Archaeologists have finally deciphered the meaning of a series of prehistoric rock art images with the help of local Indigenous elders and ritual specialists.
The Serranía de la Lindosa, a 12-mile-long sandstone outcrop in Colombia’s Guaviare department, is covered with thousands of red ochre paintings, some believed to date back over 11,000 years. For much of the last century, research in this northwestern region was obstructed by political unrest and inaccessibility. However, following the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC, archaeologists were able to resume their work and discover several rock art sites, featuring images of humans, animals, mythological creatures, therianthropes, geometric shapes, and plants.
The study, published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, was led by researchers from the University of Exeter, Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín), and Universidad Nacional de Colombia. With over six years of fieldwork, the research team used a multidisciplinary approach, combining ethnographic research, Indigenous perspectives, and detailed analysis of the artwork’s motifs.
Through collaboration with local Indigenous communities such as the Tukano, Desana, Matapí, Nukak, and Jiw, the archaeologists found that the collection of ancient paintings was not simply a record for environmental observations. Instead, they found that the rock motifs convey a hidden spiritual dimension that shamans navigate by transforming into animals.
This concept, a part of Indigenous Amazonian cosmology, suggests that the physical body acts as an outer shell concealing the true essence of a living being. Shamans shed their physical identities to enter a spiritual realm where the boundaries between species dissolve, allowing them to connect with the deeper essence of other forms of life.
This interpretation of ritual transformations is supported by multiple scenes depicting therianthropic figures—humans transforming into snakes, jaguars, or birds This conclusion would not have been possible without the help of the Indigenous elders, who were able to aid the researchers in understanding the true spiritual significance behind these images.
“It is the first time that the views of Indigenous elders on their ancestors’ rock art have been fully incorporated into research in this part of the Amazon,” said Jamie Hampson, one of the lead researchers and authors of the study, in a statement to the University of Exeter. “In so doing, it enables us to not simply look at the art from an outsiders’ perspective and guess; we know why specific motifs were painted, and what they mean.”
Archaeologists have cracked the meaning of prehistoric rock art at Serranía de la Lindosa in Colombia with the insight of local Indigenous elders.
The red ochre paintings, central to Amazonian cosmology, depict humans, animals, mythological creatures, and therianthropic transformations.
Researchers found that the art represents spiritual journeys where shamans transform into animals.
This ritual transformation allows them to enter a spiritual realm where species boundaries dissolve, connecting with life's deeper essence.
Sources: Animals of the Serranía de la Lindosa: Exploring representation and categorisation in the rock art and zooarchaeological remains of the Colombian Amazon; Indigenous elders and ritual specialists help to unlock the meaning of ancient Amazonian rock art, ‘A World of Knowledge’: Rock Art, Ritual, and Indigenous Belief at Serranía De La Lindosa in the Colombian Amazon
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