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Ancient people carved mysterious symbols near dinosaur footprints

A unique site in Brazil features rock carvings closely associated with dinosaur tracks, suggesting prehistoric people saw the footprints as meaningful

By Soumya Sagar

26 March 2024

Dinosaur footprints and rock carvings, both highlighted with dashed lines, at the Serrote do Letreiro site in Brazil

Leonardo Troiano/ National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage, Brazil

Mysterious rock carvings found next to dinosaur tracks in Brazil suggest ancient people discovered the footprints thousands of years ago and recognised them as meaningful.

The Serrote do Letreiro site in Paraíba state features the footprints of theropod, sauropod and ornithopod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Epoch, between 145 million and 100 million years ago. Adjacent to these are numerous rock carvings, or petroglyphs, predominantly circular with radial lines and other abstract…

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