Researchers said last week they have unearthed art in an ancient cave in the mountains of Mexico’s Tamaulipas state.
The art, which was painted on rocks, is said to predate Spanish rule, reported LiveScience.com.
Around 5,000 pieces of the rock art was found across 11 different sites in the area, said the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History, which carried out the research. The art was created via white, black, red, and yellow pigments.
Archaeologist Gustavo Ramirez said that the findings show that in the area, “it was inhabited by one or more cultures” before Spanish rule, according to the website.
Researchers said they have not been able to precisely put a date on when the paintings were created.
“We have not found any ancient objects linked to the context, and because the paintings are on ravine walls and in the rainy season the sediments are washed away, all we have is gravel,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez said the paintings are anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, astronomical, and “abstract,” according to the institute’s website.
He said there is the possibility researchers might take samples of the pigments, “which would allow us to approximate datings through chemical analysis or radiocarbon.”
