In the stark inland desert of Patagonia in Argentina, there is a remote cave decorated with nearly 900 paintings of human figures, animals and abstract designs. Until recently, archaeologists had assumed that the rock art at this site, known as Cueva Huenul 1, was created within the past few thousand years. Cave artists continued to draw the same comb design in black pigment for thousands of years, an era when other human activity was virtually absent at the site. The cave art provides a rare glimpse of a culture that may have relied on this design to communicate valuable insights across generations during a period of climactic shifts. These early inhabitants thrived at Cueva Huenul 1 for generations, leaving signs of habitation.

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Persons: Cueva Huenul, ”, Guadalupe Romero Villanueva, CONICET Organizations: Argentine, National Institute of Anthropology, Cueva Huenul Locations: Patagonia, Argentina, Buenos Aires, South America, Cueva