The rock art discovery is in episode 2, on December 12.Cthulhu is calling from the ancient depths - and this time, researchers are only too happy to speak its name. Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon starts at 6.30pm on Channel 4 on December 5. Iriarte is convinced there are many more paintings to be found in the region and his team will be visiting again as soon as the coronavirus pandemic allows. She said that it is fascinating to see these ancient depictions of what the land would have looked like so many years ago. Presenter Al-Shamahi added that some people don't realise that the Amazon hasn't always been a rainforest and was in fact much more 'savannah-like' thousands of years ago. It is unclear whether the paintings had a sacred purpose but Iriarte noticed that many large animals are surrounded by humans with their arms raised - seemingly in a pose of worship. However, professor Iriarte believes that depictions of wooden towers among the paintings serve to explain how the indigenous people managed to get to such extreme heights. Some of the paintings are extremely high up on relatively sheer rock face, which at-first baffled the research team. The territory where the paintings have been discovered was only recently unsealed after being completely off limits due to Colombia's raging civil war that lasted for 50 years.Īnd managing to enter the area still takes careful negotiation. The only option for the team was to walk past the snake, knowing that if they were attacked there was a vanishingly small chance they would make it to hospital in time. She told The Observer: 'The new site is so new, they haven't even given it a name yet.'Įlla Al-Shamahi, an archaeologist and explorer, shared her excitement at seeing the images being resurrectedĭuring their trek, the explorers were faced with some of the area's most dangerous predators.Īt one point the team even came face to face with the deadliest viper in the Americas - the bushmaster. The documentary's presenter, Ella Al-Shamahi, an archaeologist and explorer, shared her excitement at seeing the images being brought back to life. It's so detailed, we can even see the horse hair. The ice-age horse had a wild, heavy face. The pictures are so natural and so well made that we have few doubts that you're looking at a horse, for example. 'We started seeing animals that are now extinct. It's going to take generations to record them … Every turn you do, it's a new wall of paintings. Mr Iriarte told The Observer: 'When you're there, your emotions flow … We're talking about several tens of thousands of paintings. Led by a professor of archaeology at Exeter University, Jose Iriarte, the research team was funded by the European Research Council. It is so remote that after the British-Colombian research team drove for two hours, they were forced to trek on foot for another four The site is deep in the heart of Colombia in the Serrania de la Lindosa area. It is so remote that after the British-Colombian research team drove for two hours, they were forced to trek on foot for another four. The site is deep in the heart of Colombia. The fascinating discovery, which happened last year but was kept secret, will now feature in a Channel 4 series Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon, in December. It is believed that these ancient images, which give a glimpse into a now lost civilisation, were created by some of the first ever humans to reach the Amazon. The site is in the Serrania de la Lindosa where, along with the Chiribiquete national park, other rock art had previously been found. Until the discovery of these paintings, anything known about the region's history before 1500 has been inferred from scant archaeological evidence such as ceramics and arrow heads. Much less is known about the origin of the Kayapo tribe, which is estimated to have a population of roughly 8,600.Īmazon natives didn't keep written records until relatively recently and the humid climate and acidic soil have destroyed almost all traces of their material culture, including bones.
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