Late Holocen

7000 BC
Lakes are formed by the regression of the ice cap
Boleadoras and spears are used for hunting.

6000BC
Lake Argentino influences high and low temperatures
Man moves towards the Atlantic Coast and the Andes Range.

5000 BC
Late Holocen
Temperature changes
Nomadic groups dwell in areas near lakes rivers and plateaus.
Areas with archaeological remains that prove the presence of humans since 4.600 BC

4000 BC
Soil prone to barrenness
Cave paintings at Punta Bonita. Negative of hands. Ñandú’s track. Geometrical and antropometric paintings
Population rises
New food resources

3000 BC
Ñandues and Guanacos are found on the plateaus (Spring and summer)
Seasonal hunting areas
Use of the bow and arrow is evidenced by the remains of arrowheads that are dated 3.000 years BC

2000 BC
In autumn and winter animals descend to riverbanks and ravines

1000 BC
European colonization.
Aonikenk or Southern Tehuelches. They were ruled by a patriarchal system. The men were polygamus and their authority was mainly applied on matters concerning hunting and shifting from place to place. Women were in charge og carrying the tarpaulins and due to sexual abstinence, they delivered babys every three or four years. This sexual practice was necessary in the nomadic world.

They were buried in the grounded the site was marked with stones. The name of the dead was never said again. In some cases, such as the mummified corpse found by Francisco Pascasio Moreno in Punta Bonita, they were covered with red paint and, as they believed in afterlife, buried with their stone tools and guanaco meat for the journey.

When Magallanes reached these coasts, the region was inhabited by a number of around 3,000 aonikenks. Nowadays, their number is of less than 100.

Horse culture changes the way of life and hunting.
The induction of alcohol brings about harmful social consequences

Forced Settlement: surrounded by wire fences and victims to diseases, decline and extermination.