Mining Could Destroy Prehistoric Caves in Brazil

News December 23, 2012

SHARE:

CARAJÀS, BRAZIL—The remote caves of Carajàs contain some of the earliest evidence of human settlement in the Amazon, but they are threatened by plans to expand a mining operation that extracts iron ore for export. Archaeologists and speleologists are surveying the caves, since at least 24 of them will probably be destroyed. “This is a crucial moment to learn about the human history of the Amazon, and by extension the peopling of the Americas,” said Brazilian caver and historian Genival Crescêncio.

  • Features November/December 2012

    Zeugma After the Flood

    New excavations continue to tell the story of an ancient city at the crossroads between east and west

    Read Article
    Photo of Belkıs/Zeugma
    (Hasan Yelken/Images & Stories)
  • Letter from India November/December 2012

    Living Heritage at Risk

    Searching for a new approach to development, tourism, and local needs at the grand medieval city of Hampi

    Read Article
    (Gethin Chamberlain)
  • Artifacts November/December 2012

    Beaker Vessels

    Ceramic beakers were the vessels of choice for the so-called “Black Drink” used at Cahokia by Native Americans in their purification rituals

    Read Article
    (Linda Alexander, photographer, use with permission of the Illinois State Archaeological Society)
  • Digs & Discoveries November/December 2012

    The Desert and the Dead

    Read Article
    chinchorro-mummy
    (Courtesy Bernardo Arriaza)