Solar-Aligned Pictographs at Painel do Pilao
摘要
This chapter presents new insights into the intentionally knapped northeast shelter wall of Painel do Pilão during the Paleoindian period of occupation, suggesting its role as a platform for observing rock art and tracking solar movements. Evidence indicates that the flat wall was not due to natural causes but crafted for specific purposes, including the display of pictographs aligned with the sun and celestial events. The rock art’s alignment with sunlight reinforces the notion of a tradition of astronomy among ancient peoples, highlighting the sophisticated relationship between their art and environmental observation. If the focus of wall reduction was indeed related to tracking the sun here, just as it seems to be the case at Serra da Lua, the implications are that Paleoindians recognized and had significant focus on the movements of the sun at a time that coincides with the global Younger Dryas climate shifts.