4,000 to 10,000 Year-Old Cave Drawings Discovered by Peccary-Chasing Scientists (SLIDESHOW)

Researchers were trying to track white-lipped peccaries (pig-like animals), but found some ancient cave paintings instead.

The paintings were found in Brazil's Pantanal and Cerrado biomes, they are believed to have been created by hunter-gatherer societies thousands of years ago, a Wildlife Conservation Society news release reported.

"Our work with the Wildlife Conservation Society focuses on promoting sustainable land use practices that help protect important wildlife species and the wild places where they live," Doctor Alexine Keuroghlian, researcher with WCS's Brazil Program, said. "Since we often work in remote locations, we sometimes make surprising discoveries, in this case, one that appears to be important for our understanding of human cultural history in the region."

The ancient artwork was first spotted on Brazil's Cerrado plateau back in 2009 when Keuroghlian and her colleagues were conducting surveys of the peccaries. The animals are social herd-forming animals that travel exceptionally long distances. The team believes the presence of these animals can indicate the forest region is thriving.

The pig-like are extremely sensitive the invasive human activities such as "deforestation and hunting." The researchers were following signals given off by radio-collars attached to the peccaries when they stumbled upon some interesting sandstone formations and the caves containing the ancient paintings.

The drawings depict human-like figures and a variety of animals, but no peccaries. They are believed to be between 4,000 and 10,000 years old. The hunter-gatherer societies that created the paintings may have resided in the caves, or simply have used them for their artwork.

Many of the paintings are believed to be of Planalto ("central Brazilian plateau") tradition; but surprisingly some seemed to be in Nordeste ("northeastern Brazil") or Agreste ("forest to arid-land transition in NE Brazil") style.

"These discoveries of cave drawings emphasize the importance of protecting the Cerrado and Pantanal ecosystems, both for their cultural and natural heritage," Doctor Julie Kunen, Director of WCS's Latin America and the Caribbean Program and an expert on Mayan archeology, said. "We hope to partner with local landowners to protect these cave sites, as well as the forests that surround them, so that the cultural heritage and wildlife depicted in the drawings are preserved for future generations."

The researchers hope to fully excavate the cave and perform geological dating on the drawings.