Beautiful Petroglyphs Discovered in Venezuela Give Hints of Ancient Culture

Spirals or concentric circles rock art engraving on a boulder in Venezuela.

February

/ 2026

Getting your audio player ready...

A newly recorded set of rock carvings in Venezuela’s Monagas state is being described as potentially among the country’s oldest known examples of rock art, with an estimated age ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 years. The petroglyph panel - marked by spirals, concentric circles and human-like forms - was located in a highland area of the Quebrada Seca community in Cedeño, and local officials are now pushing for formal certification and protection, reports Heritage Daily. If the early age range holds up under scientific study, the discovery could reshape how researchers think about early symbolic traditions in eastern Venezuela.

The Discovery in Cedeño Municipality

According to reports by Ultimas Noticias, the petroglyph was found in the upper zone of Quebrada Seca, around 3.5 km (2.2 miles) from the town of San Félix, at roughly 650 meters (2125 feet) above sea level. The site was announced by Cedeño’s mayor, Daniel Monteverde, alongside a commission linked to Venezuela’s National Land Institute, after what was described as a period of local research and location work. Initial descriptions highlight circular and spiral engravings carved with notable precision on a naturally formed rock surface.

Authorities examining the rock where the petroglyphs have been discovered. (YouTube Screenshot)

The municipality is often presented as a rock-art hotspot within the state, and Heritage Daily notes that Cedeño is widely regarded locally as the “petroglyph capital” of Monagas because of the broader indigenous legacy in the area. The engravings themselves - geometric and anthropomorphic - are being interpreted as potentially tied to cosmology, water cycles, solar symbolism, and ancestral spirits, themes that recur across many ancient rock art traditions. For readers wanting broader background on what petroglyphs are (and how they differ from paintings), Ancient Origins has a hub of articles on its Petroglyphs topic page.

Why “8,000 years” is a Big Claim

The reported age, between 4,000 to 8,000 years, appears to be an estimate based on relative and stylistic assessment rather than a published laboratory date, and that distinction matters. Petroglyphs are notoriously difficult to date directly, so researchers often rely on a mix of contextual archaeology, superimposition sequences, erosion/patina analysis, and comparisons with dated materials nearby. Heritage Daily also describes the carving style as a “linear low-relief” approach, typically produced through abrasion and pecking with stone tools, sometimes using sand and water as an abrasive.

Monagas is not the only Venezuelan region producing major rock-art headlines, and comparison cases can help frame what is plausible. In 2024, archaeologists working in Canaima National Park reported dozens of rock art sites featuring pictograms and petroglyphs, with some discussion around the possibility of an as-yet poorly understood cultural tradition in that landscape, explains Live Science. While that research focuses on a different region of the country, it underlines how much remains undocumented and how quickly a new find can expand the map.

Historic photo of another petroglyph rock, located in Acequias, town of Barinas state, in Venezuela.

Historic photo of petroglyph located in Acequias, town of Barinas state, in Venezuela. (Annel Mejías Guizavia /Public Domain)

Protection, Tourism—and the risk of losing the evidence

In the short term, the bigger story may be what happens next: documentation, dating, and whether the site can be safeguarded before weathering or people do damage. That urgency is familiar to anyone who follows petroglyph finds globally, where the moment a location becomes widely known can also be the moment it becomes vulnerable.

Local authorities say their immediate goal is to geolocate and safeguard the site, explicitly citing vandalism prevention, while also developing an “archaeological route” tied to sustainable tourism. The balance of public access versus conservation is delicate, because even light touching, chalking, or repeated foot traffic can accelerate deterioration. Monteverde has also indicated plans to meet with cultural authorities, including Venezuela’s national cultural heritage bodies, to formalize certification steps reports Últimas Noticias.

The wider Orinoco basin offers a reminder of both the scale of Venezuela’s rock art and the long timelines involved. A major 2024 study of monumental engravings along the Orinoco, discussed by Smithsonian Magazine, documented numerous large figures—snakes, animals, and human forms—and argued that visibility and placement may have mattered as much as the images themselves. Even though those Orinoco carvings are thought to be around 2,000 years old, their prominence shows how rock art could function as communication in a river landscape.

Top image: Petroglyphs engraved on boulder in Venezuela’s Monagas state. Source: Últimas Noticias

By Gary Manners