Metamorphosis Shelter: impressive records of cave paintings in the Campos Gerais do Paraná, South Brazil

• Published in: Terr@ plural Vol. 16; p. e2221492
• Main Authors: Henrique Simão Pontes, Laís Luana Massuqueto, Alessandro Giulliano Chagas Silva, Karla Eduarda de Oliveira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa 01-12-2022
• Subjects: archaeological site; caves; piraí do sul; rock art
• ISSN: 1982-095X
• DOI: 10.5212/TerraPlural.v.16.2221492.047

This paper details the Metamorphosis Shelter, an unprecedented record of the archeological wealth of Paraná. Located in the municipality of Piraí do Sul, in the Campos Gerais region of Paraná, this archaeological site surprises not only by the number of panels and paintings but also by the good state of conservation of some groups and by the diversity of representations and styles used. All the panels with rock paintings were photo registered and digital decals were made from the treatment of the filtered images on DStretch software using the correlation matrix technique in three phases image editing program - automatic, semi-automatic, and manual. The rock panels were mapped and geospatialized by speleological topography based on the Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS) method of grading and speleometric conventions. Thirty-two panels were documented, amounting to 887 representations ranging from zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, geometric figures, built structures, enigmatic forms, and vestiges. Although the site is reasonably well preserved, urgent actions are needed for the effective protection of this site to avoid degradation of the archaeological content by burning, free circulation of cattle, vegetation cover, and uncontrolled visitation.