The rock carvings are usually not visible because they are covered by the waters of the Negro River. However, last week the lowest level in 121 years was recorded. The discovery of the riverside images delighted both scientists and the public, but it also raised troubling questions.

Detail

Livia Ribeiro, who lives in Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon, said she heard about the rock figures from her friends and wanted to see them. She has been living here for 27 years, but she has never heard of such a thing.

Jaime Oliveira, of Brazil’s Historical Heritage Institute, said the engravings were an archaeological object of “great importance”. They are located in a place known as Praia das Lajes. Many of the carved figures depict human faces: rectangular, oval, with a smile or a stern expression, some often display quite frightening emotions.

It is still unclear who left these ancient works of art. They were probably indigenous people living here at the time, who faced drought that allowed them to climb these rocks, which were often covered with water. For people of that time, this probably meant starvation.

We come and look and think they are beautiful. But it’s also worrying. I wonder whether this river will exist in 50 years or 100 years.
– says Livia Ribeiro.

Drought in the Brazilian Amazon has dramatically reduced river levels in recent weeks, affecting a region that depends on the labyrinthine waterways for transport and supplies. The Brazilian government has sent emergency aid to the area, where normally busy river banks have dried up and are filled with stranded boats. According to experts, this year the dry season has worsened due to the cyclical warming of ocean waters and El Niño, which leads to a temporary increase in temperature across the planet.