Pre-historic Rock Engravings By Victoria Chick, artist and collector of early 19th and 20th century prints There is hardly a country in the world where petroglyphs do not exist. The United States is rich with petroglyph art. Many petroglyphs are within National Park or National Monument boundaries or within National Forests, where they are protected. Petroglyphs are also called rock engravings because they are chipped into a rock surface. There is often a color difference between the chipped image and the natural surface of the rock. The natural surface of the rock has not been painted but is usually a darker color caused by exposure to light and air producing an oxidation with a microbial component sometimes called “desert varnish” because this phenomenon is most clearly observed in desert territory. The chippedaway area is lighter and the contrast makes this type of petroglyph easy to see. Petroglyphs come in all sizes, from under an inch to over six feet tall.
Rock engraving continued through the Neolithic period, but those in the United States have a more recent dating range from about 14,000 years ago with many more in the archaic period from 8000 to 2000 BC and continuing into a period that would be around 1600 A.D. Some are possibly even more recent. Because petroglyphs are pre-historic, the reasons behind making them, along with their specific, individual meanings are couched in guesswork based on remnants of still-active, Native American tribal lore.
Petroglyphs are most often found in sheltered locations such as undercut cliffs, or on boulder sides away from prevailing weather. Sometimes petroglyphs can be found on flat, horizontal surfaces where bedrock is exposed but weathering makes these more difficult to appreciate. Some of the world’s petroglyphs were engraved as far back as Paleolithic times. PAGE 54
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