La Pintada

La Pintada is an archaeological site in the Sierra Libre, about 60 km south of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, considered one of the most important cave painting areas in northwestern Mexico. The canyon contains over 2,500 catalogued rock art images including cave paintings and engravings depicting animals such as birds, deer, and reptiles, believed to be cosmo-vision representations created about 1,200 years ago. The site served diverse groups including hunter-gatherers during the 12th-13th centuries and later Seri, Yaqui, and Pima peoples who used it as a ritual center between the 17th-18th centuries. Outside the canyon, seasonal camping grounds attest to prolonged occupation.