Petroglyphs and statues of Ometepe

Despite its small size, people have lived on Ometepe since ancient times. It is believed that the first settlements on it appeared in the first millennium BC. These were the Chibcha Indians and Tiahuanaco. About two thousand stone slabs with petroglyphs were found on the island, as well as sculptures carved from basalt.

Petroglyphs are carved with lines of different depths. Some are barely visible. Others are deeper than three centimeters. The age of the petroglyphs is not exactly known. Perhaps they are several thousand years old.

The most common motifs are a stylized image of a turtle, and two spirals. There is an assumption that two bonded spirals represent an island with two volcanoes.

On the island of Ometepe, pre-Hispanic sculptures have also been preserved. So, in the city of Altagracia there is a church built in 1924, next to which there is a park of pre-Columbian sculptures carved from basalt. These are large human figures and their alter ego, mainly eagles and jaguars. It is believed that the statues were created in the ninth century AD.