Rock art that had been submerged in Brazil’s Rio Negro river has now been exposed because of a serious drought in that region that has lowered the water level.
“Drought in Brazil’s Amazon has drastically reduced river levels in recent weeks, affecting a region that depends on a maze of waterways for transportation and supplies. The Brazilian government has sent emergency aid to the area, where normally bustling riverbanks are dry, littered with stranded boats. According to experts, the dry season has worsened this year due to El Niño, an irregular climate pattern over the Pacific Ocean that disrupts normal weather, adding to the effect of climate change.” (Phys Org 2023)
“An extreme drought in parts of the Amazon has dramatically dropped river water levels, exposing dozens of ancient carvings depicting humans. According to archaeologists, the rock carvings are about 2,000 years old, and the engravings feature anthropomorphic representations of civilizations that inhabited the region. The first documentation of the ancient engravings was made in 2010 during another drought not as severe as the current one. At the time (the) river’s dark waters dropped to 13.63 meters, and now, 13 years later, the Rio Negro continues to break drought records and reveal surprises.” (Bartek 2023) With the petroglyphs exposed by a 13.63 meter drop in water levels we must assume that they were created at a time that the water levels were also down at least this far. If science could produce a climate record for the region that would allow more accurate estimates of the time periods that must have been involved.
“The engravings comprise an archaeological site of ‘great relevance,’ said Jaime Oliveira of the Brazilian Institute of Historical Heritage (Iphan). They are at a site known as Praia das Lajes and were first seen in 2010, during another period of drought not as severe as the current one. The rock carvings appear against a backdrop of dense jungle, with the low brownish waters of the Negro River flowing nearby. Most of the engravings are of human faces, some of them rectangular and others oval, with smiles of grim expressions.” (Phys Org 2023) The question would seem to be are the different forms of faces the result of being produced by different carvers, different time periods, or different cultures?
“For Beatriz Carneiro, historian and member of Iphan, Praia das Lajes has an ‘inestimable’ value in understanding the first people who inhabited the region, a field still little explored. Unhappily it is now reappearing with the worsening of the drought, Carneiro said. Having our rivers back (flooded) and keeping the engravings submerged will help preserve them, even more than our work.’” (Voice of America 2023)
It would
seem contrary to logic that flooding the images would protect them but that
would depend on the type of rock that they are carved into. It cannot be the
relatively soft sandstones and limestone that so much of the North American
rock art is produced on. It must be a much harder stone, perhaps volcanic.
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
SOURCES:
Bartek, Jan, 2023, Drought Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings In Brazil’s Amazon, 23 October 2023, https://www.ancientpages.com. Accessed online 23 October 2023.
Editors, Phys.org, 2023, Drought in Brazil’s Amazon reveals ancient engravings, 22 October 2023, https://phys.org/news/. Accessed online 22 October 2023.
Voice of America, 2023, Drought in Brazil’s Amazon Reveals Ancient Engravings, 22 October
2023, https://www.voanews.com. Accessed
online 23 October 2023.
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