One of the world's largest collections of prehistoric rock art has been discovered in the Amazon rainforest.
An extraordinary find and one of the largest collections of prehistoric rock art in the world: in Colombia, in the heart of the Amazon Forest, along 12 kilometers of rocky walls, what experts immediately called "the ancient Sistine Chapel" was discovered. Tens of thousands of animal and human paintings created up to 12.500 years ago.
Images that tell of an ancient and lost civilization, populated among others by mastodons - a prehistoric species of elephant typical of South America - giant sloths and horses from the ice age.
The discovery actually dates back to last year, but it had not been announced so far as it will be part of a series of the English Channel 4 scheduled for December entitled "Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon".
(Mysteriously disappeared the monolith discovered a few days ago in the Utah desert)
The site is located in remote Serranía de la Lindosa and the director of the documentary, Ella Al-Shamahi, an archaeologist and explorer, told the Observer that "it's so new that they haven't given it a name yet." Excited to have had the chance to admire an art created thousands of years ago, Al Shamahi called the discovery "breathtaking".
'Sistine Chapel of the ancients' rock art discovered in remote Amazon forest https://t.co/hQyUlVHgtd
— Guardian Science (@guardianscience) November 29, 2020
The discovery was made by a British-Colombian team, funded by the European Research Council and led by José Iriarte, professor of archeology at the University of Exeter and one of the leading experts in Amazonian and pre-Columbian history.
©Marie-Claire Thomas/Wild Blue Media
“We started seeing animals that are now extinct - he says. The images are so natural and so well done that we have little doubt that you are looking at a horse, for example. The ice age horse had a wild, heavy face. It is so detailed that we can even see the hair. It's fascinating ".
©Marie-Claire Thomas/Wild Blue Media
The images include fish, turtles, lizards and birds, as well as people dancing and holding hands. In short, an exceptional discovery that still has a lot to tell us.
Fonte: The Guardian Observer
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