Pedra Pintada or "Painted Rock" is a large rock located in the state of Roraima, Brazil. It is 85 meters long, 35 meters high and 30 meters wide, and is found in the Boa Vista savanna. There are many pictograms and other archaeological evidence inscribed on the walls of the rock.
The rock is located inside the San Marcos indigenous area, where Macuxi, Waphishana and Pemon indigenous people live.
The Pedra Pintada site is located in a savanna area, being common the presence of extensive outcrops of rocks covered, in part, by a thin layer of soil. The savanna covers an extensive plain surface including a lot of hills and isolate mountains, where is common the process of weathering developed into the granitic and volcanic rocks.
PAINTINGS
Lumps of raw pigment and paint drops from the cave paintings have been dated and are considered to be the earliest paintings in South America and the earliest known cave paintings in the Americas. Images of stick figures, include a woman giving birth; geometric designs; and hand prints are paintings in browns, reds, and yellows.
DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION
Anna C. Roosevelt, rediscovered and excavated the cave extensively from 1990 to 1992. The excavations were supported by the Field Museum and the University of Illinois, Chicago. The lowest levels of the cave were radiocarbon dated and Thermoluminescence dated back to ca.11,200 to 10,000 years ago.
