Native artists in Texas and Mexico shared their vision of the universe for 4,000 years, ancient murals suggest

Elaborate red and black painting of a human-like figure holding a black spear thrower with dart in one hand and red darts and staff in the other hand. .

Archaeologists often seek to understand ancient cultures by studying images left behind on rock faces. While these images vary widely, they're a global phenomenon. In fact, petroglyphs and painted murals created by past societies have so far been found on every continent, except Antarctica.

And, in a new study, researchers say they’ve found evidence of consistent imagery on cliff faces, caverns and natural recesses in 12 sites in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands — an archeological region in southwestern Texas and Northern Mexico — providing evidence of consistent themes in the murals across 175 generations. They say this continuity suggests that, in both regions, hunter-gatherers' conception of the universe — which the team calls their "cosmovision" — stayed largely the same across roughly 4,000 years.