I'm looking for information and (especially) images of the art of the
ancient Patagonian tribes.  Most specifically the Tehuelches or the
Mapuches.  I've read about their cave paintings, tattoo art, etc. but
I've never actually seen any images.

Below you will find the result of my research for images and
imformation regarding  ancient Tehuelche  and Mapuche art.

"The Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas, contains an exceptional
assemblage of cave art, executed between 13,000 and 9,500 years ago.
It takes its name (Cave of the Hands) from the stencilled outlines of
human hands in the cave, but there are also many depictions of
animals, such as guanacos (Lama guanicoe), still commonly found in the
region, as well as hunting scenes. The people responsible for the
paintings may have been the ancestors of the historic hunter-gatherer
communities of Patagonia found by European settlers in the 19th
century."
http://whc.unesco.org/sites/936.htm

Large Image
http://whc.unesco.org/sites/images/936g.jpg


The "Cave of the hands" 
You will find lots of information and a number of excellent images here: 
http://www.sapiensman.com/austral/hands/index.htm

Cave painting art located in the heart of the Southern Patagonia

Read historical facts and see paintings at the following link:
http://www.sapiensman.com/austral/hands/paintings.htm

Here are some extremely clear detailed photographs of the paintings
http://www.sapiensman.com/austral/hands/photos.htm


?To the south of the town of Perito Moreno, there is one of the most
significant displays of cave painting in Patagonia. Over
9,300-year-old handprints and hunting scenes fill the caves and rocky
walls of the Pinturas River canyon."

"Cueva de las Manos (Hands Cave) receives its name from the human hand
stencils appearing in the cave; however, there are not only human
hands but also many animal depictions, such as guanacos (Lama
guanicoe), rheas, and pumas, which are still common species in the
region. The hunter-gatherer communities responsible for the paintings
inhabited this remote area of the Patagonia until the arrival of
European settlers in the 17th century.?

Cueva de las Manos was declared World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO in 1999.

Click on Attractions and then choose world heritage to see the image.
http://www.sectur.gov.ar/



?Only 8 km. from El Calafate you will find this important
archaeological site where the first cave paintings in the province
were discovered.?

See the reproductions here:
http://www.interpatagonia.com/paseos/cuevaswalichu/index_i.html


More cave art
http://www.patagonia-argentina.com/e/andina/glaciares/walichu.htm

Punta Walichu -  Hands Cave
http://tabiatama.cool.ne.jp/pata/card/6.htm


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Mapuche Art
Click on the links to collections, history objects and silverworks
Source: Museum of Popular American Art, Santiago
http://www.uchile.cl/cultura/mapa/artesamapuche/ingles/index.htm

Silver
http://www.uchile.cl/cultura/mapa/plat_mapuche/index.html


Museo mapuche de Pucón
Click on the links from the menu on the left to see images from the
Mapuche Museum in Pucon Chile
http://www.pucononline.cl/museo/html/introduccion.html

For a Virtual Tour through the museum just click on the following
link. You will be able to view a wealth of Mapuche art.
http://www.pucononline.cl/museo/html/tour_virtual.html


Mapuche Sculpture
(Natural History Museum of Santiago, Chile)
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/thor/mapuche.html

Mapuche Mask
http://www.3dphoto.net/stereo/world/latin_america/chile/region5/mapuche_mask.html


Mapuche Silverworks
http://www.puc.cl/faba/ARTESANIA/CHILE/ArtesaniaVIII.html
Image
http://www.puc.cl/faba/ARTESANIA/FOTOS/FULL/CHILE/A.66.jpg

Mapuche ? images from the past
http://www.ancientmexico.com/chile/mapuches/mapuches.html



Cave art
Tehuelches historia arte
Tehuelche Art
Museo Mapuche
Arte Mapuche
Historia de los Mapuches +Arte
Mapuche Art

I hope you find this information useful!

Best regards,
Bobbie7

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 26 Jul 2004 00:35 PDT

"About 100 km from Ascensión is the most famous touristic attraction
of the region: ?La Cueva de las Manos? (The Cave of the Hand).
Hundreds of men, women and children left their hand prints on the
walls of the cave about 9.000 years ago. Like voices of the past these
hands try to deliver a prehistoric message to the visitor which has
not been yet deciphered. It is not yet clear how were these hand
prints done and how the different colors were achieved. Besides the
hands there are paintings representing animals and, most probably,
hunting scenes. The beauty and mystery of the paintings cannot eclipse
the beauty and mystery of the landscape. The cave is carved on the
walls of the Canyon of the River ?Pinturas? (meaning paintings). There
are other painted caves in the regions as well as isolated hand prints
nearby."
http://www.inmueblesargentinos.com/theascension.htm

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Request for Answer Clarification by sasquatch77-ga on 28 Jul 2004 23:08 PDT

no luck on their tattoo art though?  I read somewhere that the
tattoo's of the Tehuelches terrified the Spaniards when they first
arrived in SAmerica.  Never seen a rendering or read a description of
one though.

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Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 28 Jul 2004 23:42 PDT

Dear sasquatch77,

Unfortunately I was not able to discover any images of their tattoo art.

This following webpage is in Spanish but they do mention something
about a Mapuche tattoo called a Kopawe which is made on the left
forearm.
You can also see an image of a tattooed Mauri Warrior. (Figure 18)
http://www.geocities.com/aukanawel/obras/cienciasecreta/rupestre/rupestre.html

Best regards,
Bobbie7