24 Oct 2023 at 20:20
A drop in water levels in Brazil’s Amazon River has revealed ancient petroglyphs, reports the BBC. The drawings have been largely submerged since they were carved more than a thousand years ago.
Some drawings were already visible during a previous drought, but many other petroglyphs remained underwater.
The discovery was made in the city of Manaus, in northern Brazil. The drawings are located on a stretch of coast known as Ponta das Lajes. There the Rio Negro and Solimões rivers flow into the Amazon.
According to archaeologist Jaime Oliveira, the petroglyphs were carved by people who lived in the area in pre-Columbian times. “This region is a pre-colonial place with traces of habitation dating back about a thousand to two thousand years,” he told local media.
“What we see here are images of anthropomorphic figures,” Oliveira said. In such a case, human qualities are attributed to non-human beings or objects.
Show only the ImageShow only the Image Drought in Brazil exposes ancient rock paintings
Extremely low water levels
Another rock has grooves that researchers believe were used by the area’s indigenous people to sharpen their arrows.
Some drawings were seen as early as 2010. Then the water level of the Rio Negro dropped to 13.63 meters. On Sunday the level fell below 13 meters for the first time. On Monday the river level even reached 12.89 meters.
According to the Brazilian government, the fact that it is so dry in Brazil is due to climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon.
2023-10-24 18:20:07
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