Figurative representations of the Pali Aike volcanic field (Santa Cruz, Argentina - Magallanes, Chile) in comparative perspective with the southern extreme of Patagonia

– This paper aims to make a comparison of the figurative representations of the Pali Aike volcanic field (province of Santa Cruz, Argentina – province of Magallanes, Chile) with those registered in other sectors of southern Patagonia, such as the southern shore margin of Lake Argentino (Argentina), the Morros area and the Cerro Benítez-Lago Sofía locality (Chile) during the middle and late Holocene. This analysis was based on integrating background and new information related to different areas. The goal is to evaluate the existence of diverse patterns of representation, considering the mor-pho logies, technical treatment, frequencies, relative abundance of types of motifs in each area, distribution within the space, and temporality of figurative motifs. From this, it is expected to advance the discussion of information exchange among hunter-gatherer groups through figurative representations on a macroregional scale.


Introduction
The settlement process in Patagonia involved sig ni fi cant changes in mobility, settlement, and resource ap propriation strategies. This process, in turn, im plied changes in the circulation of information be tween huntergatherer groups, a process that can be seen re flected in rock art (Aschero 1988;Carden 2008;Fiore 2006;Re 2010; Whallon 2011). For this rea son, it is expected that differences will be observed in the composition, density, and distribution of these manifestations at different spatial scales and through out occupational history (Barton et al. 1994;Wobst 1977). Rock representations thus acquire theoreti calmethodological relevance since they constitute an instance of niche construction through the transfor mation of the environment (Odling-Smee et al. 2003) and can be used as an indicator of human mobility throughout a region (Belardi et al. 2016).
Various investigations of rock art have been carried out at large spatial scales in southern Patagonia -be tween the Santa Cruz River to the north and the Strait of Magellan to the south (Carden et al. 2009;Char lin, Borrero 2012;Fiore 2006;Manzi, Carballo Marina 2012;Muñoz Soto et al. 2021). These works were bas ed on the review and verification of information available in both their publications and those of other research teams. In this framework, analysing large scale rock art manifestations en tails considerable challenges due to the different methodologies used and the possible lack of data in the oldest research records (Fiore, Hernández Llosas 2007).
In the present paper, the figurative motifs (sensu Gradin 1978) located in the extreme south of south ern Patagonia are of interest since they turn out to be a ro bust line of evidence to study the mobility of human populations and the circulation of in for mation on a macroregional scale that occurred over time among huntergatherer groups that inhabited different are as. In this sense, the figurative rock representations of the PAVF (Santa Cruz, ArgentinaMagallanes, Chile) will be analysed from a comparative perspective with the Zona de Morros (ZM) (Santa Cruz, ArgentinaMa gallanes, Chile), the southern margin of Lake Ar gen tino (SMLA) (Argentina) and the archaeological local ity Cerro BenítezLago Sofía (CBLS) (Chile) (Fig. 1).
Pioneering research in the study area has indicated that the rock art of the extreme south of southern Pa ta gonia was mainly characterized by the pre do mi nance of complex symbols (Menghin 1957) or abstractgeometric motifs (Bate 1970;1971). In this framework, the rock art manifestations of the Pali Aike volcanic field (PAVF) were included within the socalled Río Chico Style (sensu Bate 1970;1971) based on the concentration of paintings in sites near the said river. The predominance of abstract de signs initially characterized this style compared to less variability and frequency of figurative re pre sentations, most of these motifs being made in red tones, with less presence of black and white (Bate 1970;1971;Charlin et al. 2023b). At the temporal le vel, this style was assigned to the late Holocene, taking into consideration relative bases and indirect dating (Bate 1970;Gómez Otero 1989-1990Prieto et al. 1998). Subsequently, Mauricio Massone (1982) tool up the work started by Luis Felipe Bate (1970;1971) based on new investigations in sites with rock art from the PAVF and CBLS, differentiating two sub styles for southern Patagonia: the Lago Sofía modality, in which the predominate dotted motifs, and the previously mentioned Río Chico modality, characterized by a greater emphasis on linear figures.
Over the years, records of rock art in the area have been supplemented by investigations carried out by different researchers (Molina 1972;1976;Sanguinetti de Bórmida 1982). Thus, during the 1980s and 1990s, studies carried out at the PAVF revealed the presence of rock art in the middle valley of the Gallegos Ri ver, in the interfluve of the GallegosChico rivers (Gó mez Otero 1983Otero -1985, and the Chico Ri ver basin (Her nández . In the 2000s, with the expansion of the sampling, Liliana M. Manzi and Flavia Carballo Marina (2012) revealed new locations with paintings in the Gallegos River basin and in the GallegosChico interfluve while in tegrating, in a supraregional sche me, previously pub lished information making comparisons of classes and diversity of motifs. Be sides, through a Principal Component Analysis on a presenceabsence matrix of types of motifs (figurative and nonfigurative) and techniques, Judith Charlin and Luis Alberto Bor rero (2012) noted differential trends between the PAVF and other close sectors of the current national territories of Argentina and Chile, such as the Zo na de Morros (ZM), the southern margin of Lake Ar gentino (SMLA) and Última Esperanza (UE) (Fig.  1). This investigation demonstrated the existence of differential patterns of visual marking between these regions that are reflected in a predominance in the PAVF of linear geometric motifs, while in the UE punctiform geometric motifs predominate. On the other hand, according to published data, an thropomorphic and zoomorphic motifs would be the most abundant in the SMLA. Likewise, the authors have pointed out that the sites located in the eastern steppe (PAVF) and the mountainous zone (CBLS and SMLA) show different archaeological signatures that could belong to diverse archaeological populations (Borrero, Charlin 2010), although these differences in the archaeological record do not seem to correlate with rock art (Charlin, Borrero 2012). A posteriori, Manzi and coauthors (2015) reported the presence of motifs engraved in chopped and incised techniques as novel forms of execution in the rock art of PAVF, registering designs comparable to those recognized within the Río Chico Style.
In recent times, the archaeological investigations carried out in the PAVF have yielded new advances in rock art, particularly new data on the distribution and variability of painted and engraved representa tions in the PAVF, showing a greater diversity of fig urative expressions (Charlin 2014;Charlin et al. 2023a;2023b;Manzi et al. 2015;2019;. In this scena rio, the discovery of engraved camelids in the Argentine sector of the PAVF has also been a novelty for research on rock art in southern Patagonia. The age of these representations could be assigned to the middle Ho locene based on the morphological simila rity they present with similar motifs painted in other regions of the Province of Santa Cruz (Manzi et al. 2022). It is understood that these morphological sim ilarities on a large spatial scale could provide data on social interaction, information circulation, and mobil ity cir cuits of the huntergatherer groups that inhabit ed the southern tip of Patagonia. This new set of rock representations questions the ab sence of engravings south of the Santa Cruz River (Fiore 2006) and the scarcity of figurative motifs in PAVF (Bate 1970;1971;Massone 1982) and its late character (Bate 1970;1971;Charlin, Borrero 2012;Gómez Otero 1989-1990Massone 1982;Prieto et al. 1998).
This study thus aims to conduct a comparative ana lysis of the figurative rock representations in the PAVF, the CBLS locality, the SMLA, and the ZM, con sidering both their formal properties and spatial and temporal distribution. Through this analysis, we seek to contribute to the discussion on the circulation of information and communication at the macrore gio nal level in the extreme south of southern Pa ta gonia.

Methodology
In the present work, each region under study cor res ponds to a mesospatial scale that, when considered together, makes up a larger surface that refers to a macroregional scale (sensu Dincauze 2000) (Fig. 1). In addition, a mesotemporal scale (sensu Dincauze 2000) will be used since it is of interest to analyse the sites that present figurative manifestations executed throughout the Holocene. In this framework, although the study of rock art can vary in scale, using regional or macroregional scales generally tends to be fruitful since redundancy patterns can be recognized in the selection of places with paintings and/or engravings and, to some extent, to understand longstanding pre ferences for specific geographic locations (Char lin, Borrero 2012).  The sample under analysis was ge nerated by in te grating publish ed data on figurative representa tions of the study macroregion, added to unpublished material from the PAVF product of the work carried out by the work team (Tab. 1). The units of anal ysis considered here are the site, the motif, and the element. In conceptual terms, the site is un derstood as a locus of concentrations of grouped or isolated rock motifs (Gradin 1978). Besides, the mo tif, as a minimum unit of analysis, is considered an execution unit motivated by a single act of painting, whether simple or compound designs with more than one element (Aschero 1988;Gradin 1978). The con cept of 'element' is used to refer to the initial segmen tation of separate discrete units in the support space, being defined based on their formal properties, both technical and morphological (Gradin 1978;Re 2010).
In the case of the records of the rock representations carried out by our work team, the general guidelines proposed by various authors were followed (Fiore 2009;Hernández Llosas 1985). In each case, the morphology of the represented motifs was do cumented, and other data such as size, colour, over laps, and frequency were recorded (Fiore 2011) if the available literature allowed this information to be identified.
Regarding the morphological characterization of the types of figurative motifs, the following categories have been used: (a) anthropomorphic: motif/image whose shape resembles the human figure, with a greater or lesser degree of detail; (b) hand: motif whose potential referent is a hand; (c) finger: motif whose potential referent is a finger; threedigits (bird tracks): motif potentially refers to bird footprints or traces, such as the rhea (Rhea pennata). Among the execution techniques of the rock art representations, a first differentiation is made between paintings and engravings. Regarding the technical treatment, a distinction was made between punctiform, linear, flat, and combined (Hernández Llosas 1985). How ever, in the cases in which information on the tech nical treatment could not be obtained from the available bibliographic sources, detailed information on the matter was not provided. On the other hand, in the case of the painted motifs that make up our records, the current colour was characterized based on its comparison with the Munsell Soil Colour Chart catalogue (1994). As far as superposition is concerned, it is understood as when one motif is placed on top of another, partially or almost fully covering it (Aschero 1988).
Since it was not possible to es tablish the frequencies of fi gu rative motifs from some PAVF, SMLA, and CBLS sites, a pre senceabsence table was used to establish the relative abundance of types of figurative motifs by re gion (Tab. 2). These proportions are calculat ed based on the number of sites, the type of repre sentation present, and the total number of sites with rock art in the area (Charlin, Borrero 2012).

Relative abundance and spatial distribution of figurative motifs in the extreme south of south ern Patagonia
Regarding the sites with figurative representations according to each region, the figurative percentages, in terms of relative abundance or proportion, show Tab. 1. Regions with figurative rock representations in the extreme south of Patagonia compared on a macro-regional scale. that the results obtained for SMLA (61.11%) and PAVF (60.27%) are extremely similar, although they differ in absolute terms since the PAVF has three times more sites (n=44) than the SMLA (n=11). Regarding the PAVF, the interfluve of the GallegosChico rivers turns out to be the space with the most significant number of sites that record figurative representations (n=21), followed by the Chico River basin (n=13) and the Gallegos River basin (n=8). Finally, the number drops to two sites with a figurative presence in the areas surrounding the PAVF (Laguna Blanca, Chile). On the other hand, in the spaces with rock representations located in the CBLS locality, 38.46% of them have figurative motifs ( Fig. 1 and Tab. 1). In the ZM, only one site was registered, and it meets both categories, being a small sample to identify possible trends.
Regarding the relationship between the number of sites with figurative representations and the category of figurative represented, in the PAVF, the threedigits paintings and engravings are present in 52.27% of the sites, followed by zoomorphic paintings and en gravings at 31.82%, and the anthropomorphs are in third place (27.27%). The positive and negative hands in total represent 31.82%. Lastly, only one site (MBVEBV) found with positive fingers (Tab. 2). In the CBLS locality, anthropomorphs and zoo morphs are found in more than half of the sites with figurative representations (60%), followed by three digits (40%) and, finally, hand negatives (20%). Si milarly, in the SMLA the most frequently captured fi gurative categories are anthropomorphs (45.45%) and zoomorphs (45.45%). The positive and negative hands follow in order of abundance (18.18%), with the threedigits being the least represented (9.09%).

Anthropomorphs
In the PAVF and nearby sites, there are 24 painted motifs and one engraved motif corresponding to schematized human figures (Fig. 2). The painted mo tifs were executed through linear and flat treat ment; they are presented in frontal perspective with a rounded head, elongated body, and dif fe ren tiated legs and arms. The dimensions of these representations are generally between 14cm long by 13cm wide. In the middle basin of the Gallegos River, the Puesto Cañadón Verde 1 and 2 (PCV) sites record three anthropomorphs in red made using the flat technique (Manzi, Carballo Marina 2012 (1983)(1984)(1985) recorded three anthropomorphic motifs in red, one below a zoo morphic like a guanaco. According to the au thor, the other two anthropomorphic motifs have headdresses similar to the human figure from the Lago Roca III site located in the Lago Argentino area. Another anthropomorph with a headdress is found in the MBVELCLa Sixtina, whose motif corresponds to a schematic human figure made with linear treat ment, where one low er extremity presents the shape of a threedigits and the other four strokes, the di mensions of this figure reach 119cm long by 73cm wide (Manzi et al. 2019).
In the Chico River, the Mar katch Aike 7B site presents a single human figure with linear technical treatment in red Molina 1972). The human figure is "framed by four 'cruciform' three of which, those facing up, seem to correspond to schematized three-digits" (Hernández Llosas 1992.12). In the Chilean steppe sector, the Río Chi co 1 and 2 (RCh) sites con tain seven redcoloured an thropomorphs with li ne ar and flat technical treatment; they were also recorded in red in Cañadón  (Bate 1971). The Ush Aike (Oosin Aike) site presents four anthropomorphs, three in red and one in white, being the only one in that colour within this motif category in the entire PAVF (Bate 1970;Gallardo 2009;Molina 1972). To the south, at the Cañadón Leona 3 site, Bate (1970) identified abundant schematized anthropomorphic figures in red, black, and sometimes red bordered with black, made with the flat technique. The average size of these motifs is around 10cm, although some figures reach 20cm. Charlin (2014) states that the Chico River sites have the most significant number of paint ed anthropomorphic motifs. In this framework, the Gallegos River basin has the low est frequency.
Regarding the anthropomorphic en gravings in the area, only one human figure with probable attire has been detected at the Lamasuario 1 site (interfluve of the GallegosChico rivers) made using the scraping technique (Manzi et al. 2022).
The CBLS locality has three sites where painted an thropomorphic motifs have been found. In the se cond report from 1971, Bate notes the presence of anthropomorphs in reddish tones at the Laguna Sofía 1 and Lago Sarmiento 1 and 2 sites, although he does not specify the number of motifs. In Lake Sarmiento 1, anthropomorphs were found almost exclusively, reaching a larger size and with a broader line. Some times the inner surface is full of colour (Bate 1971).
With regard to the SMLA, the frequencies of the motifs have not been published, which is minimum numbers are used. In this context, anthropomorphs and zoomorphs constitute the most represented fi gurative motif. They were detected in reddish tones in Punta Walichu (Moreno 1969(Moreno [1876(Moreno -1877) and Chorrillo Malo 1, 6, and 7 (Belardi et al. 1994;Franco et al. 1999). Specifically, in Chorrillo Malo 1, there is a scene of schematic anthropomorphs in a dynamic attitude (Belardi et al. 2000.292). On this point, Be lardi et al. indicate that "the design of the figures has been used, which go from largest to smallest, and their position to indicate depth of field" (Belardi et al. 1999.10). At the same time, the possibility of motifs being repainted is indicated for one of the anthropomorphic motifs from the Chorrillo Malo 6 site (Belardi et al. 2000). Likewise, they are present in the Lago Roca 2 site in red, where they form a unit of meaning with the superimposed punctiform motifs (Belardi et al. 1999). On the other hand, Manuel J. Molina (1972) surveyed an openair wall bordering the main cave of the Punta Walichu site, where he re corded four hu man figures schematized in red of considerable dimensions (between 18.5cm long by 30cm maximum width); it is also pointed out by Molina (1972.83) that an anthropomorph has three fingers.
Based on the above, there are various forms of rep resentation in the anthropomorphic motifs of the extreme south of southern Patagonia. Firstly, in the PAVF, the bodies present variation in the torso (elon gated, globular, tri angular); also, in some ca ses, the arms are extended up wards and present differences in their shape. In only one case are fingers distin guished on the hand of an anthropomorph from the MBVELC site. In turn, it can be observed that one of the anthro pomorphs of the MBVELC and PCV2 is arranged laterally. Re garding the colour and technical treatment, based on the available information, it is argued that the red colour and the flat technique predominate over the linear one, not having detected punctiform figurati ve motifs. Examples from the SMLA show perspective and dynamism in the human figures, while those from the PAVF con firmed the presence of cephalic headdres ses, recycled motifs, and a figure with a phallus. However, this last characteristic could be in terpreted as a tail, as proposed by Rodolfo M. Casamiquela (1981.37) for the anthropo morphic motifs of Punta Walichu. Thus, an additional difference between the PAVF and the SMLA (Chorrillo Malo and Punta Walichu) is that the anthropomorphs are represented in isolation in the former. In contrast, on Lake Argentino's southern shore, they are repre sented in scenes. This factor also influences the repre sentation of postural differences.

Hands
In the case of PAVF hand negatives, they are only found in six locations. In the Gallegos River basin, the Abrigo Pintado de Güer Aike (APGA) (n=2) and PCV2 (n=1) sites present red hand negatives (Manzi et al. 2010;Molina 1972). In the GallegosChico interfluve, the EBVELC site records a hand opposing in white (Manzi et al. 2019), while in the eaves near Cueva de los Contrabandistas, the negative corresponds to red (Prieto et al. 1989(Prieto et al. -1990. Four white hand negatives were recorded at the Bajo El Cóndor 2 (BEC) site. Fi nally, to the south, they appear only in white in Río Chi co 5 and Ush Aike (Bate 1971;Gallardo 2009;Molina 1972).
In CBLS, the only site that presents hand negatives is Sitio Lago Sarmiento 1, although the exact number of these motifs is unknown. The negatives were exe cuted in yellowishwhite and are superimposed on the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic ones (Bate 1971). On the other hand, the SMLA records a high frequency of red hand negatives in Punta Walichu (Mo reno 1969) and Punta Bonita 2 (Belardi 2003; Car ballo .
Unlike the negatives, the hand positives are more abundant in the PAVF. In the Río Gallegos basin, the APGA site is the only one that presents black hand positives (n=2). Another northern PAVF site is Alero de los Pescadores (ADLP), where two positives were recorded in red (Molina 1972). However, the most significant number of positives for hands is found in the GallegosChico interfluve, with the Meseta Bella VistaEstancia La Carlota (MBVELC) being the space with the highest frequency (n=16). In this regard, 13 positives are painted red, while three are executed in white (

Three-digits (bird tracks)
Threedigits are present in most of the sites recorded in the Gallegos River basin (n=6) (Molina 1969).
Regarding the interfluve of the GallegosChico rivers, in MBVELC, the threedigits (n=6) were made in red (n=4), black (n=1), and white (n=1) colours (Manzi et al. 2019). These motifs were also revealed in Potrok Aike by Gómez Otero (1983. On the other hand, Puesto El Cóndor (PEC) is the location with the most significant number of this figurative in the PAVF (n=13), all executed in red (Manzi et al. 2010). They were also detected in reddish tones in Bajo El Cóndor (n=2) and Alero del Artista (n=2) (Charlin 2014;Manzi et al. 2015). Finally, and similarly, in the Chico River area there are many sites that present this figurative. The Markatch Aike site has a total of nine red threedigits (Hernández Llosas 1992). Like wise, in Rose Aike 3, three were recorded in red tones (Massone 1982). Exceptionally, Site 6Cave 5 (S6.C5, Ea. Pali Aike) has two white threedigits; the threedi gits are above abstract motifs in deep red (Her nán dez . Threedigits were also detected in Laguna Sota 1 (Massone 1982) and the Ca ñadón Leona 3 site in black (Bate 1970).
Concerning the engraved threedigits in the PAVF, they are present in the interfluve of the GallegosChi co rivers, where they were made using three tech niques: incision, abrasion, and polishing, as well as combinations of these. The morphology of the three digits varies according to the way of incising and the instrument used, generating a U or Vshaped stroke. The Bajo El Cóndor 3 (BEC3) site records the most significant number of this type of figurative (n=16), where abrasion, polishing, and abrasionpolishing techniques were used (Manzi et al. 2015). They were also recorded in BEC1 (n=8), BEC2 (n=3), and Campo El Cinco, block 1 (n=1) (Manzi et al. 2015).
Threedigits are the only type of figurative motif pre sent in the Zona de los Morros and are found at the Morro Chico site (Bate 1970). There, the low number of motifs detected is noted, which coincides with the low archaeological signal from the area (Charlin et al. 2011). The threedigits were painted in red, and one was recorded for each panel (a and b) (Bate 1970).
In CBLS, two sites present this type of motif: Lagu na Sofía site and Lago Sarmiento 2, both surveyed by Bate (1971). These motifs were made in reddish to nes. Unfortunately, there are minimal numbers since the frequency of rock representations has not been published. On the other hand, according to the consulted bibliography, in the SMLA only threedigits are found at the Chorrillo Malo 7 site, executed in red Belardi et al. 2000).
There is a great variety in the representation of these motifs (Fig. 3). In this regard, the convergence of the angles varies; the contours can appear in 'U' or 'V', the vertex can be oriented upwards or downwards, the thickness of the line also varies, and sometimes the succession of several threedigits whose structure and/or overlap make up a trail, as can be seen at the Alero 1 site of Güer Aike. Likewise, the threedigits appear in the PAVF associated with abstract and fi gu rative motifs.

Zoomorphs
The painted zoomorphs in the PAVF were all exe cut ed in red tones and using the linear technique. They are found in five sites: PCV1 (n=1), PEC (n=2), LPA (n=2), and Río Chico 2 (RCh2) (n=1) (Bate 1971;Campan et al. 2007;Manzi et al. 2010;2015;2019). In the PCV1 and PEC sites, the zoomorphic motifs cor respond to matuastos (sensu Schobinger, Gradin 1985). In the case of the RCh2 site, Bate (1971) does not specify which animal the motif corresponds to in his second report. Otherwise, in the LPA, Gómez Ote ro (1983)(1984)(1985) pointed out the presence of a matuas to in a light red colour; above the motif, an isosceles triangle was made, also in a red.
In the CBLS area, the zoo mor phic motifs were paint ed red and made from dots. They are located at Lago Sofía 2, Cerro Benítez 2 (n=1), and Lago Sar miento 1 (n=2) (Bate 1971;Mas sone 1982). In this last site, Bate (1971) pointed out that these motifs are in arti culation with anthropomorphs and could be felines.
On the other hand, in Cerro Benítez 2, it is indicated that the zoomorphic motif is complemented by a se ries of parallel strokes, strokes cut at right angles, and curved lines (Massone 1982).
Zoomorphic engravings make up a class of de signs that do not correspond to those recogniz ed within the socalled Río Chico Style and its regional variations, nor to its modalities or sub styles (sensu Bate 1970;1971;Massone 1982). The engravings represent ca melids and are only present in the PAVF (Prov. Santa Cruz), specifically in the locations Lamasaurios I to X in Meseta Bella VistaEstancia la Carlota, Campo El Cinco, and Barda del Molino. In total, 64 fullbody guanaco motifs and 13 motifs correspond to anatomi cal parts of camelids, specifically the necks and hind/ front quarters (Manzi et al. 2022) (Fig. 4).

Discussion and final considerations
From the execution of graphic representations such as rock art, the huntergatherer populations that in ha bited the extreme south of southern Patagonia mo dified their environment. In this framework, due to their obtrusiveness in the landscape, these mani festations could have acted as milestones that guid ed the circulation of human populations (Belardi et al. 2020;Borrero et al. 2011).
Based on the results obtained in this study, it is high lighted that although the figurative representations decrease in variety and frequency as one advances through Pata go nia and toward the Strait of Magellan (Gallardo et al. 2022), the new investigations in the PAVF indicate that the figurative motifs have great ubiquity in the sites of the last space of the continen tal sector, presenting a more significant variability and an increase in the number of figuratives than pre viously documented (Fig. 5). In the PAVF, the most frequently executed figurative category is the threedigits, both painted and engraved. In this sen se, it is noted that the ability of rock representations to transmit in formation can be evaluated through the standardization of their motifs. This implies re producing characteristics such as the motifs' shape, size, and colour on different supports. The visual uni formity of this structure allows its visual encod ing and decoding, which facilitates the transmission of information (Fiore 2006;. The codes associated with this motif were thus widely adopted and appro priated by the huntergatherer groups that inhabit ed the area (Wobst 1977;Barton et al. 1994). In this sense, the presence of threedigits assigned to the Río Chico Style in Morro Philippi (Ortiz Troncoso 1973) suggests that this sector would have formed part of the broader range of action of the population node settled in the PAVF (Charlin et al. 2011).
The second category mainly reflected in the PAVF is zoo morphs, especially those exe cut ed using en graving. On the other hand, in the CBLS locality and the SMLA painted anthropomorphs and zoo morphs are the most frequently executed rock art represen tations (Char lin, Bor rero 2012). The sche ma tization of paint ed zoo mor phic and anthropomorphic mo ti fs is a feature shared between the PAVF and CBLS (Bate 1970;1971). Exceptionally, naturalist zoomorphs have been reported at the Lago Roca 1 and 3 sites in the SMLA. With regard to the presence and/or absence of cer tain figurative motifs, it has not been possible to trace the positive category of fingers in the available bibliography for the locality CBLS and the SMLA.
In addition, the finding of re cord ed engraved came lids in the PAVF marks a prece dent for rock art representations in the extreme south for which there was no record in this area of Patagonia. Based on mor pho logical comparisons with si milar designs, these motifs could ev idence the flow of in formation between the human groups of the PAVF and those found in the Strobel plateau, the north bank of the Santa Cruz River, the cen tral plateau, and the river area Pinturas (Gradin et al. 1979;Carden 2008;Fiore, Ocampo 2009;Manzi et al. 2019;Re 2010;2017). At the macroregional lev el, given the morphological simi larities with designs identified in dif ferent southern and central/ southern Patagonia sectors, the se representations could be as signable to the middle Holocene (Manzi et al. 2019;. With regard to the technical treat ment of the painted motifs, the anthropomorphs of the PAVF have been executed using flat and linear techniques with a predominan ce of the latter. Similarly, in CBLS, both techniques were used to execute these motifs with a predominance of the linear technique over the flat one (Muñoz 2020).
In the case of the painted zoo morphs, the technical treatment used in the PAVF has been linear, unlike CB LS, where they were executed using the punctiform technique. Besides, the threedigits were made by li near technical treatment, where in some cases the curvilinear line can be dis tinguished from the straight line. For their part, fi gurative engravings have only been found in the PAVF, and the available information indicates that a wide variety of techniques were used (incision, scrap ing, polishing, and combinations of these) (Manzi et al. 2019;. In short, it is high lighted that the main difference between the Río Chi co and Lago Sofía modalities applies to the figurative motifs based on points as distinct from those made using the flat and/or linear technique. In the case of the colours used, most of these motifs were painted in reddish tones, with less presence of black, white, and bichrome tones (Bate 1970;1971;Sepúlveda 2011;Charlin et al. 2023b). In the case of the PAVF, this coincides with the geochemical results, where the abundant local availability of hematite in the primary outcrops was confirmed, as well as its low cost of obtaining it, either from the altered vesicular basalt or as a saprolite buried a little depth (Charlin et al. 2023b).
Regarding superimpositions related to painted fi gu rative motifs, in PAVF they are found in three sites (ARB, LPA, and S6.C5), while in CBLS they are pres ent in sites LS1 and LS2. On the other hand, superim positions were documented in Punta Walichu (SMLA). In summary, however, due to their low number it can currently be said that superimpositions are uncom mon in the rock art of the extreme south of southern Patagonia.
Meanwhile, in CBLS, the age of the paintings assign ed to the Lago Sofía modality could be 2870±65 years BP, according to the dating obtained for the Cerro Benítez 2 (Dos Herraduras) site (Masone 1982). In the case of the PAVF, Manzi, and coauthors (2019) dif ferentiate three temporal segments: the first compris es came lid engravings whose temporal depth could go back to approximately 5000 years BP according to ma cro regional morphological comparisons. These first rock art manifestations of the PAVF would be linked to specific moments in which the space was occupied (sensu Borrero 1994Borrero -1995. Furthermore, the representations of engraved camelids, similar to the painted motifs in other areas of Patagonia, allow us to envisage communication on a larger scale and a greater temporal depth than is commonly assumed for PAVF rock art. The second segment (Manzi et al. 2019) would be made up of the socalled Río Chico Style (sensu Bate 1970;1971), assignable to the late Holocene, con si dering the few available datings of layer pigments (Bate 1970;Gómez Otero 1989-1990Prieto et al. 1998). As a result, it can be observed that two re per to ires of rock art ensembles were executed in the PAVF, and the first would include the camelids as part of the oldest representations of the study area. These motifs would represent a colonization stage (sensu Borrero 1989Borrero -1990) that would have begun in the middle Holocene and indicates the possible connection with groups of humans from centralsouthern Patagonia (Manzi et al. 2019;. On the other hand, a se cond figurative pattern is identified that would be framed within the socalled Río Chico Style. These re presentations, whose execution is pro bably later, could be related to a stage of effective occupation (sensu Borrero 1989Borrero -1990. Notably, the num ber of sites with rock art for the late Holocene is decidedly higher (n=63) than those that would cor respond to the middle Holocene (n=10).
Although the Río Chico Style has been assigned to the late Holocene, the temporality of the abstract and figurative motifs that make up this group have been the subject of debate by the various researchers who have worked in the area. This is because specific motifs have been executed over time, and some are shared by various 'styles' (sensu Menghin 1957). In this regard, Molina (1969) maintained that "the footprint style" (sensu Menghin 1957) together with the radiated concentric circles, are relatively modern for PAVF rock art. However, these motifs have been attributed to different moments in time and generally to the last c. 4000 BP (Lasheras Corruchaga, Fatás Monforte 2015). On the other hand, Molina (1969) raised the possibility that the oldest representations of the PAVF correspond to the Negative Style of Hands detected in the Güer Aike Painted Coat.
Regarding the Negative Style of Hands, Osvaldo Men ghin (1957) argued that a set of simple geometric symbols had probably been combined from the be ginning with the representations of hands. Given this, it would be prudent not to assign them to a temporal block since the hand negatives are present at differ ent times throughout the entire stylistic sequence of the Pinturas River area, representing Stylistic Groups A-E (Gradin et al. 1979), and the archaeological re cord of this area continues to be used as a basis for the interpretation of the stylistic sequences of other sectors of Patagonia. Furthermore, some hand nega tives date from relatively recent times (c. 520 BP) in Viuda Quenzana (Santa Cruz) (Brooks et al. 2018). Therefore, they may not necessarily be part of the Rio Chico Style. The last segment would include large painted motifs (varying between 10 and 119cm), such as threedigits in red and anthropomorphs with possi ble cephalic headdresses (Gómez Otero 1983, and sexual features associated with fretwork motifs (Manzi et al. 2019) that could be assigned to histor ical moments (c. 500 BP) (Belardi 2004). In this re gard, Bate (1971) pointed out that the Lago Sarmiento modality would include largesized anthropomorphs and zoomorphs. However, there are no dates to draw a parallel with the representations of considerable size present in the PAVF. Based on this, even though the low number of paint ed sites and the lack of regionalization in the rock rep resentations of southern Patagonia has been point ed out (Carden 2008;Fiore 2006), this study highlights an increase in diversity and frequency of painted and engraved figurative motifs, according to research carried out in recent years in the Pali Aike volcanic field. In addition, it is stated that the type and flow of information transmitted through rock art have un dergone formal modifications over time, with two dif ferent rock art assemblages in the PAVF, accounting for different regional occupational processes (Aschero 2000;Borrero 1994Borrero -1995. Finally, the classes of rock representations are not the same at a macrore gional scale, although it is evident that the absence of significant regionalization in the rock repertoires seems to indicate an open network of information flow between the populations that occupied the east ern steppe (PAVF) and the foreststeppe ecotones (ZM, CBLS, and SMLA).
Future work will assess whether these changes in rock art occurred due to population replacements and/or divergences (Charlin 2020). To this end, the information provided by the other lines of evidence studied in these regions will be included in the dis cussion, with particular emphasis on sensitive in di cators of human mobility.