Ancient Chilean rock paintings of whale hunting link the ocean to the desert
The 1,500-year-old drawings were made by hunter-gatherers who lived in the Atacama Desert.
By Lara Rebello
February 17, 2018 11:17 GMT
Archaeologists are gaining new insight into how ancient Chileans engaged in marine hunting, thanks to rock paintings discovered in the Atacama Desert. The journal Antiquity published a study, which looks to these prehistoric drawings to understand the importance of big game fishing to hunter gatherers.
The 1,500-year-old drawings, which were made using iron-oxide, depict people using rafts at sea and killing whales with makeshift harpoons. Some depictions also feature the hunting of sharks, sea-lions and swordfish.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ancient-chilean-rock-paintings-whale-hunting-link-ocean-desert-1662113
