Petroglyph

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Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, southern Utah, USA
Rock carving known as "Meercatze" (named by archaeologist Leo Frobenius), rampant lionesses in Wadi Methkandoush, Mesak Settafet region of Libya.

Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surfaces by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Petroglyphs are found world-wide, and are often (but not always) associated with prehistoric peoples.They are one of the three different techniques used in Rock art, the prehistoric precursors to art. The meaning of these works is still unclear, but much conjecture and speculation has been produced in academic circles.

The word comes from the Greek words petros meaning "stone" and glyphein meaning "to carve" (it was originally coined in French as pétroglyphe).[1]

History

Composite image of petroglyphs from Scandinavia (Häljesta, Västmanland in Sweden). Nordic Bronze Age. The glyphs have been painted to make them more visible.

The oldest petroglyphs are dated to approximately the Neolithic and late Upper Paleolithic boundary, about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, if not earlier (Kamyana Mohyla).[2] Around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, other precursors of writing systems, such as pictographs and ideograms, began to appear. Petroglyphs were still common though, and some cultures continued using them much longer, even until contact with Western culture was made in the 20th century. Petroglyphs have been found in all parts of the globe except Antarctica with highest concentrations in parts of Africa, Scandinavia, Siberia, southwestern North America and Australia.

Technique

Petroglyphs are from removing rock in such ways as scratching, abrading, pecking, carving, drilling, incising and sculpting. Locations of choice are rock facets coated with patina, a dark mineral accumulation on rock surfaces. Petroglyphs remove the patina, exposing the contrasting lighter rock interior. Instances of negative images, produced by removing the patina surrounding the intended figure, are also known. Sometimes petroglyphs are painted or accentuated by polishing. The degree of repatination indicates relative dating. Some of the most ancient petroglyphs are the same color as the surrounding rock.

Interpretation

A petroglyph of a caravan of bighorn sheep near Moab, Utah, USA; a common theme in glyphs from the desert southwest

There are many theories to explain their purpose, depending on their location, age, and the type of image. Some petroglyphs are thought to be astronomical markers, maps, and other forms of symbolic communication, including a form of "pre-writing." They might also have been a by-product of other rituals: sites in India, for example, have been identified as musical instruments or "rock gongs." [3]

Some petroglyph images probably had deep cultural and religious significance for the societies that created them; in many cases this significance remains for their descendants. Many petroglyphs are thought to represent some kind of not-yet-fully understood symbolic or ritual language. Later glyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age in Scandinavia seem to refer to some form of territorial boundary between tribes, in addition to possible religious meanings. It also appears that local or regional dialects from similar or neighboring peoples exist. The Siberian inscriptions almost look like some early form of runes, although there is not thought to be any relationship between them. They are not yet well understood.

Some researchers have noticed the resemblance of different styles of petroglyphs across different continents; while it is expected that all people would be inspired by their surroundings, it is harder to explain the common styles. This could be mere coincidence, an indication that certain groups of people migrated widely from some initial common area, or indication of a common origin.[4] Other theories suggest that petroglyphs were made by shamans in an altered state of consciousness[5], perhaps induced by the use of natural hallucinogens. Many of the geometric patterns (known as form constants) which recur in petroglyphs and cave paintings have been shown to be "hard-wired" into the human brain; they frequently occur in visual disturbances and hallucinations brought on by drugs, migraine and other stimuli.

List of petroglyph sites

Africa

  • Tassili n'Ajjer in Algeria
  • Bidzar, Cameroon
  • Bambari, Lengo and Bangassou in the south of the Central African Republic; Bwale in the west
  • Niola Doa, Chad
  • The Niari River valley in the Congo, 250km south west of Brazzaville
  • Ogooue River Valley, Gabon
  • Akakus, Libya
  • Jebel Uweinat, Libya
  • The Draa River valley in Morocco
  • Twyfelfontein, Namibia
  • Life-size giraffe carvings on Dabous Rock, Air Mountains, Niger
  • Wadi Hammamat in Qift, Egypt many carvings and inscriptions dating from before the earliest Egyptian Dynasties to the modern era, including the only painted petroglyph known from the Eastern Desert and drawings of Egyptian reed boats dated to 4000 B.C.E.

Australia

  • Arnhem Land / Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia
  • Murujuga, Western Australia - world heritage assessed
  • Sydney Rock Engravings, New South Wales

Asia

Rock carving on Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong. This 3000-year-old rock carving was reported by geologists in 1970
  • Eight sites in Hong Kong: on Tung Lung Island, Kau Sai Chau, Po Toi Island, Cheung Chau, Shek Pik on Lantau Island, Wong Chuk Hang and Big Wave Bay on Hong Kong Island, Lung Ha Wan in Sai Kung
  • Yin Mountains in Inner Mongolia
  • Edakkal Caves Cavesin Wayanad, Kerala. They date back to about 4000 B.C.E. - India
  • Chumysh River basin, - Khaszikstan
  • Tamgaly on the Ili River - a World Heritage Site - Khaszikstan
File:KyrgyzPetroglyphs.jpg
Petroglyphs at Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzsta
  • Bangudae Petroglyphs, - Korea
  • Several sites, mostly in the Tien Shan mountains; Cholpon-Ata, the Talas valley, Siymaliytash (Saimaluu-Tash), and on the rock outcrop called Suleiman's Throne in Osh in the Fergana valley - Kyrgyz
  • Rock art and petroglyphs in Northern Areas, - Pakistan
  • Angono Petroglyphs of Rizal, - Phillipines

Pacific

South America

North America

[4]

  • Mina, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
  • Olympic National Park, Washington
  • Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas
  • Petrified Forest National Park
  • Petroglyph National Monument
  • Petroglyphs Provincial Park, north of Peterborough, Ontario
  • Petroglyph Provincial Park, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada [5]
  • Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park. Michigan
  • Sedona, Arizona
  • Seminole Canyon, Texas
  • Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
  • Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada
  • Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
  • South Mountain Park, Arizona
  • St John, USVI
  • Stuart Lake, British Columbia
  • Three Rivers Petroglyphs, New Mexico [6]
  • West Virginia glyphs
  • Writing Rock State Historical Site, North Dakota
  • Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, East of Milk River, Alberta
  • White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Waddell, Arizona


Europe

  • Cup and ring marked rocks in Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire, England
  • Mercantour National Park, France
  • Val Camonica, Italy (biggest european site, over 350,000)
  • Bagnolo stele, Italy


  • Rock carvings at Alta, World Heritage Site (1985)
  • Rock carvings in Central Norway
  • Rock carvings at Møllerstufossen
  • Rock carvings at Tennes
  • Petroglyph Park near Petrozavodsk-Lake Onega, Russia
  • Tomskaya Pisanitsa
  • Tanumshede (Bohuslän); World Heritage Site (1994)
  • Himmelstalund (by Norrköping in Östergötland)
  • Enköping (Uppland)
  • Southwest Skåne (Götaland)
  • Alvhem (Västra Götaland)
  • Torhamn (Blekinge)
  • Nämforsen (Ångermanland)
  • Häljesta (Västmanland)
  • Slagsta (Södermanland)
  • Glösa (Jämtland)
  • Kamyana Mohyla, Ukraine
  • Stone stelae of the Ukraine

Middle East

  • Wadi Rum, Jordan
  • Wadi Faynan, Jordan
  • "Graffiti Rocks," about 110 km SW of Riyadh off the Mecca highway

Gallery

  • Engravers from Val Camonica, Italy

  • Rock Carving in Tanum, Sweden

  • Carving "The Shoemaker," Brastad, Sweden

  • Petroglyph in Roque Bentayga, Gran Canaria (Canary Islands).

  • Petroglyphs on a Bishop Tuff tableland, eastern California, USA

  • Pictograph 2 tds.jpg

    Southern Utah, USA

  • Southern Utah, USA

  • Arches National Park

  • Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

  • Arizona, USA

  • Columbia River Gorge, Washington, USA

  • Upside-down man in Western Colorado, USA

  • Petroglyph on western coast of Hawaii

  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

  • Petroglyphs at Orongo, Rapa Nui (Easter Island). A Make-make at the base and two birdmen higher up

Notes

  1. ↑ Petroglyph. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 11, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: [1]
  2. ↑ Scholl, Albert B., Jr. Rock Art and Ruins for Beginners and Old Guys, (Rainbow Pub Services 2001) ISBN 0970468806
  3. ↑ Ancient Indians made 'rock music', BBC News Friday, 19 March, 2004
  4. ↑ Beckensall, Stan. Northumberlands Prehistoric Rock Carvings: Mystery Explained, (Pendulum Pr 1983) ISBN 0950693537
  5. ↑ [see Lewis-Williams, D. 2002. A Cosmos in Stone: Interpreting Religion and Society through Rock Art. Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, Ca.]
  6. ↑ Keyser, James D. (July 1992). Indian Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau. University of Washington Press, 139pp.. ISBN 978-0295971605. 

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Beckensall, Stan and Laurie, Tim, Prehistoric Rock Art of County Durham, Swaledale and Wensleydale, County Durham Books, 1998 ISBN 1-897585-45-4
  • Beckensall, Stan, Prehistoric Rock Art in Northumberland, Tempus Publishing, 2001 ISBN 0-7524-1945-5

External links


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