Juni Aiken

The southern Patagonian steppe around the Gallegos Chico was travelled by Aónikenk hunters. South of the river lies Potrok Aike, a nearly circular lake filling a volcanic crater amid the dry grassland. Guanacos supplied the Aónikenk with meat and hides. By the eighteenth century horses had become important to their journeys: in 1766 French sailors near Cape Gregory encountered Aónikenk riders and exchanged goods for cloaks and ornaments.