Amazon drought exposes prehistoric rock carvings

These engravings in the shape of human faces are normally submerged by the Rio Negro in Brazil, one of the Amazon's largest tributaries. But since July, the water level has dropped by 15 meters (50 feet) due to persistent drought, exposing vast expanses of rock and sand — and these carved figures, thought to be up to 2,000 years old.

In mid-October, Rio Negro reached its lowest level in 121 years — exposing this rocky outcropping where the engravings were found. The Ponto das Lajes is located near the confluence of the Rio Negro and Solimoes rivers, where they join up to flow into the Amazon. During a previous drought in 2010, the ancient carvings were seen for the first time.

But this time additional stone carvings have come to light. Most depict human faces, rectangular or oval, with smiling or saddened facial expressions. "The site expresses emotions, feelings, it is an engraved rock record, but it has something in common with current works of art," archaeologist Jaime de Santana Oliveira told the AFP news agency.

The drought has also uncovered other traces of the past. Here, archaeologist Oliveira squats next to a spot where smooth grooves appear in the rock. It's assumed that they were created when the region's Indigenous inhabitants used the spot to sharpen their arrows and spears.

According to Oliveira, the carvings are a site of great archaeological importance. "The engravings are prehistoric, or precolonial. We cannot date them exactly, but based on evidence of human occupation of the area, we believe they are about 1,000 to 2,000 years old," he told the Reuters news agency.

The Amazon rainforest has experienced a record drought for months, with devastating consequences for people and the environment. Low water levels in rivers, some of which have been reduced to a mere trickle, have triggered a mass fish die-off. As rivers are the Amazon region's main transport routes, residents have to be supplied with food and water from the air.

The emergence of the carvings has attracted researchers as well as curious visitors in droves. "We come, we look at [the engravings] and we think they are beautiful. But at the same time, it is worrying," Livia Ribeiro, a longtime resident of the Amazon's largest city, Manaus, told AFP. "I also think about whether this river will exist in 50 or 100 years."