Ancient Cave Drawings Dating 4,000-10,000 Years Old Discovered in Brazil

Researchers have discovered ancient cave drawings made by hunter-gatherer societies thousands of years ago while conducting a survey on white-lipped peccaries.

 A team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and a local partner NGP, Instituto Quinta do Sol, were conducting a survey on white-lipped peccaries (a hog like animal native to Central and South America) and were collecting environmental data that link Brazil's Pantanal and Cerrado biomes, when they came across the ancient cave drawings. The discovery of the ancient caves was made in 2009 on Brazil's Cerrado plateau.

According to a regional cave specialist Aguiar, the ancient cave drawings were made by hunter gatherer societies between 4,000 - 10,000 years ago. They either occupied the caves or used them especially for the artistic activities.

This new discovery enhances the archaeologists' knowledge of rock art from the Cerrado plateau region that is at the border of Pantanal.

"Our work with the Wildlife Conservation Society focuses on promoting sustainable land use practices that help protect important wildlife species and the wild places where they live," Dr. Alexine Keuroghlian, researcher with WCS's Brazil Program, said in a statement. "Since we often work in remote locations, we sometimes make surprising discoveries, in this case, one that appears to be important for our understanding of human cultural history in the region."

Peccaries travel great distances and are the best environmental indicators of healthy forests. They are highly vulnerable to human activity like hunting and deforestation. From the former ranges of Southern Mexico to northern Argentina, a large number of peccaries have disappeared.  It was following the signals from radio-collared white peccaries and tracing their foraging trails that the researchers stumbled upon the  prominent sandstone formations with caves that had drawings of animals and geometric figures carved on it.

On analyzing the style of the drawing, Aguiar states that some of the drawings are consistent with the Planalto tradition and other drawings were similar to the Nordeste (Northeastern Brazil) or Agreste (forest to arid-land transition in NE Brazil) style of drawing.

The drawings in the caves clearly depict a wide range of animals including deer, large cats, birds, reptiles and armadillos. They even have human figures and a few geometric symbols.

Surprisingly,  peccaries are missing in the cave drawings. Aguiar plans cave floor excavations and geological dating to fully interpret the drawings.

Dr. Julie Kunen, Director of WCS's Latin America and the Caribbean Program and an expert on Mayan archaeology said in the press statement, "These discoveries of cave drawings emphasize the importance of protecting the Cerrado and Pantanal ecosystems, both for their cultural and natural heritage. We hope to partner with local landowners to protect these cave sites, as well as the forests that surround them, so that the cultural heritage and wildlife depicted in the drawings are preserved for future generations."

The findings were published in the journal Revista Clio Arqueológica.