Petroglyph Explained

A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek prefix, from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πέτρα meaning "stone", and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: γλύφω meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as French: pétroglyphe.

In scholarly texts, a petroglyph is a rock engraving, whereas a petrograph (or pictograph) is a rock painting.[1] [2] In common usage, the words are sometimes used interchangeably.[3] [4] Both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or parietal art. Petroforms, or patterns and shapes made by many large rocks and boulders over the ground, are also quite different. Inuksuit are not petroglyphs, but human-made rock forms found in Arctic regions.

History

Petroglyphs have been found in all parts of the globe except Antarctica, with highest concentrations in parts of Africa, Scandinavia and Siberia, many examples of petroglyphs found globally are dated to approximately the Neolithic and late Upper Paleolithic boundary (roughly 10,000 to 12,000 years ago).

Around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, following the introduction of a number of precursors of writing systems, the existence and creation of petroglyphs began to suffer and tail off, with different forms of art, such as pictographs and ideograms, taking their place. However, petroglyphs continued to be created and remained somewhat common, with various cultures continuing to use them for differing lengths of time, including cultures who continued to create them until contact with Western culture was made in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Interpretation

Many hypotheses exist as to the purpose of petroglyphs, depending on their location, age, and subject matter. Some petroglyph images most likely held a deep cultural and religious significance for the societies that created them. Many petroglyphs are thought to represent a type of symbolic or ritualistic language or communication style that remains not fully understood. Others, such as geocontourglyphs, more clearly depict or represent a landform or the surrounding terrain, such as rivers and other geographic features.

Some petroglyph maps, depicting trails, as well as containing symbols communicating the time and distances travelled along those trails, exist; other petroglyph maps act as astronomical markers. As well as holding geographic and astronomical importance, other petroglyphs may also have been a by-product of various rituals: sites in India, for example, have seen some petroglyphs identified as musical instruments or "rock gongs".[5]

Some petroglyphs likely formed types of symbolic communication, such as types of proto-writing.[6] Later glyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age in Scandinavia seem to refer to some form of territorial boundary between tribes, in addition to holding possible religious meanings. Petroglyph styles have been recognised as having local or regional "dialects" from similar or neighboring peoples. Siberian inscriptions loosely resemble an early form of runes, although no direct relationship has been established.

Petroglyphs from different continents show similarities. While people would be inspired by their direct 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. In 1853, George Tate presented a paper to the Berwick Naturalists' Club, at which a John Collingwood Bruce agreed that the carvings had "... a common origin, and indicate a symbolic meaning, representing some popular thought."[7] In his cataloguing of Scottish rock art, Ronald Morris summarized 104 different theories on their interpretation.[8]

Other theories suggest that petroglyphs were carved by spiritual leaders, such as shamans, in an altered state of consciousness,[9] 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 by David Lewis-Williams to be hardwired into the human brain. They frequently occur in visual disturbances and hallucinations brought on by drugs, migraine, and other stimuli.

The Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) of the University of the Witwatersrand studies present-day links between religion and rock art among the San people of the Kalahari Desert.[10] Though the San people's artworks are predominantly paintings, the beliefs behind them can perhaps be used as a basis for understanding other types of rock art, including petroglyphs. To quote from the RARI website:

Using knowledge of San beliefs, researchers have shown that the art played a fundamental part in the religious lives of its painters. The art captured things from the San's world behind the rock-face: the other world inhabited by spirit creatures, to which dancers could travel in animal form, and where people of ecstasy could draw power and bring it back for healing, rain-making and capturing the game.[11]

List of petroglyph sites

Africa

Algeria

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Chad

Republic of the Congo

Egypt

Ethiopia

Gabon

Libya

Morocco

Namibia

Niger

South Africa

Tunisia[16]

Zambia

Asia

Armenia

Azerbaijan

China

See also: Cliff inscriptions.

Georgia

Hong Kong

Eight sites in Hong Kong:

India

Kethaiyurumpu, Tamil Nadu. Situated 28 km north west of Dindigal, Tamil Nadu nearby Idaiyakottai and six km south west of Oddanchartam has revealed several petroglyphs mostly represent abstract symbols on two rocks, which looks like a temporary rock shelter were noticed adjacent to a Murugan temple which is in ruins on top of the Kothaiyurumbu hill.

Iran

During recent years a large number of rock carvings has been identified in different parts of Iran. The vast majority depict the ibex.[30] [31] Rock drawings were found in December 2016 near Golpayegan, Iran, which may be the oldest drawings discovered, with one cluster possibly 40,000 years old. Accurate estimations were unavailable due to US sanctions.[32]

The oldest pictographs in Iran are seen in Yafteh cave in Lorestan that date back 40,000 and the oldest petroglyph discovered belongs to Timareh dating back to 40,800 years ago.

Iran provides demonstrations of script formation from pictogram, ideogram, linear (2300 BC) or proto Elamite, geometric old Elamite script, Pahlevi script, Arabic script (906 years ago), Kufi script, and Farsi script back to at least 250 years ago. More than 50000 petroglyphs have been discovered, extended over all Iran's states.[33] [31] [34]

Israel

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Laos

South Korea

Kyrgyzstan

Macau

Malaysia

Mongolia

Pakistan

Philippines

Saudi Arabia

Taiwan

Thailand

Vietnam

Yemen

Europe

England

Finland

France

Ireland

Italy

Norway

See also: List of rock carvings in Norway.

Portugal

Scotland

Spain

[41]

Russia

Sweden

Turkey

Ukraine

Wales

Central and South America and the Caribbean

Argentina

Aruba

Brazil

The oldest reliably dated rock art in the Americas is known as the "Horny Little Man." It is petroglyph depicting a stick figure with an oversized phallus and carved in Lapa do Santo, a cave in central-eastern Brazil and dates from 12,000 to 9,000 years ago.[43]

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Montserrat

Nicaragua

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Suriname

Venezuela

North America

Canada

Mexico

United States

See main article: List of petroglyphs in the United States.

Oceania

Australia

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Wieschhoff . Heinrich Albert . Africa . 1945 . University of Pennsylvania Press . Most noteworthy among the relics of Africa's early periods are the rock-paintings (petrographs) and rock-engravings (petroglyphs) which have been discovered in many parts of the continent..
  2. Book: T. Douglas Price . Europe Before Rome: A Site-by-Site Tour of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages . 2012 . Oxford University Press . This art falls into two categories, depending on how it is made: petroglyphs are carved into rock, and pictographs are painted on the rock.. 116.
  3. Web site: petrograph . Merriam-Webster . Encyclopædia Britannica . November 26, 2020.
  4. Book: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language . 2001 . Random House . 0-681-31723-X . 1449.
  5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3520384.stm Ancient Indians made 'rock music'
  6. Houston. Stephen D.. 2004-10-01. The Archaeology of Communication Technologies. Annual Review of Anthropology. 33. 1. 223–250. 10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143724. 0084-6570.
  7. J. Collingwood Bruce (1868; cited in Beckensall, S., Northumberland's Prehistoric Rock Carvings: A Mystery Explained. Pendulum Publications, Rothbury, Northumberland. 1983:19)
  8. Morris, Ronald (1979) The Prehistoric Rock Art of Galloway and The Isle of Man, Blandford Press, .
  9. See: D. Lewis-Williams, A Cosmos in Stone: Interpreting Religion and Society through Rock Art (Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2002).
  10. http://rockart.wits.ac.za/ Rockart.wits.ac.za
  11. Web site: Rock Art Research Institute (RARI). University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.. 9 September 2017.
  12. Huyge. Dirk. Vandenberghe. Dimitri A.G.. De Dapper. Morgan. Mees. Florias. Claes. Wouter. Darnell. John C.. 21 November 2011. First evidence of Pleistocene rock art in North Africa: securing the age of the Qurta petroglyphs (Egypt) through OSL dating. Antiquity. 85. 330. 1184–1193. 10.1017/S0003598X00061998. 130471822 . 30 May 2023.
  13. 28 May 2012. Egypt: The Aurochs of Qurta. World Archaeology. 53. 30 May 2023.
  14. Gonzalo de Salazar,"The Chariots of Sahara", Adoranten, Tanum: Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art, 2000.
  15. Parkington, J. Morris, D. & Rusch, N. 2008. Karoo rock engravings. Clanwilliam: Krakadouw Trust; Morris, D. & Beaumont, P. 2004. Archaeology in the Northern Cape: some key sites. Kimberley: McGregor Museum.
  16. Ben Nasr. Jaafar . June 2015 . The Rock Art of Tunisia When, Why and to whom? . Expression . 8.
  17. Yahia-Acheche . Sophie . 2013-06-02 . Ousselat (Jebel — ; Tunisie) : Préhistoire et art rupestre . Encyclopédie berbère . fr . 36 . 5986–5993 . 10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2870 . 1015-7344. free .
  18. Jaafar Ben Nasr . November 2021 . Les peintures rupestres de l'abri de Zamla (Jebel Ousselat – Tunisie centrale) : la représentation d'une planimétrie agraire ? . Antiquités Africaines . 57 . 19–32.
  19. Roux . Henri . 1911 . Peinture Rupestre du Djebel-Bliji (Sud -Tunisien) . Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris . 2 . 1 . 31–32 . 10.3406/bmsap.1911.8311.
  20. Mohamed Elhedi Ghrabi . 2009 . Les peintures rupestres de Ghomrassen . Valcamonica Symposium . XXIII.
  21. Ben Nasr . Jaâfar . Houla . Yassine . 2020-10-01 . Les gravures rupestres d'Aïn Charchara (Smar-Tataouine; Sud-Est tunisien) . L'Anthropologie . Art préhistorique . fr . 124 . 3 . 102762 . 10.1016/j.anthro.2020.102762 . 225122514 . 0003-5521.
  22. Khechoyan . Anna . The Rock Art of the Mt. Aragats System | Anna Khechoyan . Xxii International Valcamonica Symposium Rock Art in the Frame of the Cultural Heritage of Humankind l'Arte Rupestre Nel Quadro del Patrimonio Culturale dell'umanità,Centro Congressi - Darfo Boario Terme (Bs) Italy 18th - 24th May . January 2007 . Academia.edu . 2013-08-18.
  23. Encyclopedia: O'Sullivan. Rebecca. East Asia: Rock Art . Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology . 2. 2018. Springer. 10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3131-1. 1–11. 978-3-319-51726-1.
  24. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article22589.ece Dolmen with petroglyphs found near Villupuram
  25. Web site: Prehistoric art hints at lost Indian civilisation. BBC. 1 October 2018.
  26. Web site: 12000-year-old-petroglyphs-in-india. 8 November 2018.
  27. Web site: Kamat. Nandkumar. Prehistoric Goan Shamanism. The Navhind Times. 30 March 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110807142019/http://www.navhindtimes.in/panorama/prehistoric-goan-shamanism. 7 August 2011.
  28. http://www.tibetheritagefund.org/media/download/petroglyphs.pdf Petroglyphs of Ladakh: The Withering Monuments
  29. News: Sriram. Jayant. 2018-10-20. The petroglyphs of Ratnagiri. en-IN. The Hindu. 2021-06-23. 0971-751X.
  30. Web site: Iran Petroglyphs – سنگ نگاره های ایران Iran Petroglyphs. https://web.archive.org/web/20140719063539/http://iranrockart.com/pages/?1054. dead. 2014-07-19. iranrockart.com.
  31. Web site: Middle East Rock Art Archive – Iran Rock Art Gallery . Bradshaw Foundation .
  32. Web site: Archaeologist uncovers 'the world's oldest drawings'. 12 December 2016. independent.co.uk.
  33. Web site: Iran Petroglyphs . iranrockart.com . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20110410060817/http://iranrockart.com/. 2011-04-10 .
  34. Universal Common language (book); Iran Petrogylphs, Ideogram Symbols (book); Rock Museums Rock Arts (Iran Petroglyphs) (book);For more information : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/world-oldest-rock-drawings-archaeologist-iran-khomeyn-mohammed-naserifard-a7470321.html ; http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/deciphering-irans-ancient-rock-art-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=107184&NewsCatID=375 ; http://theiranproject.com/blog/tag/dr-mohammed-naserifard/
  35. Nobuhiro, Yoshida (1994) The Handbook For Petrograph Fieldwork, Chou Art Publishing,, p. 57
  36. Nobuhiro, Yoshida (1994) The Handbook For Petrograph Fieldwork, Chou Art Publishing,, p. 54
  37. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1382 Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai – UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  38. Fitzhugh, William W. and Kortum, Richard (2012) Rock Art and Archaeology: Investigating Ritual Landscape in the Mongolian Altai. Field Report 2011. The Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  39. Prehistoric petroglyphs found in the area of Bayan-Ovoo (approximately 42,2379 N, 105,5360 E), as described and published by De Salazar Serantes in 1998 (“Discovery of Prehistoric Ruins in Gobi Desert”, by Gonzalo de Salazar Serantes, Adoranten1998. Tanum: Scandinavian Society for Prehistoric Art, 1998, pp 66-69).
  40. Web site: British Rock Art Blog | A Forum about Prehistoric Rock Art in the British Islands . Rockartuk.wordpress.com . 2013-08-18.
  41. http://celticland.com/?page_id=7 Photos
  42. Web site: Umeå, Norrfors . Europreart.net . 2013-08-18.
  43. Choi, Charles. "Call this ancient rock carving 'little horny man'." Science on NBC News. 22 Feb 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  44. Web site: Ometepe Island Info – El Ceibo. ometepeislandinfo.com. en. 2017-03-05.
  45. http://www.britishcolumbia.com/ParksAndTrails/Parks/details/?ID=450 Petroglyph Provincial Park, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island BC
  46. Web site: Petroglyph Park - Gabriola Museum. gabriolamuseum.org. 14 April 2018.
  47. Web site: Bill Steer . 27 Jul 2016 . Petroglyphs - Temagami's Rare Works of Art . 23 August 2020 . Northern Ontario Travel.
  48. Book: Keyser , James D. . Indian Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau . University of Washington Press . July 1992 . 978-0-295-97160-5 .
  49. Moore, Donald W. Petroglyph Canyon Tours. Desertusa.com. Retrieved on 2013-02-12.
  50. Web site: Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park.
  51. http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails/blm/grimespoint-nv.html Grimes Point National Recreation Trail, Nevada BLM Archaeological Site
  52. http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/leopetro/ Museums & Historic Sites
  53. Web site: Paint Lick . Craborchardmuseum.com . 2013-08-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071226003313/http://www.craborchardmuseum.com/Burke%27s%20Garden.htm#Paint_Lick_ . 2007-12-26 .
  54. Web site: Petroglyph National Monument (U.S. National Park Service). nps.gov.
  55. http://www.nm.blm.gov/recreation/las_cruces/three_rivers.htm Three Rivers Petroglyph Site

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