Brazil - Itacoatiaras of Ingá River

Categorization: archaeological site/ rock art; prehistoric; The term "itacoatiara" originates from the Tupi-Guarani language and means "writing or drawing on stone", having been used in Brazil as a synonym for "rock engraving" expressions. The rock art site of the Itacoatiaras of the Inga River is located in the rural municipality of Inga, whose main city is about 105 km from the city of João Pessoa, the state capital of Paraiba, Brazil. The municipality is part of the Depressão Sertaneja, a typical geoenvironmental unit of the Brazilian semi-arid northeast characterized by the Caatinga Hiperxerófila type of vegetation with areas of Floresta Caducifólia, by the Tropical Semiárido climate and with rainfall ranging from November to April with low average annual precipitation. The site is under protection as a cultural heritage by IPHAN since 29/05/1944 (Case 330-T-43), with registration No. 301 from the Tombo Book of Fine Arts and paragraph 234 of the Tombo History Book, the first monument of protected rock art in Brazil and the only one also recognized for its artistic content in addition to its historical importance. The area where the site is located matches up with a rocky terrain on the Inga of Gurnard river, around 40 hectares and containing an extensive granitic outcrop that contains the highest concentration of recordings of the site. The main rocky outcrop, popularly known as "“Pedra do Ingá” (Stone of Inga) forms a wall oriented in the northeast/ southeast at about 24m long and 3.5m high, at its highest point, and features the three main rock art panels at the site. O Painel Vertical – is the most evident and studied outcrop, extending the length of the northwest portion at 17.8m and with a height ranging from 2.5m to 1.1m. It has very diverse engravings, with few repetitions and occupying almost the entire panel, which is limited at the top by a horizontal line of capsular inscriptions. The Horizontal Bottom Panel – formed in the stone slab horizontally just in front of the Vertical Panel - its length is 12.6m and has a width of 13.8m. It features engravings with an average dispersion and with the highest level of repetition, calling attention to the scattered capsular forms of which hazards come out of, resembling stars. Top Horizontal Panel – portion of the rock above the capsular inscriptions line of the Vertical Panel - with a length of 13m and a width of 1.9 m, with a lower density of engravings and shallower than the others. Noteworthy is the picture of a large circle in a spiral, traversed by an inscription in the form of an arrow pointing to the west.