During a previous drought in 2010, the engravings were observed for the first time.
“Smileys” engraved in rock more than 2000 years ago? In the Amazon, where there is an episode of extreme drought, the level of several rivers has dropped drastically and revealed rocks that are usually submerged, decorated with engravings, most of which represent human faces. They constitute an archaeological site of “great importance”underlined archaeologist Jaime Oliveira, from the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) of Brazil, quoted Sunday October 22 by AFP.
For Beatriz Carneiro, historian and member of Iphan, this site located on the banks of the Rio Negro and called Praia das Lajes, has a “invaluable” to allow us to better understand the first inhabitants of the region, a part of history that is still little studied. “Unfortunately, this is reappearing today with the worsening drought”she continues. “Finding our rivers [en crue] and keeping the engravings submerged will contribute to their preservation, even more than our work.”
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The waters of the Rio Negro, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon, whose flow reached its lowest level in 121 years last week, until now covered the rock formations and their works of art. During a previous drought in 2010, the engravings were observed for the first time.
“I wonder if this river will exist in 50 or 100 years”
If the appearance of the inscriptions due to the drought has delighted scientists and curious visitors, the phenomenon is worrying. “We come, we look [les gravures] and we find them splendid. But at the same time, it’s worrying.”underlines Livia Ribeiro. “I wonder if this river will exist in 50 or 100 years.”
For several months, this region has been experiencing heat records, multiple fires devouring the Amazon forest and an unprecedented drought affecting the Amazon River and its tributaries. “According to specialists, the rainy season will only begin in November this year in the region and it will be difficult for the rivers to return to their normal levels,” alerted Wilson Lima, the governor of the Amazonas, where drought affects more than 500,000 of the 4 million inhabitants, including many indigenous people and members of fishing communities who live on the banks of the rivers.
This extreme drought in the Amazon results both of the El Niño meteorological phenomenon, which reduces the formation of clouds and therefore rain, and “warming of the North Atlantic, due to uncontrolled climate change”, caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases, explained the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. Recent studies cited by the New York Times underline that deforestation, forest fires and global warming are all factors that make “the green lung of the planet” increasingly vulnerable to extreme droughts.