Serra da Capivara National Park is located in the northeastern part of Brazil. First of all It is primarily known for its numerous monuments of prehistoric rock art. After archaeologists discovered rock paintings within the park, Serra da Capivara was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Based on the remains discovered, archaeologists have suggested that the area of the was densely populated in the prehistoric era and was home to the largest peasant economy in ancient America.
A popular destination for tourists is the rock complex. The paintings on the walls of these cliffs date back to around the 14th century BC. To paint on the walls, ancient people used natural colours: white gypsum, red hematite, bone, charcoal. Ancient drawings about animals and hunting belong to the Nordesti culture. The later ones, depicting fanciful lines and geometric shapes, belong to the Agresti culture. The latter have not yet been deciphered. Primitive man left traces not only in the form of drawings, numerous grottoes in the park's in the park have traces of artificial cultivation.
The remains of ancient life refute the theory of the Asian origins in the Americas. It used to be thought that primitive people travelled to the North American continent through the Bering Strait 38,000 years ago, and to South America only 13,000 years ago. Now the findings in at Serra da Capivara show that humans were living in South America as early as 46,000 years ago. These discoveries were made quite by accident. Scientists were initially attracted to the Serra da Capivara by certain kinds of of trees and candelabra-shaped cacti.
But the park is known not only for the remains of primitive settlements, but also for its rich fauna. A large number of rare animals reside in the Serra da Capivara. These include include giant armadillos, pumas, snakes, great apes, alligators, panthers, false vampires, small parrots, and many others.
