Cueva De Las Manos.

23.12.12

Cueva De Las Manos, Cave of the hands.

After a wonderful meal of half a lamb slow roasted over coals with cardboard over the top ( if the cardboard catches fire, coals too hot) we head off to this UNESCO world heritage site. The approach road from being flat steppe suddenly reveals canyons, rivers and lush growth. It really is stunning seeing a beautiful river meandering through lush vegetation, reddy brown canyon walls towering either side. We drive half way down the canyon and are escorted on a 2 km walk down a path hugging the canyon wall and see over 800 images of mainly adult hands, some children and the occasional animal sprayed onto the canyon sides. These hand paintings date back to about 7370 BC and include guanacos, scorpion and other prints. 90 % are left handed, indicating the owners were right handed.The colours are mainly red ochre, yellows, whites and more rarely green ( copper) coming from further afield. One image has six fingers (they think as a result of interbreeding). The colours were mixed with blood, urine, water etc a mouthful being taken and blown through an animal / bird bone over the hand leaving the image. The nearest other hand paintings of this sort are one hundred miles either north or south.

Really interesting day, some good photographs of the hands, general scenery and a young peregrine falcon.