A number of new rock art sites have been discovered in southern Venezuela in Canaima National Park. These newly discovered rock art sites in Venezuela can be stated to exist in a truly magnificent landscape.
“The Guiana Highlands region of southeastern Venezuela is characterized by flat-topped mountains, or tepuis, rising thousands of metres into the clouds while remaining geographically inseparable from the rainforest and savannahs below. The remarkable geographical characteristics of these mountains are likely to have had a significant phenomenological impact on the cultural perception and environmental interpretation of the nearby human groups. Rock art found in these magnificent landscapes can be appreciated on isolated rocks in river valleys as well as on large boulders strewn across the savannas.” (Pẻrez-Gỏmez and Swidorowicz 2023) While the magnificence of the landscape was undoubtedly appreciated by the original inhabitants, I can see no influence of that in the illustrations that I have seen of the rock art they left. This sort of poetic rhapsody really has no place in a paper intended to be scientific.
“At around 20 different sites, carved and painted in caves and on boulders archaeologists have discovered glyphs, pictograms, and other symbols left behind thousands of years ago. It’s the first rock art of any kind discovered in southern Venezuela, and while there are similarities to rock art in Brazil, it’s unclear whose hands left behind the mysterious motifs.” (Starr 2024) In other words, not enough archaeology has been done in the region to begin to pin down the local archaic indigenous cultures.
In a very positive development researchers have begun to study the rock art of southern Venezuela. “Josẻ Miguel Pẻrez-Gỏmez, a researcher from Simỏn Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela, has documented previously unrecorded rock art with the Indigenous Pemỏn community. This artwork represents a largely undisclosed cultural tradition. Pẻrez-Gỏmez recently presented evidence and findings about these remote sites at a rock art conference in Italy. The conference served as a forum for disseminating information about this significant archaeological discovery to the international scientific community. This research contributes to understanding the region’s Indigenous art and cultural practices, potentially offering new insights into historical and anthropological studies.” (Bartek 2024) As I said above, not enough archaeology has been done in the region to begin to pin down the local indigenous cultures. Apparently the historical and anthropological studies have not yet been done. Without further hard evidence (archeology) the claims for the important influence of this rock art are basically empty.
Surprisingly the local inhabitants claim to have possessed no knowledge about the rock art in their area. Pẻrez-Gỏmez summed up their report with these recommendations. “Subsequent inquiries with people in various local communities confirmed their lack of awareness about these sites. In light of this, we propose introducing these rock art manifestations to the local communities through a community engagement project that includes establishing a local museum. This initiative would not only raise awareness about these significant archaeological sites but also contribute to their protection as valuable heritage sites. Furthermore, it would have the added benefit of stimulating the indigenous local economy.” (Pẻrez-Gỏmez and Swidorowicz 2023) This last bit sounds like archaeological tourism. In many instances such stimulation ends up creating more problems for local societies than it solves. It certainly prompts development which can, in the end, begin to cause environmental impacts such as pollution, paving, and infrastructure, which can destroy the local culture in the end.
“Although it is not known precisely how old rock art is, similar rock art in Brazil has been dated to about 4,000 years ago, but Perez-Gomez believes the examples in Venezuela may be older. The park might have been the original place where this unknown culture first developed, Perez-Gomez told Live Science, adding that they may have later dispersed to places as far away as the Amazon River, the Guianas, and even southern Colombia, which all feature rock art akin to the newly found sites in Venezuela.” (Archaeology World 2024) What can I say about this quote – so much is so wrong. First, Petez-Gomez says “it is not known precisely how old rock art is”, but he knows his is older than the others. Second, similar rock art is found around the world. These symbols would generally be called ‘abstract style’ and I can point to some in southeastern Colorado like them, but I am pretty sure that the local cultures here were not originally dispersed from Venezuela.
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.
REFERENCES:
Archaeology World Team, 2024, 4,000-Year-Old Rock Art From a Previously Unknown Ancient Culture Uncovered in Venezuela, 4 July 2024, Archaeology World Online, https://archaeology-world.com. Accessed online 23 November 2024.
Bartek, Jan, 2024, Mysterious Rock Art By Unknown Ancient Culture Found In Venezuela, 5 July 2024, Ancient Pages, https://www.ancientpages.com. Accessed online 7 July 2024.
Josẻ Miguel Pẻrez-Gỏmez and Roger Swidorowicz, 2023, New Rock Art Site Complex in the Arauk River Valley, Southeastern Venezuela, Rock Art Research 2023, Volume 40, No. 2, pp. 131-144. Accessed online 23 November 2024.
Starr, Michelle, 2024, Mysterious Symbols on 4,000-year-old Rock Art Hint at an Unknown
Culture, 6 July 2024, https://www.sciencealert.com.
Accessed online 23 November 2024.
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