A new study finds that as early as 9,400 years ago, hunter-gatherers in what is now Brazil created dozens of stunning rock art designs next to fossilized dinosaur footprints.
Researchers have described petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks dating back to the Paleolithic era Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago), in a study published March 19 in the journal Scientific reports. They believe that ancient humans intentionally placed the rock art next to dinosaur prints, as many of the petroglyphs are only 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) from the fossilized marks, and some of the glyphs appear to be illustrations of the prints. .
“The individuals who made the petroglyphs were very familiar with the footprints, and likely chose the site specifically because of them,” said the study’s first author. Leonardo Troiano“It was impossible to overlook their presence,” an archaeologist from Brazil's National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage told Live Science.
The archaeological site, known as Serrote do Letreiro (Portuguese for “Signpost Hill”), is located about 7 miles (11 km) from the urban center of the municipality of Sousa in the northeastern state of Paraíba. It's close to Dinosaur Valley, a protected area famous for hundreds of fossilized dinosaur footprints.
Researchers have known about fossilized dinosaur prints in the area since the early 20th century, but the rock art there has only been mentioned briefly over the years, the new study said. While there was already knowledge of at least one ancient inscription by KiririThe proximity between the petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks has never been documented, said Troiano, the main indigenous group in Brazil's northeastern hinterland.
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Troiano and his colleagues conducted the study with a group of middle school students who went to the site in 2023. In addition to learning about paleontology and archeology, the students helped photograph the fieldwork.
The team noted that the tracks belong to different types of dinosaurs, such as carnivorous theropods, long-necked sauropods, and two-legged ornithopods, including Iguanodon dinosaurs. The footprints are similar to Rhea's emu-like footprints (RIAA Americana), the largest living bird in Brazil, may have made it easier for ancient people to recognize and interpret these fossil remains, the study's authors suggest.
The petroglyphs, which are circular carvings filled with lines and other geometric lines, are attributed to humans who lived in the area between 9,400 and 2,620 years ago. “They were small, semi-nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers who lived in community and used objects made of stones,” Troiano said.
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The researchers didn't find any organic remains that would make radiocarbon dating possible, so “we compared the art to archaeological sites in the area with similar or identical rock art,” Troiano said. For example, petroglyphs at sites such as Pedra de Alexandreabout 120 miles (200 km) west of Cerote do Letrero, and dates to about 9,400 years ago, based on radiocarbon analyzes of human burials.
The researchers found that ancient humans made the newly described sculptures using two techniques: punching and scraping.
“Piercing involves using a type of stone hammer to create depressions in the surface, similar to stippling, while scraping entails rubbing the stone against the surface until it forms the desired pattern,” Troiano said. In some cases, the two technologies have been combined to enhance visibility and depth.
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