archeology
Probably the world’s largest rock engravings found
Petroglyphs are engraved into a rock. Photo
© Dr Philip Riris/dpa
Some of the rock engravings discovered and mapped in the Orinoco River region are at least 2,000 years old and several dozen meters long. The largest of them is larger than a blue whale.
According to the researchers, the depiction of a giant snake is the largest single rock engraving ever found in the world. Other so-called petroglyphs – rock paintings from prehistoric times – show human figures and giant Amazonian millipedes.
“These monumental sites are really large and impressive, and we believe they were intended to be seen from a distance,” Philip Riris, lead author and lecturer in archaeological environmental modelling at Bournemouth University, is quoted as saying in a statement.
Prehistoric groups may have used the engravings “to mark their territory and let people know that they live here and that appropriate behavior is expected,” said Riris. The rock paintings, some of which were already known, could have been created up to 2,000 years ago. Similar motifs on pottery from the region suggested that they may be even older.
Warning in snake form
Many of the largest engravings depict snakes, which the researchers believe are probably boas or anacondas, which played an important role in the myths and beliefs of the local indigenous population. “Snakes are generally perceived as very threatening, so the location of the petroglyphs could be a signal that one must behave in these places,” Riris suggested.
The engravings are mainly located along a section of the Orinoco River that may have been an important prehistoric trade and travel route, said José Oliver of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, according to the statement. “This means that it was an important port of call and it may therefore have been all the more important to make a statement – to mark your local identity and let visitors know you are here.”