Archaeologists Find Mysterious Rock Art Likely Made 2,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists have identified a series of mysterious rock artworks in Brazil, some of which probably date back to around 2,000 years ago.

A team with Brazil's National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) identified 16 archaeological sites in the Jalapão region, located in the east of Tocantins state, which is in the center of the country, the Ministry of Culture said in a press release.

The sites feature panels with rock art, which predominantly come in the form of engravings, Rômulo Macêdo, an IPHAN archaeologist who has led recent investigations in the region, told Newsweek. Some of the sites also contain paintings made with red pigments, although these artworks are much smaller in number compared with the engravings.

"Because of the technique and the themes represented, it is likely that the paintings are older than the engravings and that they were made by another cultural group, but further research is needed," Macêdo said.

The 16 sites are located close to each other, each of them arranged along the same rocky wall, according to Macêdo.

"In addition to the relationship of proximity, what connects these sites is the recurrence of the symbols represented, demonstrating that the creators of the rock records, especially the engravings, shared the same belief system," he said.

Among the symbols engraved and painted on the rocks are depictions of human footprints, the tracks of animals—such as deer and wild pigs—and figures that resemble celestial bodies, according to the archaeologist.

It is still not clear who made the rock artwork or what its purpose was—research into them is just beginning—but Macêdo said there are many possible interpretations. For example, they could have been created to record the passage of time, depict myths, communicate with spirits or demarcate territory, among other explanations.

Until recently, because of the limited research that had been carried out, little was known about the peoples who inhabited the region of Jalapão in the precolonial period.

"Recent discoveries of archaeological sites, in addition to helping to fill a void of knowledge we had of that vast area, show that the presence of human groups in the region dates back thousands of years," Macêdo said.

In fact, the available evidence suggests that human occupation stretches back about 12,000 years ago.

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