12,500-year-old rock paintings discovered in Colombia

Archaeologists Antiquity has discovered a large rock in the Amazon region of Colombia on the dominant part of which animals have painted red Pictures are made

These pictures are 12 and a half thousand years old. The discovery provides information about the beliefs and diet of early humans living on the continent.

The amazing paintings on the Cerro Issol hill in Sirenia de la Lindosa, Colombia show various creatures, including animals and humans, transforming into other creatures.

The isolated hilltop is paved with 16 ‘panels’ of red paintings. Researchers had to climb uphill to get to many of the images.

According to new research published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, these rock paintings may have been a great gallery for ancient people for thousands of years. These images tell the stories of the great giants that have guided generations of people living in the Amazon jungle.

Mark Robinson, co-author of the study from the University of Exeter, says that ‘these stone images provide the earliest evidence of human presence in western Amazonia 12,500 years ago.’

Researchers examined animal remains recovered from nearby sites and compared them with animals seen in rock paintings.

The scientists examined six panels in particular in detail. These panels include a 40 meter high and 10 meter wide panel with more than 1,000 images on it. The researchers also examined a small 60-square-meter panel with 244 red-painted images in very good condition.

Using drones and traditional photography, the researchers documented more than 32 hundred rock images. Most of these pictures are of animals. For example, deer, birds, goats, lizards, turtles and pigs.

The researchers found that the ancient inhabitants of the Amazon ate a variety of foods, including fish, small mammals and reptiles, including turtles, snakes and crocodiles.

Although fish were found in abundance in the remains of antiquity, their appearance in the paintings was limited to only two panels.

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Because the length and width of the animal bones do not match the animals in the rock art, scientists suspect that the makers of these images did not simply depict the animals they ate.

It was clear in these photos that they did not contain big cats, although they were the main predators in the area.

Dr Robinson said: ‘This context shows the complexity of the relationship between people and animals in the Amazon. These animals were a source of food as well as being respected. These animals were believed to possess supernatural powers and ritualists performed elaborate rituals to communicate with them.’

Certain images combining human and animal characteristics point to a complex Daumalai belief in the transition between animal and human states. A belief that is still found today among people living in the Amazon region.

These images show that ancient people had a good understanding of the variety of natural habitats found in the area. Habitats include treed grasslands, floodplain forests and rivers.

Javier Acetuno, another author of the study from Medellin, Colombia, said, ‘They had a deep knowledge of the different habitats in the region. They were experts in finding animals in every habitat, hunting them and using plants as food as an elaborate survival strategy.’

Study co-author Jose Ariaarte, from the University of Exeter, said: ‘Although we are not sure what these images mean, it is certain that they would have played a major role in understanding the importance of giant rituals to local people. are.’