2,000-Year-Old Rock Art Found In Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

International Business Times International Business Times
Dory Jackson
3 hrs ago

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Rock art discovered in Western Venezuela features what are thought to be some of the largest engravings in the world, according to research published Wednesday in Cambridge University Press. The rocks are reportedly around 2,000 years old and boast engravings of animals, humans and ancient rituals.

Pre-Columbian art has long been a subject of study by scientists and naturalists that travel along the Orinoco River, but it has also proven to be an interest of research among archeologists. Researchers from the University College London's Institute of Archaeology (UCL) mapped their discovery in unprecedented detail. The research team said it hoped the engravings, formally known as petroglyphs, would help to provide a better understanding of its archaeological and ethnographic context.

"The Rapids are an ethnic, linguistic and cultural convergence zone," Dr. Philip Riris, the study's lead author, said in a news release Thursday. "The motifs documented here display similarities to several other rock art sites in the locality, as well as in Brazil, Colombia, and much further afield."

"This is one of the first in-depth studies to show the extent and depth of cultural connections to other areas of northern South America in pre-Columbian and Colonial times," Riris continued.

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