In the past week, remarkable images of ancient cave art have hit the headlines: rock paintings made in South America around 12,000 years ago. The art, created on rock faces in the Serranía de la Lindosa, on the northern edge of the Colombian Amazon, is a riot of ochre-coloured geometrical pattern, handprints, and images of animals and humans. Until recent excavations, the works of art had been unknown to the international community. This creativity, this 12,000-year-old print of human hands, and this extraordinary depiction of long-extinct species, is remarkable and moving. But the ongoing archaeological studies in this area may also begin to tell an important story about the environment – and how humans have interacted with the precious Amazonian rainforests.

Source: The Guardian December 04, 2020 18:25 UTC