12.500-Year-Old Cave Paintings Reveal Ancient Americans’ Connection to New World Animals
The first humans to set foot in the Amazon thousands of years ago encountered many previously unknown animals. Some of these first encounters have turned out to be documented in ancient rock art from Colombia.
Scientists analyzed 12,500-year-old drawings in the Serranía de la Lindosa that depict monkeys, fish, birds and deer.
Researchers have analyzed thousands of cave paintings depicting birds, crocodiles, deer and other animals
In a new study published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, researchers from the University of Exeter cataloged 3,223 drawings of people and animals that were discovered in the Amazon rainforest in the Serranía de la Lindosa rock formation in Colombia.
For years, it was difficult to explore these ancient images due to the difficult terrain and political instability in the region. However, in 2016, scientists did manage to reach the region.
Animals in the rock paintings
According to the new analysis, about 58% of the drawings studied were figurative, meaning they depicted objects from the real world rather than geometric figures and abstractions. At the same time, most of the drawings showed animals rather than people.
Researchers were able to identify at least 22 different animal species, including deer, birds, lizards, turtles, tapirs, snakes, caimans and crocodiles. Scientists also found drawings of fish and scenes of people fishing.
Where are the jaguars?
Surprisingly absent from the images were jaguars, the iconic big cats that played a significant role in later Amazonian civilizations. Why these charismatic animals are absent from the drawings remains a mystery. Perhaps it has to do with their spiritual significance: in an age when there were no strict boundaries between the human world, the animal world and the supernatural, depicting a fierce predator might have been considered unwise or disrespectful.
According to the researchers, the context of the drawings demonstrates the complexity of Amazonian peoples’ relationship with animals, which served not only as a source of food but were also revered beings with spiritual ties that required complex ritual interactions.
Source: 12.500-Year-Old Cave Paintings Reveal Ancient Americans’ Connection to New World Animals
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