Archeologists discover thousands of stone-age etchings in Mexico

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2358719/Archeologists-unearth-thousands-stone-age-etchings-Mexico-carved-rocks-ancestors-6-000-years-ago.html#ixzz2Z5MwtDVc

Archeologists discover thousands of stone-age etchings in Mexico carved into rocks by our ancestors 6,000 years ago

Mexican archeologists have found 500 carved rocks on a mountain that was inhabited by stone age tribes
The etchings, known as petroglyphs are generally patterns made up of concentric circles and wavy lines - there even seems to be a fish
Scientists think that the carvings could have been made as part of hunting initiation rites or even represent the stars.

By Sarah Griffiths

PUBLISHED: 11:55 EST, 9 July 2013 | UPDATED: 11:56 EST, 9 July 2013

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Symbols of fish and the sun, as well as intricate pattens of concentric circles and lines drawn by our ancestors, have been found etched into stones on a remote mountain in Mexico.

Archeologists have discovered thousands of stunning stone-age carvings etched into rocks.

They believe that they were made by our hunter-gatherer ancestors more than 6,000 years ago.

The etchings are known as petroglyphs and are generally patterns made up of concentric circles and wavy lines, although there are also more representative images of deer tracks.
A detail of one of 500 stones, which have been found by Mexican archeologists in Narigua, Coahuila state, Mexico

A detail of one of 500 stones, which have been found by Mexican archeologists in Narigua, Coahuila state, Mexico
Archeologists said the characteristics of the carved stones vary depending on their location

Archeologists said the characteristics of the carved stones vary depending on their location. Stones found in the main cluster in Narigua Sierra have etchings of strong points and concentric circles, although there are also wavy and broken lines. This image seems to show a fish in the foreground

Around 8,000 of the historic drawings were discovered and recorded in Narigua, a site in Northern Mexico.

So far, 500 decorated stones have been found at the site, which measures two miles in radius and is the most important with so many of these 'petrograbados' in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

Scientists think the carvings could have been made as part of hunting initiation rites or even represent the stars.

They could give historians a clue of how sophisticated stone age tribes were in the area and even an idea of the kind of tools they used.