Andriamamelo Cave

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About Andriamamelo Cave

It is situated in the western Madagascar.
It is located in karstified limestone of the Paysage Harmonieux Protege de Beanka.
This is part of an extensive karst region that includes the Parc National de Bemaraha to the south, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the little-studied Antsingimavo karst area to the north.

Key findings

In this cave truly pictorial art, depicting images of nature with human-like and animal-like figures have been discovered.
The dramatic discoveries contained several surprises, including hints at some remarkable cultural connections.
First, scenes depicted in some cases linked up fairly directly to Egyptian religious motifs from the Ptolemaic period (300-30 BCE)
Second, other inferences from symbols and writing on the walls showed connections to the Ethiopian and Afro-Arab worlds.
Finally, prevalent symbology and motifs evoked a two-millennia-old cave art style from Borneo.
At least three extinct animals of Madagascar (thought to have been extinct for many centuries) may be depicted – a giant sloth lemur, elephant birds and a giant tortoise.
Egyptian connections are hinted at in eight major images, including a falcon (Horus); the bird-headed god Thoth; the ostrich goddess Ma`at and two human-animal figures which were similar to Anubis – an ancient Egyptian god usually depicted as a man with a canine head.

Q1) What is Karst topography?

It refers to natural landscape that is largely the result of chemical weathering by water, resulting in caves, sinkholes, cliffs, and steep-sided hills called towers. These features form when water picks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and ground to form carbonic acid.

Source: Madagascar cave art hints at ancient connections between Africa and Asia