing scene was found at La Mara
(Cardich 1987). This painting, together with the high
proportion of young guanaco individuals in the Holocene
layers (Casapedrense) of Los Toldos and the absence of
projectile points, was used as evidence to support the idea
of an incipient domestication of guanacos during the middle
Holocene (Cardich and Paunero 1994). According to the
authors, after a volcanic eruption -which is shown in an ash
layer from Los Toldos above the Casapedrense layers-,
people migrated to other regions, abandoned the herding
practices and reverted to a hunter-gatherer economy.
However, it is believed that the laces in the paintings are an
indicator of hunting practices and not necessarily of animal
herding. The use of laces as a hunting strategy by Indian
groups in Patagonia had already been reported in chronicles
(Pigafetta 1906).

Piedra Museo

Taxa
Small mammals
Lama guanicoe
Homo sapiens
sapiens
Total

Archaeofauna
Pleistocene/Holocene
NISP
1
19

%NISP
5
95

Archaeofauna
middle
Holocene
NISP
%NISP
0
0
100
100
0

20

100

Although most part of the bone remains from the

Pleistocene/Holocene transition and the Holocene
correspond to guanaco, this animal is not much represented
in rock art. Conversely, the number of birds represented in
rock art is larger than the number of bones belonging to
birds (Figures 2A and 2B).

Los Toldos
Although almost all of the archaeofauna from Cave 2
corresponds to guanaco, this animal is scarcely represented
in rock art. The same happens with the and (Rhea sp.),
although this animal represents a smaller proportion in the
archaeofaunistic record. Human figures are more abundant
in paintings, especially in hand negatives. The human
presence is also predominant in the rock art from Caves 3
and 13 (Figures 3 and 4).

El Ceibo
In this locality there is a correspondence of proportions
between the most hunted species -guanaco- and the
representation of this animal in rock art (Figure 5). Human
figures are also largely represented in rock art. Although
the size of the two represented felids is much larger than
that of the rest of the figures of the locality, their proportion
in the painted panels is very low, even lower than the
proportion of felid bones in the stratigraphy, with a NISP
representing 30% of the taxonomic abundance. Seven feline
elements were found; due to the lack of evidences of human
cuts it has been suggested that they entered the sediment
non-intentionally (Miotti 1989, 1998). These elements belong
to a paw of Felis concolor (puma). However, if we analyse
the anatomical units which are present and cross this
information with the exaltation of the feline figure compared
to the representation of humans and camelids, other
alternatives can be suggested:

Rock Art
n
0
2

78

22

Table 7. Taxonomic richness and rock art motives at Cave 1, Cerro

Tres Tetas.
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%

a) The paw is a remain of the processing of hide.

b) The paw entered the site through another kind of human
agency.

20%
0%
Small mammals

Lama guanicoe

Homo sapiens sapiens

c) The paw entered the sediment in a natural way.

Taxa

Since the excavated site is located a few metres away

from the panel with the painted feline, and was interpreted
as a locus for a limited number of activities related to the
processing of hides and the consumption of meat,

Archaeofauna Pleistocene/Holocene
Archaeofauna Middle Holocene
Rock Art

Figure 8. Relationship between rock art and archaeofaunas at Cerro

Tres Tetas.

hypotheses a) and b) would make more sense than

hypothesis c). Besides, it is very difficult to assume that
the differential preservation of the anatomical units after
the death of the animal, together with the postdepositional processes, could have generated a pattern
with the preservation of only the distal end of the paw of
the animal.

La Mara
In this locality we found similar proportions to that El Ceibo
is found. This means that here the most abundant species
in the archaeofauna are also the most popular in rock art.
The most abundant painted figures are the camelids, followed
by humans. Felines and birds have a low representation in
the archaeofaunas, as well as in rock art. The same
tendencies were observed for the sites located at the highest
altitudes or ravines, and for Casa del Minero site at the
lowest heights (see the similar curves in Figures 6 and 7).

Cerro Tres Tetas

In this locality, with human occupations of the late
Pleistocene and the late Holocene, human representations
are predominant. Although the most hunted species guanaco- has also been painted, the frequency of motives
is much lower than the proportion of bone remains (Table 7
and Figure 8).

ANIMALS BEYOND FOOD

Birds
The proportion of birds is always low in the archaeofaunistic
records and in rock art. The only exception is that of Piedra
Museo, where the record of big birds such as and
(Rheidae family) as well as that of medium and small-sized
birds, such as swans and wild geese (Cygnus sp.;
Chloephaga sp.), partridges (Eudromia sp.), and falcons
(Polyborus sp.) are represented in great number in the bone
assemblages. In the same way, not only the quantity of
birds represented in rock art, but also the formal variability
of bird tracks is high, which would support the idea of a
higher bio-diversity of avifauna as a product of their location
in a lacustrian, possibly swampy environment.
A plausible explanation for this high record of birds, or at
least for the high record of and, could be that among all
the sites that were analysed, Piedra Museo was the only
one that was interpreted as a killing site and as a locus of
prey processing at the border of an ancient Pleistocene
palaeolake. Furthermore, according to the ethnographic and
ethnohistorical sources, the meat and fat from rheids were

highly valued by the nomad Patagonian hunter-gatherers,

who preferred this meat to that of guanacos. Moreover, the
chronicles show that and fat was considered of a better
quality than fat from other animals, and that women filtered
and stored it for cosmetics and corporal paintings (Claraz
1988; Musters 1964). These birds were most commonly
consumed where collective guanaco huntings took place,
since both species share the same territories and it is very
common to see them at the same springs and grazing fields.
Birds constituted an important resource for the historical
hunter-gatherers, not only as a direct feeding product, but
also because of their feathers, which were important in the
confection of projectiles and for their emblematic use by
totemic clans (Miotti and Salemme 1999). During the
equestrian moment, and feathers were important items of
exchange with the white society (Claraz 1988; Musters 1964;
Priegue 1971).

Camelids
At this stage of the archaeological research in Patagonia,
there is almost no doubt about the hypothesis of the
supremacy of the guanaco over the rest of the mammal
species. This hypothesis states that since the late
Pleistocene colonisation, hunter-gatherers used many of
these animal products such as meat, fat, hides and bones.
The high proportions of camelids in rock art suggest their
high symbolic value. Guanacos are present in all the studied
sites, as whole figures or as tracks, although in lower
proportions as compared to their number in the archaeofauna
as a resource obtained through hunting. However, there are
temporal differences in the frequency and treatment of
guanacos which will be seen in the next chapter.

Horses
At least in three of the analysed sites, the number of horse
bone remains is significant. Therefore, it can be suggested
that during the first moments of the occupation of the area,
horses, together with rheids, were considered as resource
which was complementary to the main guanaco diet.
However, their plastic representation is not abundant and,
at the same time, it is controversial. At La Mara and Los
Toldos localities (Cardich 1977) two zoomorphic figures were
classified as possible horses, but they are too schematic. At
Piedra Museo, some semi circular petroglyphs were
interpreted as hooveless horse tracks (de Aparicio 19331935) (see Figures 9 A-B, and 10). However, this
interpretation was discussed by Menghin (1957) because if
the motives truly correspond to horse tracks, then they
should be considered post Hispanic; and the petroglyphs
from Piedra Museo belonged to what he named Style of
Tracks, ca. 4 ky BP., before the arrival of European horses

!

remains in the units at the bottom are considered. But after

seventy years of discussion this formal similarity is still a
problem to be solved because it is possible that this animal
remained in the memory of the people through oral tradition.
There is an example of the knowledge and use of fossils at
the Arroyo Feo locality in the Ro Pinturas area. Two molars
of Equus sp. were found in layers from 3.3 ky BP. As the
layers had not been disturbed, the species could not belong
to modern horse. This means that the molars were
incorporated to the site by people long after the extinction
of these animals (Gradin et al. 1979).

Figure 9A. Horse hoof. Structure and imprint of a horse hoof.

Taken from Bang and Dahlstrm (2001).

to the continent. Miotti (1991) readdressed this discussion.

Considering the presence of horse fossil remains (Hippidion
saldiasi) in the lower stratigraphic units of Piedra Museo,
and at other localities of the area (Los Toldos and El Ceibo),
she suggested that the motives could correspond to tracks
of extinct horses from the Pleistocene/Holocene transition.
The low amount of horse representations in the rock art of
this region could be explained as a result of the short time
these animals coexisted with hunter-gatherers before their
extinction in South America (ca. 8.5 ky BP.). It is also possible
that their distribution was, at that moment, more restricted,
and so this could be another reason why they were not
represented in many places.
During the excavations in Piedra Museo in 1996 only a small
surface could be uncovered next to one of the borders of
the carved block. In the profile obtained it could be seen
that, at least in this corner, the block is leaning on the middle
section of stratigraphic unit n 1 -the top layer-, which has
no radiocarbon dating but should be younger than 7.4 ky
BP. (the date obtained for the middle Holocene occupation
from unit n 2). Therefore:
a) The petroglyphs could be dated, as Menghin suggested,
at ca. 4 ky BP.
b) The block (2.40 x 1.30 m) is irregularly shaped and not
completely positioned on a horizontal surface. Some of
its parts could be leaning on other units beneath n 1.

Having only these evidences, it is still difficult to support

the idea that the petroglyphs belong to the Pleistocene/
Holocene transition. Further excavations need to be made
to test this hypothesis. It is also difficult to support a post
Hispanic age hypothesis because there is no evidence of
occupations after the middle Holocene in Piedra Museo.
The similarity of these motives to hooveless horse tracks is
remarkable, especially if most of the motives in this block
which are animal tracks and the presence of fossil horse

Figure 9B. Comparison of horse hoofs with and without shoe. Taken
from Bang and Dahlstrm (2001).

"

environmental reasons, or to the potential of the site for the

ambush and killing of animals.
Humans and camelids seem to be the most popular figures
in the rock art of this region. This, together with the high
amount of guanacos in the bone assemblages from the
analysed sites, would show, on one hand, that the most
represented animals were the most hunted ones, and, on
the other hand, that the role played by humans would have
been valued, at least symbolically in the plastic
representations, as an important predatory tool.

Figure 10. Boulder at AEG2 site, Piedra Museo showing carvings

interpreted as horse prints without shoe. Taken from Miotti (1991).

Felids
As non-human predators their presence is very low, either
in the form of bone remains or plastic representations. At
this point it is important to question if the representation of
felines is related to a concept of animality or humanity,
since both humans and felines would have been camelid
hunters. To accept the idea that these felines represented
animals in a strict sense would imply that humanity is a
condition that opposes animality and thus, it is excluded
from it. But if we consider the central position that these
figures occupy in the panels of El Ceibo and La Reconquista
together with their large size as compared to other figures,
and the absence of domestic evidence in these sites, is
considered the representations could be understood from
another point of view of animality, seeing felines as a
metaphor of hunters. On the other hand, it is important to
consider the fact that in all ecosystems predators appear in
smaller proportion than their preys, or that the human
hunters selected and preserved their preys -otherwise they
would extinguish their very means of life. Thus, this
argument could also be used as an explanation of the low
amount of plastic representations (see Vinnicombe 1972). In
this sense, the representations could be the expression of
the human knowledge about the delicate ecological
equilibrium of the environment and about the relationship
between hunters and their preys.

Human figures
Humans are more represented than animals in Los Toldos
and Cerro Tres Tetas. In El Ceibo and La Mara, the
proportions of camelids are slightly higher than those of
human figures. At Piedra Museo, the representation of birds
is far more abundant than the representation of humans,
but, as it was stated before, this could respond to micro-

ANIMAL SYMBOLS THROUGH

TIME
According to what was expressed above, it can be suggested
that in the Central Patagonian Plateau there is a continuum
through time in which animals never lost their importance
within the symbolic worlds of hunter-gatherer societies,
despite their stylistic differences and the different
frequencies in their spatial and temporal distribution.
Although the relationship between hunters and their preys
has always been an important topic, some changes could
be observed in that relationship in the different moments
considered in this work. There are certain motives, such as
hand negatives and some abstract symbols -especially rows
of dots- which are constantly repeated through time since
the beginning of the human occupation in Patagonia. No
matter the repetition of certain figures, it is still possible to
describe tendencies through time.
It is also possible to assume that the attitude of hunters,
especially when facing risky or uncertain situations, was
naturalised and expressed through the exaltation of another
predator, the feline.
During the first moments of the exploration and appropriation
of this new landscape, hunting activities were opportunistic.
Although guanacos were the basic animals in the diet of
people, this was complemented by the consumption of other
mammals and birds.
The territorial consolidation of hunter-gatherers during the
early and middle Holocene corresponds to a shift in the
hunting practices towards the specialisation in the hunting
of guanacos together with an increase in mobility. The
increment in the proportions of guanacos in the
archaeofaunas is coincident with a quantitative and
qualitative increase in the plastic representations of this
animal. This has been widely recorded for the Ro Pinturas
area (Gradin et al. 1979). The paintings may include dynamic
hunting scenes with humans and guanacos, where humans,
in spite of being represented in a smaller size and in less
detail than the animals, play an active and explicit role in
their appropriation. Guanacos are also represented in other
attitudes, such as grazing, giving birth or rearing newborns.

#

Hand negatives painted over guanaco figures are also

common. This may symbolically suggest an appropriation
of the animal by the hunter.
During the territorial expansion that took place around the
late Holocene, an increase in the mobility and in the human
population could be observed in the plateau, coast and
cordillera, as well as a faunistic diversification in the diet of
people. In those moments of wider exchange networks among
different groups, animal representations decreased. Among
the proliferation of abstract signs, many of which are carved,
the animal signs that can be recognised are schematic tracks,
mostly from birds.
The most important change occurred as a result of the
contact between the Indian and European societies. This
change coincides with the end of rock art production, the
introduction of horses, and with a shift in the economy
towards an emphasis on sheep herding. This also
corresponds to a shift in the attitudes of people towards old
and new animals. People continued making inscriptions on
the rocks, probably in response to other kinds of
motivations, but these graffiti rarely include animal figures.

Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Mnica Salemme, Eduardo Tonni, Gustavo
Martnez, Martn Vzquez, Daro Hermo, and Francisco
Gallardo who patiently read the manuscript and suggested
accurate and valuable comments to improve it. We are also
indebted to Luca Magnin for her help with the images. We
consider important to mention that the proper or improper
assumptions in this paper are the exclusive responsibility
of the authors. This paper has been partially funded by
PICT-ANPCYT # 12387/02 and PIP- CONICET # 02704/01.

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