| In the NEWS Archives |
Petroglyph & Pictograph Sites
Archives |
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Petroglyphs in southeast Alaska By: Bonnie Demerjian October 2009 new window |
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Volunteers establish trail
head in Gold Butte country By: David Bly September 2009 new window |
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Crews bulldozed in area housing hawaiian
petroglyphs By: Honolulu News August 2009 new window |
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National pride rooted in rock
art By: Sebastien Berger June 2009 new window |
Arrastre Spring An interesting site in the Panamint Mountains high above Death Valley, California. 10 Photographs June 2006 |
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Rock shelter find: rare prehistoric Indian art
By: Morgan Simmons June 2009 new window |
Indian
Well A multi cultural petroglyph site in Lanfair Valley, California. 10
Photographs February 2006 |
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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 | |
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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 |
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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 | |
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EMU prof. uses 21 century
science on prehistoric art By: Tracy Davis April 2009 new window |
Painted Rock Resevoir A mid size Hohokam rock art and solstice site near Gila Bend, Arizona. 10 Photographs March 2006 | |
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Petroglyph Cave: one of the cave
art mystery in Cuba Cuban Daily News April 2009 new window |
Coyote Hole A Serrano petroglyph site near Joshua Tree, California. 10 Photographs January 2006 | |
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Diamonds show comet struck North
America By: Thomas H. Maugh II January 2009 new window |
Hanging Mesa A few dozen Archaic hunter/gatherer petroglyphs superimposed by Numic Scratch Style at Hanging Mesa, Nevada. 8 photographs December 2005 | |
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Battle over Little Lake
heats up By: Louis Sahagun January 2009 new window |
Mule Tank A small Yuman and Chimehuevi petroglyph in the eastern desert near Blythe, California. 8 photographs October 2005 | |
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Pictographs, petroglyphs on
rocks record beliefs of earliest Texansnew window |
Atlatl Cliff An archaic Pinto Culture petroglyph site near Little Lake, California. 6 photographs September 2005 | |
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Vandalism damages Yakima
Valley's rock art By: Jane Gargas December 2008 new window |
Corn Spring A Desert Cahuilla and Yuman petroglyph site west of Blythe, California. 10 photographs August 2005 | |
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Pictographs, petroglyphs on
rocks record beliefs of earliest Texansnew window |
Ayer's Rock Pictographs Located on a large boulder near Coso Junction, California. 5 photographs Revised June 2005 | |
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Vandalism damages Yakima
Valley's rock art By: Jane Gargas December 2008 new window |
Death Valley Panamint Mountains petroglyphs at the north end of Death Valley, California. 11 photographs June 2005 |
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The colombian rock art spiral. A shamanic tunnel? By: Harry Andrew Marriner Nov 2008 new window |
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 |
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New dating method shines light
on cave art
By: PlanetEarth online Oct 2008 new window |
Greenwater Canyon Archaic Desert Culture petroglyphs in Greenwater canyon, Death Valley, California. 10 photographs January 2005 |
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On rock walls, painted prayers
to rain gods By: Keith Mulvihill Sept. 2008 new window |
Blue Sun Cave Kumeyaay and Northern Diegueno pictographs at Indian Hill, near Ocotillo, California. 10 photos April 2004 | |
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Rock Art is all the rage By: Tony Henderson August 2008 new window |
Black Tank Wash Archaic and Numic pictographs and petroglyphs in the Cinder Cone Volcanic Field, near Baker, California. 12 photographs March 2004 | |
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Debate over moldy cave art is a
tale of human missteps By: Molly Moore July 2008 new window |
New Well An Anasazi ruin located 27 miles Northeast of St. Johns, Arizona. 8 photographs |
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Discovery adds to Dunbar Cave’s
collection of ancient art By: Debbie Boen March 2008 new window |
Sheep Springs Located in a small boulder field in the El Paso Mountains, California. 12 photographs Revised May 2005 |
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Thousands Of Humans Inhabited
New World's Doorstep For 20,000 Years Science Daily February 2008 new window |
Chevelon Creek Sinagua and Anasazi rock art southeast of Winslow, Arizona. 8 photographs |
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Can Ice Age art survive
Man's
attempt to save it? By: Dayla Alberge January 2008 new window |
Santa Rosa A Mogollon and Archaic petroglyph site located a few miles west of Santa Rosa, in eastern New Mexico. 10 photographs |
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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 | |
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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 | |
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Rock Art Vandalism by: Donald Austin |
Steam Well A Kawaiisu petroglyph site near Red Mountain, California. 10 photographs. February 2004 | |
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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 | |
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History Uncovered by: Dave Lavender July 2005 |
Black Canyon The Black Knoll section, northwest of Barstow, California. 8 photographs |
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| ARTICLES |
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Using Decorrelation Stretch to Enhance Rock Art Images By: Jon Harman Ph.D. |
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The
Terese Petroglyph Site By: Alan Garfinkel |
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Petroglyph Question |
Possible Interpretations |
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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?
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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 |
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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 | |
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Petroglyph Question |
Possible Interpretations |
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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. |
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
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| 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.
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Petroglyph
Question |
Possible Interpretations |
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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? |
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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 3/22/2007 |
Perhaps it addresses keen
eyesight; the ability to see in the distance. As in climbing a tree? Chris S. |
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| 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
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| 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 | ||
