Featuring the World of Rock Art, by Anna Herndon

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 The Wonderful World of Rock Art 

Anna Herndon; Nov 2024– Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

Before European settlers came to North America, Native Americans and Indigenous people lived on the continent for thousands of years. They kept records of their rich history, beliefs, and stories by creating symbols on rock faces. After lasting hundreds or thousands of years, we witness these images today as beautiful rock art. 

Photo by Sven Haakanson, Jr., via the Alutiiq Museum 

Rock art is everywhere in North America. Sort of like the graffiti of the ancient world, these works were created by Native Americans, some of them up to 15,000 years ago! It being that there was no alphabet or written language to accompany the dialects that Native American people spoke, artistic depictions were an important way of documenting history, stories told over generations, and religious beliefs about the creation of the earth and humankind. The people who made these drawings and etchings lived and traveled across the continent, and did not adhere to any state or national borders we have now.

With its primary medium being stone faces, there is no shortage of canvas for rock art in North America. It can be found particularly in regions that are mountainous or with rugged terrain, but rock art might be anywhere where there are large boulders, caves and rockshelters, or exposed cliff faces, often along rivers. There are different forms: pictographs, petroglyphs, and a mixture incorporating both. Pictographs are images made with colored pigment drawn onto the surface of the rock. The colors they would have used were made using ground up or crushed minerals and natural pigments, such as hematite or charcoal, and stuck onto the surface using animal fats or blood! These are typically more easily visible than petroglyphs due to their use of colors. Petroglyphs are those artworks which have been carved into the rock face. This was done by striking the surface repeatedly with another hard substance (usually a rock), grinding it, or using several rocks in a hammer-and-chisel manner for more precision. This type of rock art might be trickier to spot; while some petroglyphs use color to enhance the depiction, the main premise of the art form is its use of texture and depth.


                        Photo by Kaya Lindsay, via Moab Gear Trader 

If pictograms are like traditional paintings, petroglyphs are like reliefs or engravings, which rely on light and shadow to show their three-dimensionality. But we aren’t viewing rock art in a museum with perfect lighting– in nature, light is unpredictable! An overcast day, heavy forest foliage, cave lighting, and so many other factors might make it hard to see petroglyphs. Complete shade or direct light washes out the depth of the art and makes it almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Catching them at the right time is key; usually a bright day when the sun is low at an angle makes hidden petroglyphs pop out! Some depictions are even situated among their surroundings in a special way to incorporate the changing shadows as a part of storytelling, whether that be throughout the day or throughout the year. Some days such as solstices might be the only chance to view shadows at work in a particular way.

Rock art is often found by hikers and spelunkers (cave explorers) while adventuring outdoors. These sites have become common places for tourists to visit, and have sadly suffered from their popularity. Because of vandalization, when people draw over or carve into these pictograms and petroglyphs, the beauty of these images is destroyed forever. If you decide to visit a rock art site at a national/state park or on a hiking trail, please be respectful of these pieces and the intentions of the people who created them. Many have religious or cultural significance, and the people who hold those values cannot defend them for themselves. If you choose to visit a rock art site near you, help protect the importance and beauty of these ancient artworks by leaving them alone, and reporting others who are being destructive and disrespectful! 

Sources: 

Lindsay, Kaya (2022, March 2). Guide to must see rock art around moab. Moab Gear Trader. moabgeartrader.com/2022/03/02/guide-to-must-see-rock-art-around-moab/ 

National forests in North Carolina - history & culture. Forest Service National Website. (n.d.). www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/learning/history-culture/?cid=stelprdb520955 

Petroglyphs. Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository. (2024, April 8).  alutiiqmuseum.org/alutiiq-people/history/petroglyphs/ 

Winnemucca petroglyphs: Oldest Rock Art in North America dates back up to 14,800 years: Archaeology: Sci-news.com. Sci.News: Breaking Science News. (2013, August 28). www.sci.news/archaeology/science-winnemucca-petroglyphs-rock-art-01309.html 

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