Polish archaeologist Maciej Gzhelchik of Jagiellonian University discovered several hundred previously unknown rock paintings in Tanzania. The oldest of them is several thousand years old.
“This year I found over 50 places with dozens, and sometimes hundreds of drawings of different periods,” comments Gzhelchik.
According to the archaeologist, the discovery is also interesting because the discovered rock paintings are located at a distance of several kilometers from the place where a large collection of rock carvings was previously discovered. Since 2006 it has been protected by UNESCO.
The drawings were made in red and white. Scientists believe that red images are more ancient, they are several thousand years old. The age of the white drawings is several hundred years old.
“Red figures are especially diverse,” continues Gzhelchik. “In addition to images of animals, there are images of meteorites and comets. This is an extremely rare find not only on the African continent. Among the drawings there are drawings depicting heads and baobabs simultaneously. Probably, we are dealing with a mythological baobab that occupied an important place in the beliefs of local residents. ”
White drawings do not differ so much variety. Basically, they depict animals, usually giraffes and elephants. Some of them are depicted pregnant, sometimes even the birth process is shown.
According to archaeologists, it is interesting that the ancient authors of drawings with respect for the creations of ancestors not painted over with white paint earlier drawings and did not destroy them.
