DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10199078.

Abstract

The Pedra da Inscrição archaeological site is located in the Sete Cidades National Park, a conservation unit in the State of Piauí, in northeastern Brazil. It consists of a large sandstone block, the southwest face of which is decorated with dozens of rock paintings in various shades of red. A detailed examination of the pictorial panels revealed 54 distinguishable figures and 33 ink stains with no defined outline. 32 hand stamps were identified (of which 5 left hand stamps and 8 right hand stamps stand out), 1 anthropomorph, 1 zoomorph and 1 phytomorph, as well as 13 geometric figures and 6 abstract figures. Dozens of splashes of red ink indicate that the rock paintings were made using liquid ink. Two ceramic fragments were found scattered on the surface of the ground at the base of one of the pictorial panels, expanding the diversity of vestiges of human activity at the Pedra da Inscrição site beyond the cave paintings. The main agents involved in the degradation of this ancestral heritage were also investigated.

Keywords

Rock paintings; degradation agents; archaeological ceramics; Sete Cidades National Park; Brazil.

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Other Persistent Identifiers

PURL: purl.org/aia/5216. ARK: ark:/49934/317.

Publication date: November 24, 2023.