Mysterious rock art in Venezuela hints at little-known ancient culture

An archaeologist has tracked down more than 20 rock art sites in south-eastern Venezuela decorated with evocative geometric designs that may date back several thousand years. The pictograms and petroglyphs offer a rare glimpse into the culture of people who lived in the forested highlands that now make up Canaima National Park, long before the arrival of Europeans.

José Miguel Pérez-Gómez of Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, Venezuela, has collaborated for years with the Indigenous Pemón community to document the remote art, which he…