Impressive Gallery Yellow clay The paintings on the huge rock faces offer a glimpse into the close relationship between humans and animals who lived in the Amazon thousands of years ago.
The artwork, painted on the rock formations of Cerro Azul in Serrania de la Lindosa, Colombia, contains 3,223 drawings of humans and animals, including fish, reptiles and mammals of various sizes, according to a new study published in the September issue of The Newspapers. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.
Some of the images show animals and humans transforming into one another, illustrating the “rich mythology that has guided generations of indigenous Amazonian peoples,” a statement from the Amazon environmental group said. University of Exeter.
Researchers have not officially dated the canvas, but estimate it dates from 10,500 BC.
“These rock art sites contain the oldest evidence of human presence in the western Amazon, dating back 12,500 years,” said lead author. Mark RobinsonAn associate professor in the University of Exeter’s School of Archaeology and History said in a statement:
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The team found at least 22 species of animals, including deer, birds, peccaries, lizards, turtles, and tapirs. By comparing the animal drawings with ancient animal bones found at a nearby excavation site, archaeologists found that the proportions of drawings by animal type did not match the proportions of animal bones, indicating that the indigenous people did not simply draw what they ate. The bones included a diverse diet, including fish, mammals, and reptiles such as snakes and crocodiles.
“This art is a fantastic insight into how the first settlers understood their place in the world and how they related to animals,” Robinson said. “This context shows the complexity of the relationship between the Amazon inhabitants and animals, who were not only a source of food but also objects of worship with supernatural connections, requiring complex negotiation by ritual specialists.”
Because of the extensive scope of the rock art, researchers decided to focus on six panels: the 131-foot (40-meter) long “El Mas Largo,” which contains 1,000 drawings, and a much smaller, 33-foot (10-meter) long panel called “Principal,” which contains 244 drawings, the statement said.
After categorizing the works, the researchers found that 58 percent of the paintings were representational, half of which depicted animals, and they also noted scenes depicting people fishing.
Researchers can only speculate about the purpose and significance of the rock art.
“While we’re not sure what the meaning of these images is, they certainly provide a more nuanced understanding of the power of myth in Indigenous communities,” said study co-author Alan Schneider. Jose Iriarte“These discoveries are particularly interesting for the more cosmic aspects of Amazonian life, such as what was taboo, where power lay and how negotiations with the supernatural took place,” the professor of archaeology from the University of Exeter said in a statement.
