What exactly is a Petroglyph?
Petroglyphs are images carved into rock by scratching away the surface of the stone exposing the lighter colored rock below. Petroglyphs are most often found on darker rocks that are covered with patina (a sort of hard film that covers rock over time). The patina provides the perfect surface for the glyphs, although some petroglyphs are lighter in color and hard to spot.
Who made these Petroglyphs?
There are many tribes of ancient indians who created petroglyphs. The ones I have taken photos of are from Utah and date starting around A.D. 900 to A.D. 1100. They call these indians the Fremont Culture and they were are said to have come from the Anasazi Indians which settled farther south.
Why were Petroglyphs created?
Unlike Heiroglyphics, Petroglyphs are not a language. They are pictures that tell a story. Some are historic markers, some are geological markers, and some are for ritualistic purposes. Often glyphs were made to label a nearby underground spring or other geological thing.
How old are most Petroglyphs?
Petroglyphs have been dated from 2700 B.C. until present day. Over the period of time, the look of petroglyphs have advanced. At first they weren't as detailed or as accurate as the glyphs in later times. I am not sure how old the glyphs that I took photos of are. I am sitll working on pin-pointing a time period of some sorts, although, I do believe that the area I took the photos in had a mixture of older and newer. Some of the glyphs sort of date themselves by what they depict. For example, if the glyph contains the bow and arrow then it had to be made after the invention of the bow and arrow which was circa A.D. 200. |
My Petroglyph Images
Other Links:
http://www.netaxs.com/~trance/petro.html
http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/petr.html
http://rupestre.net/ralinks/index.html
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