A remarkable 8-mile-long “canvas” featuring ice age drawings of mastodons, giant sloths, and other extinct animals has been uncovered in the Amazon rainforest.
This stunning artwork, created with ochre, a red pigment commonly used as paint in ancient times, covers almost 8 miles (13 kilometers) of rock above three rock shelters in the Colombian Amazon. According to a new study, these amazon rainforest drawings are located in the hills of this region.
The images, described as incredible, were produced by the earliest inhabitants of western Amazonia. Archaeologists from the University of Exeter, alongside Colombian scientists, have analyzed this rock art, identifying its significance and historical context.
It is believed that indigenous people began painting these amazon rainforest drawings at the Serranía La Lindosa archaeological site, situated on the northern edge of the Colombian Amazon. This activity dates back to the end of the last ice age, approximately 12,600 to 11,800 years ago. During this period, the Amazon was undergoing a transformation into the tropical rainforest we see today. The rising temperatures during the post-ice age era shifted the Amazon from a mix of savannas, thorny scrub, and forest into the lush tropical rainforest that is now recognized.
The discovery includes thousands of ice age drawings depicting handprints, geometric designs, and a vast array of animals. These range from smaller creatures such as deer, tapirs, alligators, bats, monkeys, turtles, serpents, and porcupines to larger ones like camelids, horses, and three-toed hoofed mammals with trunks. The amazon rainforest drawings also portray humans, hunting scenes, and interactions with plants, trees, and savannah animals. Compared to similar ice age animal rock art in Central Brazil, these newly found ice age drawings are more detailed, offering a clearer picture of what these now-extinct species looked like.
These amazon rainforest drawings provide a vivid and exciting glimpse into the lives of the communities that created them. The idea that these ancient people lived among and hunted giant herbivores, some as large as small cars, is astounding. The end of the last ice age saw many of South America’s large animals go extinct, likely due to a combination of human hunting and climate change.
Excavations at the rock shelters where these amazon rainforest drawings were found indicate that these were some of the earliest human-occupied sites in the Amazon. The paintings and the camps where they were created offer valuable insights into the diets of these early hunter-gatherers. Remains of bones and plants suggest they consumed palm and tree fruits, piranhas, alligators, snakes, frogs, and rodents such as paca and capybara, as well as armadillos.
In 2017 and 2018, scientists excavated the rock shelters following the 2016 peace treaty between the Colombian government and FARC, a rebel guerrilla group. This peace agreement allowed researchers to launch a project called LastJourney. The project’s goal was to determine when people first settled in the Amazon and how their farming and hunting practices affected the region’s biodiversity.
The ice age drawings found in these rock shelters serve as remarkable evidence of human interaction with the environment. These amazon rainforest drawings illustrate how ancient people reconstructed the land, engaging in hunting, farming, and fishing. Art likely played a significant cultural role, facilitating social connections among the communities.
The findings were detailed in the journal Quaternary International, and the University of Exeter released a statement on November 30 to coincide with a new TV documentary titled “Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon,” set to air in the U.K. in December.
- ONLINE NEWS Geggel, L. (2020, December 1). Sprawling 8-mile-long “canvas” of ice age beasts discovered hidden in Amazon rainforest. livescience.com. [livescience.com]
- JOURNAL Morcote-Ríos, G., Aceituno, F. J., Iriarte, J., Robinson, M., & Chaparro-Cárdenas, J. L. (2021). Colonisation and early peopling of the Colombian Amazon during the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene: New evidence from La Serranía La Lindosa. Quaternary International, 578, 5–19. [Quaternary International]
APA 7: TWs Editor. (2024, June 30). Ice Age Drawings Found in the Amazon Rainforest. PerEXP Teamworks. [Online News Link]
