Researchers from Colombia and the U.K. have found nearly eight miles of ancient rock art depicting numerous now-extinct Ice Age beasts, from mastodons to giant sloths.
The Amazon rainforest discovery in the Serranía La Lindosa (Colombia) is thought to be made around 11,800 to 12,600 years ago. Created with red ochre, the vivid images document megafauna, human figures, hunting scenes and a vast array of creatures such as deer, tapirs, alligators, bats, monkeys, turtles, serpents and porcupines.
"It is likely art was a powerful part of culture and a way for people to connect socially. The pictures show how people would have lived amongst giant, now extinct, animals, which they hunted," José Iriarte, Professor of Archaeology at Exeter, told CNN.
A new TV series, "Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon," will showcase the rock art on the UK's Channel 4, and the findings are also described in an article in the journal Quaternary International.
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