Table of Contents
This documentary claims that remote Piaui holds immense painted rock shelters covered with signs, people, and animals. Researchers say digs revealed worked stone and hearths, with dates up to about fifty thousand years at Pedra Furada. Later work at Sitio do Meio is offered as strong proof of people by twenty eight thousand years ago. The film claims this overturns the view that the Americas were peopled from the north only about twelve thousand years ago. It says Niede secured national park status in 1979, world heritage listing for the paintings, and a foundation to protect the art and the dry forest. Guides read scenes of hunting and care for the young, and they take one sheltering animal as a symbol for guarding the park. Scans, the researchers claim, show which images lie on top of others. The past setting included giant sloths and armadillos, and the tools show a gripped end plus a working end. The program presents these dates and readings as its main claim.
Key points
- The film claims Piaui rock shelters hold vast ancient paintings of people and animals.
- Researchers say hearths and tools there reach back about fifty thousand years.
- They claim this is older than a first entry from the north near twelve thousand years ago.
- The program credits Niede with park status, heritage listing, and care of the site.
- It presents scans, tool shapes, and local artists as ways to read the paintings.
Short quotes
Paul came here once before, 25 years ago, for his own research.
Narrator, Brazilian Rock Art Fifty Thousand Years Old
The film marks Paul’s return to a site tied to his earlier research. Watch at 2:34
Until the discovery of Pedra Furada, specialists believed the oldest settlement of the American continent was found in North America.
Narrator, Brazilian Rock Art Fifty Thousand Years Old
It states the older model that put the first American settlement in the north. Watch at 8:30
In 1986, she created Fundam, the Foundation Museum of American Man, whose mission is to manage, explore, and protect this unique heritage.
Narrator, Brazilian Rock Art Fifty Thousand Years Old
It credits a foundation with the care and study of the painted shelters. Watch at 12:21
Can the rock art they left behind help us to get to know them better?
Narrator, Brazilian Rock Art Fifty Thousand Years Old
It asks whether the paintings can reveal the people who made them. Watch at 15:00
Video by Chronicle – Medieval History Documentaries. Watch on YouTube.