Expresiones visuales en el curso medio del río Chico (campo volcánico Pali Aike, Santa Cruz, Argentina): discutiendo la diversidad y profundidad temporal de los motivos rupestres

This paper aims to account for the morphological and technical variability of the rock motifs surveyed in the Markatch Aike, Pali Aike and Cañadón Seco localities in the middle course of the Chico River (Pali Aike volcanic field, CVPA, Santa Cruz, Argentina) to analyze spatial and temporal trends. The information collected expands the morphological and technical diversity of the rock paintings previously observed for the area. Particularly novel is the identification of the first hunting scene in the CVPA rock art in general and the Río Chico style in particular, as well as the presence of engraved motifs of camelid anatomical parts (necks and quarters), which correspond to the designs of headless guanacos and long necks identified in the Gallegos-Chico interfluve. The presence of these motifs extends the temporal depth of the Chico River rock art and represents the southernmost distribution of engravings and this type of design in Patagonia. Thus, while the engravings suggest execution times around the middle Holocene, the paintings would have been mostly elaborated during the late Holocene.