THE ROCK ART OF THE PICHE PANEL: DATA AND INTERPRETATIONS ON A VISUAL IMAGE FROM CUEVA DE LAS MANOS (PROVINCE OF SANTA CRUZ, ARGENTINA)

This article aims to analyze a rock art panel, Piche Panel (Cueva de las Manos, Patagonia, Argentina), to study its production sequence and relate its representations with the beings and situations that appear in the mythical narrative of the populations that occupied this place thousands of years later. The total visual image of the panel was studied, revealing a sequence of eight moments created over thousands of years, highlighting the association of the Patagonian armadillo or piche with paths or roads and a labyrinthine sign. The image includes other associated representations, forming various superimposed chromatic sets that have alternatively used red, white and black tones. These successive superpositions, with an interrelation of iconographic content, suggest a thematic sequence around a certain content -surely of mythographic significance- that is expanded with new representations acting as visual metaphors, using the piche as an objective reference. We successively address the production sequence of the total visual image, its context of significance, its relation to other panels located close, and the presence of the mythical being "piche" and other images in the mythical narratives of the Tehuelche or Aónik’enk. In this way, we seek to bring together the archaeological knowledge and tools available that allow us to "see" the rock images, and add an "understanding" through ethnographic data to develop deeper and more explanatory interpretations.