Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.Ancient rock engravings in what’s now South America — believed to be among the largest in the world — were meant to mark the boundaries of the territories inhabited by their makers, according to a new study.Birds, Amazonian centipedes, human figures and geometric shapes are among the designs, found across 14 sites — most already known, but some newly discovered — along a 60-mile (97-kilometer) stretch of the Orinoco River, in present-day Venezuela and Colombia.However, the most represented motif is gigantic snakes, and one in particular — in a site called Cerro Pintado in Venezuela — at about 138 feet (42 meters) in length is likely the single largest rock engraving recorded anywhere in the world, the researchers suggested.“There are two sides to these being territorial markers,” said Dr. Philip Riris, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Antiquity. “One could be a warning sign — you’re in our backyard, you better behave yourself. The other could be a marker of identity — you’re in our backyard, you’re among friends. But I don’t think they had a single purpose, so they could easily be both.”Snake mythologyThe study focuses on the meaning and the role played by the snakes in the mythology of the indigenous people of the area, said Riris, a senior lecturer in archaeological environmental modeling at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom. He believes local inhabitants likely carved the rocks between 1,000 and 2,000 years ago, based on pottery and motifs from that time frame found in the same area.“Snakes are really interesting, because they’re both creators and protectors. According to local mythology, they shaped the rivers as they traveled, however they’re also predators, full of dangerous energies that you need to respect in order not to fall afoul of their wrath,” Riris said, explaining why they could also have a dual meaning as rock carvings.All of the snake designs share a visual cons …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.Ancient rock engravings in what’s now South America — believed to be among the largest in the world — were meant to mark the boundaries of the territories inhabited by their makers, according to a new study.Birds, Amazonian centipedes, human figures and geometric shapes are among the designs, found across 14 sites — most already known, but some newly discovered — along a 60-mile (97-kilometer) stretch of the Orinoco River, in present-day Venezuela and Colombia.However, the most represented motif is gigantic snakes, and one in particular — in a site called Cerro Pintado in Venezuela — at about 138 feet (42 meters) in length is likely the single largest rock engraving recorded anywhere in the world, the researchers suggested.“There are two sides to these being territorial markers,” said Dr. Philip Riris, lead author of the study published Monday in the journal Antiquity. “One could be a warning sign — you’re in our backyard, you better behave yourself. The other could be a marker of identity — you’re in our backyard, you’re among friends. But I don’t think they had a single purpose, so they could easily be both.”Snake mythologyThe study focuses on the meaning and the role played by the snakes in the mythology of the indigenous people of the area, said Riris, a senior lecturer in archaeological environmental modeling at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom. He believes local inhabitants likely carved the rocks between 1,000 and 2,000 years ago, based on pottery and motifs from that time frame found in the same area.“Snakes are really interesting, because they’re both creators and protectors. According to local mythology, they shaped the rivers as they traveled, however they’re also predators, full of dangerous energies that you need to respect in order not to fall afoul of their wrath,” Riris said, explaining why they could also have a dual meaning as rock carvings.All of the snake designs share a visual cons …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
