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Petroglyphs in southeast Alaska
By: Bonnie Demerjian  October 2009 
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Volunteers establish trail head in Gold Butte country
By: David Bly  September 2009 
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Crews bulldozed in area housing hawaiian petroglyphs
By: Honolulu News   August 2009  new window
   
National pride rooted in rock art
By: Sebastien Berger   June 2009  
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Arrastre Spring  An interesting site in the Panamint Mountains high above Death Valley, California.  10 Photographs   June 2006

Rock shelter find: rare prehistoric Indian art
By: Morgan Simmons  June 2009  
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  Indian Well  A multi cultural petroglyph site in Lanfair Valley, California. 10 Photographs 
February 2006
University of Florida:
Epic carving on fossil bone found in Vero Beach

By: Sandara Rawls   June 2009  new window
  Renegade Canyon  Largest petroglyph concentration in North America located in the Coso Mountain Range, near Ridgecrest, California. 14 photographs   Revised July 2005
University of Florida:
Epic carving on fossil bone found in Vero Beach

By: Sandara Rawls   June 2009  new window
  Selby Rocks  A Chumash and Yokut pictograph site on the Carrizo Plain, California.
10 Photographs  
 August 2006
Controversy brewing over cleaning of ancient art
By John Hollenhorst  May 2009   new window
  Nine Mile Canyon  A major Utah site with rock art from the Fremont, Anasazi and Ute Cultures.  April 2006
EMU prof. uses 21 century science on prehistoric art
By: Tracy Davis   April 2009    
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  Painted Rock Resevoir  A mid size Hohokam rock art and solstice site near Gila Bend, Arizona.  10 Photographs  March 2006
Petroglyph Cave: one of the cave art mystery in Cuba
Cuban Daily News  April 2009 
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  Coyote Hole  A Serrano petroglyph site near Joshua Tree, California. 10 Photographs  January 2006
Diamonds show comet struck North America
By: Thomas H. Maugh II   January 2009  
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  Hanging Mesa  A few dozen Archaic hunter/gatherer petroglyphs superimposed by Numic Scratch Style at Hanging Mesa, Nevada.  8 photographs  December 2005
Battle over Little Lake heats up
By: Louis Sahagun    January 2009  
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  Mule Tank  A small Yuman and Chimehuevi petroglyph in the eastern desert near Blythe, California.  8 photographs  October 2005
Pictographs, petroglyphs on rocks
record beliefs of earliest Texans
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  Atlatl Cliff  An archaic Pinto Culture petroglyph site near Little Lake, California.  6 photographs  September 2005
Vandalism damages Yakima Valley's rock art
By: Jane Gargas     December 2008  
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  Corn Spring  A Desert Cahuilla and Yuman petroglyph site west of Blythe, California.  10 photographs   August 2005
Pictographs, petroglyphs on rocks
record beliefs of earliest Texans
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  Ayer's Rock Pictographs  Located on a large boulder near Coso Junction, California. 5 photographs  Revised June 2005
Vandalism damages Yakima Valley's rock art
By: Jane Gargas     December 2008  
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Death Valley  Panamint Mountains petroglyphs at the north end of Death Valley, California. 11 photographs    June 2005

The colombian rock art spiral. A shamanic tunnel?
By: Harry Andrew Marriner  Nov 2008  
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Baja Rock Art  Petroglyphs & pictographs at three Northern Baja rock art sites near Cataviña, BC. El Palmarito, La Bocana, San Fernando Velicata. 16 photographs  March 2005 

New dating method shines light on cave art
By: PlanetEarth online    Oct 2008    
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Greenwater Canyon  Archaic Desert Culture petroglyphs in Greenwater canyon, Death Valley, California.  10 photographs    January 2005

On rock walls, painted prayers to rain gods
By: Keith Mulvihill   Sept. 2008
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  Blue Sun Cave  Kumeyaay and Northern Diegueno pictographs at Indian Hill, near Ocotillo, California. 10 photos  April 2004
Rock Art is all the rage
By: Tony Henderson  August 2008  
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  Black Tank Wash  Archaic and Numic pictographs and petroglyphs in the Cinder Cone Volcanic Field, near Baker, California. 12 photographs   March 2004
Debate over moldy cave art is a tale of human missteps
By: Molly Moore  July 2008  
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New Well  An Anasazi ruin located 27 miles Northeast of St. Johns, Arizona. 8 photographs

Discovery adds to Dunbar Cave’s
collection of ancient art
By: Debbie Boen  March 2008
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Sheep Springs  Located in a small boulder field in the El Paso Mountains, California. 12 photographs  Revised May 2005

Thousands Of Humans Inhabited New World's
Doorstep For 20,000 Years

Science Daily   February 2008 
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Chevelon Creek Sinagua and Anasazi rock art southeast of Winslow, Arizona. 8 photographs

Can Ice Age art survive Man's attempt to save it? 
By: Dayla Alberge  January 2008  
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Santa Rosa  A Mogollon and Archaic petroglyph site located a few miles west of Santa Rosa, in eastern New Mexico.  10 photographs

Perthshire rock art sheds light on Scotland's past
By: Graham Spicer  August 2007  new window
  Inscription Canyon  Black Mountain area, a petroglyph site northwest of Barstow California. 11 photographs  Revised August 2004
Mural Reveals Pre-Classic Maya as a Civilized Society
by: Thomas H. Maugh II  January 2006
  Howe's Tank  Desert Culture (Serrano, Shoshone et al) petroglyphs in the lava flows in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow, California. 12 photographs   June 2004
Rock Art Vandalism
by: Donald Austin
  Steam Well   A Kawaiisu petroglyph site near Red Mountain, California. 10 photographs.  February 2004
A Historic Stone Blog in New Mexico
 by: Ollie Reed Jr   December 2005
  Surprise Tank  An easy to visit site in the Rodman Mountains, east of  Barstow, California. 6 photographs
History Uncovered
by: Dave Lavender   July 2005
 

Black Canyon  The Black Knoll section, northwest of Barstow, California. 8 photographs

ARTICLES  

 

   

 

Using Decorrelation Stretch to
Enhance Rock Art Images
By: Jon Harman Ph.D.
   
The Terese Petroglyph Site
By: Alan Garfinkel
   

 

Petroglyph Question

Possible Interpretations

Bighorn sheep are almost always depicted with four legs, but this one from the Jail House Ruin, Grand Gulch, Utah only has two. What is the significance of a two legged sheep?


                    
S. Keagy photograph

email your thoughts to:

daustin@petroglyphs.us


added 3/9/2009     
hoofed sheep feet     talon bird feet
    

1/1/2009 I think it was the horns that were important and not the number of legs. 
Arthur, Wilmington, DE
1/4/2009 A two legged sheep can mean only one thing. The two legged sheep depicts a human who has returned to the covenant (Depicted on the Los Lunas Stone).  BR
2/16/2009 That looks to me more like a bird with a grand crest of feathers on it’s head. The feet are birdlike also. Annette
2/24/2009 I don't know what the significance of a 2 legged sheep is but this  looks like a chicken.  How do you know that it is a sheep? Teacher
... because of the typical sheep horns, elongated face, semi-lunate boat shaped body and hoofed feet. DA
3/7/2009
I'm not anything resembling an authority on petroglyphs, but it seems to me that combined animals are fairly common.  Besides having only two legs, the feet are rather unsheep-like, so it looks to me like a classic sheep-bird. Glenna, McMinnville, Oregon
3/9/2009 Look at the feet.  I think it's a bird! (see feet photos added 3/9/2009. Why two legs? DA)
4/12/2009 Maybe it's humor!  Started as a sheep, and someone finished it as a  bird. Beverly
5/4/2009
Hello, I can't see anything denoting legs that are folded down, such as when a sheep "stands" on it's hind legs to reach taller vegetation so, I was wondering if the artist only saw the sheep from behind and drew what he/she knew to be a valid representation but only with two legs. Heather
7/29/2009 My thoughts on the sheep/bird morph are exactly that. It appears to be two animals morphed into one. Possibly due to the similar coloration of white in the animals appearance. If the sheep is actually a mountain goat and the bird aspect is a white crane then it makes sense.... Perhaps it is a bird that the original artist or a later artist added onto by using the natural grain of the rock itself. We may never know it's exact meaning...ceremonial,utilitarian or just graffiti?  Michael
   

 

Petroglyph Question

Possible Interpretations

petrified forest petroglyph

This photo from Newspaper Rock, Petrified Forest, Arizona, clearly depicts a male and a female figure. The images were probably made by the Anasazi about 900 years ago. Both bodies are somewhat disproportionate, but the necks are purposefully exaggerated in length. Email me your thoughts on the meaning of the long necks.

email your thoughts to:
daustin@petroglyphs.us

7/24/2007 As with the animals, the larger parts were important parts. If you look at the drawings of the ledger horse you understand that the chest was important, to show the musclefor people, the status would be worn in the hair or on the body so the long neck.  MW
7/29/2007 My theory is that the artist wanted to make sure we knew these were humans and not a badly drawn animal.  Debra L
9/7/2007 They both have long necks from the practice of stretching them with clay rings.  This must be an important pair in the tribe because the female is offering a prayer for all.  Another portion of this rock has been taken away but I'm getting the message that the prayer was for more rain and to fill the corn stock. Donna
1/23/2008 This is a trick question, since what we mean by 'meaning' (translation) is culturally burdened. I can't believe the artist was trying to convey anything in code. He was simply expressing  the truth of what he felt and saw.  These are exact representations of someone's experience. It's almost certain that many (most?) of these images were painted either during or after a pharmaceutically-induced altered state. The two figures are  supernatural beings -- a god and goddess perhaps, but not necessarily.  "Why the long necks?" you ask. You could equally ask "Why the big hands and feet?"  If, as I believe, these are beings  encountered in an altered state (induced by, say, jimsonweed,  peyote, fasting, sensory deprivation or whatever) one shouldn't be surprised that they don't look exactly like ordinary humans.    Sgriob
5/13/2008
My bet is that they are not really humans, but the mythization of giant round spiritual beings high in the sky, with a special bodily relation to Earth. The symbolic context with spiral, horizontal comb, vertical undulations, helps in interpreting the scene, probably a very old story of mankind.   Jean-Pierre
6/30/2008 If I were trying to think like someone from distant civilization, I would interpret this artistic depiction of male and female with long necks as someone trying to show the feeling of looking up to something. Possibly deification, apotheosis. The long necks would be associated with observing the concept of always being observed (as if from above) by another, hopefully beneficent, entity. So the long neck in this art may signify this thought, the oldest of higher thoughts. Katy
6/10/2007 They may be spirit beings and long neck are a just a desirable trait. Ivan B. Sparks, NV 8/28/2008 I believe the two individuals were engaged in some kind of dance, with the female offering her hand up to the heavens, beseaching some kind of blessing on her village. I am guessing the long necks indicate royalty, and perhaps they actually were made by wearing bone/clay neck collars, stacked on top of each other. Or maybe they meant nothing. It would be helpful to have other figures to look at and compare the artwork with.   Sara S.
6/15/2007 Perhaps the artists recognized the superiority of mankind and tried to imply that belief by showing humans as being able to stand and see "head and shoulders" above all of the other creatures?  DJB 12/23/2008 I’m with Debra L.. My first thought also was they were given the long neck because the artist sees that as a human characteristic. Most animals have either their shoulders the same width as the neck, or the neck as wide as shoulders. Humans are unusually vulnerable in the animal world, no fur, no claws, too big to hide, not particularly quick etc. The big hands also point to a very uniquely human trait. It’s not that our hands are so big, but they are quite important to every human activity.  Annette
7/11/2007 The Photo of Male and Female with long necks may differentiate the identity of Mind and Body ...Body and Soul..... it could mean the differentiation of Spirit Entity and Human Entity connected with-in one being. RJ 2/19/2009
As to why the long necks, maybe it's the same beliefs as an African tribe, which I cannot think of the name, and it represents beauty. The figures in the painting are so beautiful, that they are worth representing or it's an idealic representation of how the Anasazi wish to be or how they see themselves.
Sincerely, Heather R.

 

Petroglyph Question
Archive

Possible Interpretations


Photo by: Geron Marcom

Petroglyph depicting animals with exaggerated features are not uncommon in rock art.

Does anyone have an opinion what the long neck on this bighorn sheep may represent?

email your thoughts to:
daustin@petroglyphs.us

8/5/2006 In order to truly ascertain a petroglyph's meaning, you need to observe it in context with it's surroundings including all nearby images, and even where the stone is situated.  A knowledge of the indigenous peoples and their history and traditions is also necessary. You must also accept that the symbols are most likely metaphors and not literal.  Horned animals were used as symbols to relay information about people, encounters, conditions or travel.  The shape of the body, placement of the legs, shapes of the horns, all have meaning.  Undoubtedly the length of the neck on this animal is also meant to symbolize something.  Perhaps it symbolizes something that is high, such as a hill, mountain or peak nearby; or travel in the direction of some nearby landmark that is higher than the surroundings.  I do not think the elongated neck refers to vertical movement, the entire body would have been drawn vertically if that were the case.  Gary R.
9/6/2006
As regards the long necked sheep it could possibly be a map representing a particular area that looks like a long neck sheep. The neck perhaps being a river valley, the head and horns a water source and the body legs another area for farming, and camping. A geographical overview of the area might show the similarities. Paul F, Australia
10/27/2006 I agree with Gary R, with regard to the context of everything that surrounds the glyphs. I have studied rock art on my own for many years, I have observed the "desert sheep" or possibly more closely descriptive
figure, "The IBEX". I have seen it throughout the western United States that I have traveled. It has continuity of expression, and frequency of water drainage site appearance. I have interpreted the symbol to represent an idolization of "a journey", and quite possibly a symbol of "crossing over to the afterlife" A communication between the creator and the human form. A form of teaching others a spiritual or ritual lesson of life and how to carry it forward into the next generations. Also they provide the "how to" book of farming the local areas. Solar Calendars are usually identified at these locations, another good reason not to move them!  Karen M
11/8/2008 Regarding the comments about the long neck sheep, the only comment that contributes anything to our understanding of the person that created this image comes from Tim S. Tim clearly places this discussion in the realm of that which we might actually infer about the person who created an image perhaps hundreds of years ago. Tim imagines a circumstance that one could imagine happening without considerable leaps of faith. There’s nothing scientific in Tim’s supposition, but neither is there a shred of scientific evidence that any of the other comments are based in fact. Thank you Tim.  Joe B.
6/15/2006 The vertical orientation of the exaggerated body part may indicate vertical movement. In this cast to indicate movement up or down. D 11/20/2006
To me, it looks like it could be a llama.  What people assume to be "sheep horns" might actually be the long curved ears of a llama.  Most people do not realize it, but prior to the Pleistocene dieoff, North America was home to 55 species of camelids  (all of the world's camelids once made their home in North America). Two species, the bactrian and the dromedary, backtracked into the Old World, via the Alaskan and Siberian connection. Three species, the llama, vicuna, and alpaca, migrated down into South America. Also, as people have discovered all over the world, camelids are quiet, intelligent, and relatively docile. They usually can be handtamed, from a wild state, in just over a week. It seems to me quite plausible that, in North America, the Clovis era peoples would have been able to use camelids to cover great distances, while carrying supplies, as well as smoked mammoth meat, with them. As far as I know, no one has thought to look into this possibility. But, if history is any indicator, there is no reason why this could not have happened. It may be too recent to be a camelid photo. Then again, maybe not. You may want to compare it to the camelids, in the rock art, of South America.  Ben E.
7/11/2006 People seem to want to identify the images as something familiar, in your case a mountain goat. There is another type of person who will see this image as proof that there were giraffes at that location. My take on these images is that they are records of visions. A vision animal need not be like anything in the material environment.  Don W.
7/28/2006 Sometimes I wonder if there aren't less interpretational reasons for how some petroglyphs appear. In this instance, perhaps the artist began with the head, and then realized that the surface where he needed to draw the body was unsuitable, so he/she just extended the neck to get into a larger unmarred area for the body. Or perhaps he/she was in a silly mood, or had unhappy children that needed something to giggle at. Of course there's no way to ever know, but I enjoy speculating about what mood the artist might have been in, or if the spouse was yelling to come to dinner... "JUST A SECOND!!!  LET ME FINISH THIS... awwwww alright, I'm coming" - Tim S 1/10/2007
Everyone has a thought but my impression on the long neck is "quantity of sheep".
Rather than draw a herd a distorted version of the focal point.   M. Karns
3/22/2007 Perhaps it addresses keen eyesight; the ability to see in the distance.
As in climbing a tree?  Chris S.
    5/7/2007
Just an idea: the Milky Way. The Chinese Qilin unicorn, later represented as a long-necked white tiger, a mythical land mammal, was a constellation covering a quarter of the zodiac and ending with its horn or neck probably as the Orion side of the Milky Way. The local geographical map idea from Paul F, Australia, could be simultaneously true, as Earth-as-Sky maps are a deep human knowledge theme. A South-to-North waterway, assimilated with the local Milky Way, could be symbolized. Is it a boat, below? Does the local mythology implicate two mighty Twins?   Jean Pierre
    5/16/2007 It is my opinion that the long neck sheep is not the key to deciphering the meaning, but the character to the right appearing to hold a drum may be representative of a shaman performing a ceremony prior to the hunt for success to locate animals and determine routes of travel.   John

 

 

 

   
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