Ancient rock carvings up to 2,000 years old are exposed after lowering the water level in the Amazon River

2023-10-24 12:50:08

Updated Tuesday, October 24, 2023 – 12:50

The drought has caused a lowering of the historical riverbed

One of the engravings that has remained on view.AFPArchaeology A 50,000-year-old tooth allows us to date one of the most important Neanderthal sites in Spain History The most beautiful archaeological sites with sea views in the world

human faces Sculpted in stone about 2,000 years ago, they have appeared on a rocky outcrop along the river Amazonas since water levels have fallen to historic lows in what is already the worst drought in the region in more than a century.

Some faces carved into the rock had already been sighted, but now there is a greater variety to help researchers establish their origins, said archaeologist Jaime de Santana Oliveira.

In one of the areas you can see smooth grooves in the rock which are believed to be the places where the indigenous inhabitants They sharpened their arrows and spears long before the arrival of the Europeans.

“The engravings are prehistoric or precolonial. We cannot date them exactly, but based on the evidence of human occupation of the area, we believe that they are between 1,000 and 2,000 years old,” Oliveira said in an interview.

The rocky point is called Lajes Point, on the northern bank of the Amazon, near where the Negro and Solimoes rivers meet.

Oliveira has said the carvings were first seen there in 2010, but this year’s drought has been more severe, with the Rio Negro falling 15 meters (49.2 feet) since July, exposing vast expanses of rock and sand. where there were no beaches.

“This time we not only found more sizes, but the sculpture of a human face carved into the rock”explains Oliveira, who works for the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), which oversees the conservation of historical sites.