In the Amazon, where there is a period of extreme drought, the level of several rivers has fallen dramatically, revealing rocks that are normally submerged and decorated with engravings that could be more than 2,000 years old.
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“I thought it was a lie,” says Livia Ribeiro, who has lived for 27 years in Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas state in northern Brazil, located on the banks of the Rio Negro. “I’ve never seen this before,” she said after observing the carvings along the river at the Praia das Lajes site.
Most of them represent human faces, rectangular or oval, with smiling or darker facial expressions.
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The waters of the Rio Negro, one of the Amazon’s main tributaries, whose flow reached its lowest level in 121 years last week, have so far covered the rock formations and their works of art.
Although the appearance of the inscriptions due to the drought has excited scientists and curious visitors, the phenomenon still raises questions.
“We come and look at (the engravings) and think they’re great. But at the same time it is worrying,” emphasizes Livia Ribeiro. “I wonder if this river will exist in 50 or 100 years. »
AFP
Extreme drought in the Amazon has caused rivers to recede to critical levels, causing significant problems for river navigation, which is crucial to supplying remote communities.
Experts say the situation is also exacerbated by El Niño, a cyclical weather phenomenon over the Pacific that reduces cloud formation and therefore rainfall.
AFP
The first time in 2010
The engravings were first observed during a previous drought in 2010.
They represent an archaeological site of “great importance,” emphasizes archaeologist Jaime Oliveira from the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) of Brazil.
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“The place expresses emotions and feelings, it is a testimony through engraved stones, but it has something in common with current works of art,” says Mr. Oliveira.
For Beatriz Carneiro, historian and member of Iphan, Praia das Lajes has an “invaluable” value as it allows us to better understand the first inhabitants of the region, a part of history that is still little studied.
“Unfortunately this is happening again today with the increasing drought,” she continues. “Finding our (flooded) rivers and submerging the engravings will contribute to their preservation, even more than our work.” »
AFP