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Ancient Brazilian rock carvings of human faces revealed along Amazon River
Ancient rock carvings have been uncovered near the Amazon River amid drought conditions in Brazil. (Reuters)
A drought in South America has revealed long-hidden, ancient carvings of human faces.
Water levels of the Amazon River have dropped amid unusually sparse rainfall in Brazil, uncovering ancient art normally hidden by the shoreline.
Among the rocks revealed by the drought are carvings of human faces dating from thousands of years ago.
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A view of ancient stone carvings in the Amazon River that were exposed after water levels dropped to record lows during a drought in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. (Reuters/Suamy Beydoun)
Archeologists have been aware of the carved faces for years, but the low water levels have unearthed previously unseen specimens.
The carvings appear to have been created by indigenous people before contact with European explorers.
“This region is a pre-colonial site which has evidence of occupation dating back some 1,000 to 2,000 years,” said archaeologist Jaime Oliveira, according to Reuters. “What we’re seeing here are representations of anthropomorphic figures.”
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Archaeologist Jaime Oliveira squats near tool sharpening marks carved into stone on a rocky point of the Amazon. (Reuters/Suamy Beydoun)
“This time we found not just more carvings, but the sculpture of a human face cut into the rock,” he added.
In addition to the faces, the rocks are also marked in a way that suggest indigenous warriors used them to sharpen tools or weapons.
Amazon River water levels dipped below 13 meters this week, with the Brazilian government attributing the phenomenon to climate change.
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While archeologists were aware of the carved faces, the drought has revealed images previously unknown to researchers. (Reuters/Suamy Beydoun)
The El Niño climate phenomenon – a cyclical warming of the world’s oceans and weather, which fuels tropical cyclones in the Pacific, boosting rainfall and flood risk in the region – is also believed to have influenced water levels.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at [email protected]