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24 Oct 2023 at 20:20

A drop in water levels in Brazil’s Amazon River has revealed ancient petroglyphs, reports the BBC. The drawings have been largely submerged since they were carved more than a thousand years ago.

Some drawings were already visible during a previous drought, but many other petroglyphs remained underwater.

The discovery was made in the city of Manaus, in northern Brazil. The drawings are located on a stretch of coast known as Ponta das Lajes. There the Rio Negro and Solimões rivers flow into the Amazon.

According to archaeologist Jaime Oliveira, the petroglyphs were carved by people who lived in the area in pre-Columbian times. “This region is a pre-colonial place with traces of habitation dating back about a thousand to two thousand years,” he told local media.

“What we see here are images of anthropomorphic figures,” Oliveira said. In such a case, human qualities are attributed to non-human beings or objects.

Show only the ImageShow only the Image Drought in Brazil exposes ancient rock paintings

Extremely low water levels

Another rock has grooves that researchers believe were used by the area’s indigenous people to sharpen their arrows.

Some drawings were seen as early as 2010. Then the water level of the Rio Negro dropped to 13.63 meters. On Sunday the level fell below 13 meters for the first time. On Monday the river level even reached 12.89 meters.

According to the Brazilian government, the fact that it is so dry in Brazil is due to climate change and the El Niño weather phenomenon.

2023-10-24 18:20:07
#Drought #Brazil #exposes #ancient #rock #paintings

24 Oct 2023 at 15:34

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been fired, state media confirmed on Tuesday. Rumors have been swirling for months because Li no longer appears in public.

The resignation is part of a major reorganization of the Chinese cabinet. This restructuring also cost Foreign Minister Qin Gang his place. The reason for Li’s dismissal has not been disclosed.

International media previously wrote that the defense minister has probably been fired. In September, the news agency reported Reuters that he is being investigated for corruption. The US ambassador to Japan suggested Li may be under house arrest. No replacement has yet been appointed.

Qin was dismissed as foreign minister in July after he too had not been seen in public for weeks. The reason for his dismissal has also not been disclosed. According to the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal he had an extramarital affair in the United States and was therefore investigated. Now, according to state media, he has also lost his position as a state councilor.

Science and Technology Minister Wang Zhigang and Finance Minister Liu Kun have also been removed from their positions in the cabinet reorganization. They will be replaced by party secretaries Yin Hejun and Lan Fo’an.

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July 25, 2023 at 10:55 p.m

‘Disappeared’ Chinese foreign minister dismissed after unexplained absence

Beeld: Getty Images

2023-10-24 13:34:18
#disappeared #Chinese #minister #dismissed #year