The environment that the ancient Lagoa Santa people inhabited was, in the early Holocene, broadly similar to the present-day cerrado — the Brazilian savanna — but with some significant differences related to the different climate conditions of the period.

The early Holocene in central Brazil was characterized by a climate that was, in some periods, somewhat drier than today, with the consequence that the distribution of vegetation types was different from the present.

The rock shelters and cave environments that the ancient people used for habitation and for burial provided protection from the elements and may have been important for the preservation of food and the conduct of ceremony.

The rock art of the Lagoa Santa region is one of the most visually striking elements of the archaeological record and one of the aspects most difficult to interpret with precision.