The Reptiles in Rock Paintings of the Archeological Region of Central (Bahia, Brazil)

Abstract

Among the zoomorphic rock paintings in the Archeological Region of Central (Bahia, Brazil, the reptiles, mainly the lizards (Sauria), are abundantly represented. This demonstrates the importance of these animals for the pre-historic man, which lived together, observed, and associated them to the marcant events of their daily life. We analyzed 23 archeological sites in the region, revealing a great varie§r of types, shapes, and sizes of representations of lizards, performed through several techniques and colors. The more utilized technique is the plated and plain, sometimes with superposition of colors. Regarding the colors, the most frequent is the red, followed by white, yellow, and black. The figures appear often isolated but also in panels, associated to astronomical aspects. The effort to associate the rock paintings to modern species of lizards existing in the region did. not produce satisfying results, given the high degree of stylization by which the pictures were performed.