A feathered human. A serpent. A figure with swirling lines. The ancient cave art had been there all along — possibly 2,000 years. But no one noticed until a software program showed researchers what they had been missing.
A new study in the journal Antiquity details how a team of scientists used 3D photo mapping to recreate the tight crevices of an Alabamian cave and reveal previously unnoticed etchings. Unlike the petroglyphs seen in the Southwest’s canyon walls or rock formations, ancient rock art in the Southeast was often done deep inside caves because Native Americans viewed the sacred spaces as pathways to the underworld.
Now, the research team is calling on other scientists to use the same technology and discover what else lies hidden from sight.
