settlement of much of South America east of the Andes. This is due to the lack of stone (generally required for leaving durable artifacts), and a jungle environment that rapidly recycles organic materials. Beyond the Andean regions, where the inhabitants were more clearly related to the early cultures of Peru, early finds are generally limited to coastal areas and those areas where there are stone outcrops. While there is evidence of human habitation in northern Brazil as early as 8000 BCE, and rock art of unknown (or at best uncertain) age, ceramics appear to be the earliest artistic artifacts. The Mina civilization of Brazil (3000–1600 BCE) had simple round vessels with a red wash, that were stylistic predecessors to later Bahia and Guyanese cultures. Southern South America The southern reaches of South America show evidence of human habitation as far back as 10,000 BCE. A site at Arroio do Fosseis on the pampa in southern Brazil has shown reliable evidence to that time, and the Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of the continent has been occupied since 7000 BCE. Artistic finds are scarce; in some parts of Patagonia ceramics were never made, only being introduced by contact with Europeans. Oceania Australia From earliest times Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have been creating distinctive patterns of art. Much of the art is transitory, drawn in sand or on the human body to illustrate a place, a totem, or a cultural story. Early surviving artworks are mostly rock paintings. Some are called X-ray paintings because they show the bones and organs of the animals they depict. Some Aboriginal art appears as abstract to modern viewers; Aboriginal art employs geometrical figures, dots and lines to present the story being told. The Gwion Gwion rock art are one of many styles of rock art found in Western Australia. They are predominantly human figures drawn in fine detail with accurate anatomical proportioning. They are usually dated to be at least 17,000 years old, and there have been suggestions they are as much as 70,000 years old. The Sydney rock engravings are also a prominent rock art site in the country. Polynesia The natives of Polynesia have a distinct artistic heritage. While many of their artifacts were made with organic materials and thus lost to history, some of their most striking achievements survive in clay and stone. Among these are numerous pottery fragments from