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rock art

Predynastic rock art - with ruler boat procession, ca. 3200 BC, Wadi al Agebab. Source: © Mohamed Abdel Hay Abu Baker

Plea to Protect Predynastic Rock Art to Save the Deep Past of Egypt

In some of the harshest landscapes found anywhere in Egypt, archaeologists have discovered a stunning collection of petroglyphs (rock art) and inscriptions that date from the fifth millennium BC up...
Replica of Capilla stelae. Source: Ralph Araque Gonzalez / University of Freiburg

Proof Bronze Age Iberians Made Steel Tools 1,000 Years Before the Romans!

A study of elaborate 2,900-year-old carvings in stone monuments found in Portugal has revealed a rather amazing fact. It seems these Late Bronze Age engravings could only have been made with hardened...
The stone, now known as the Nessglyph, has a circular cup shape and is marked with straight lines carved with a metal implement, looking like a horned deity from the Roman army. Source: Shropshire Council

Mystery Nessglyph Riddle Alludes to Roman Military's Horned Deity Cult

The mystery of the Nessglyph riddle continues to elude archaeologists, and they’ve now requested public intervention and help. The curious rock carving on a piece of red sandstone, found last summer...
Using torchlight to reveal rock carvings in Norway by night. Source: Fjeld, Klavestad, Tangen / Science in Norway

600 Rock Carvings Found by Clever Inquiry and Torchlight

Three friends in Norway have a remarkable way of spending in their spare time. Armed with torches, they go looking for prehistoric rock carvings, and with singular success. So far, they have helped...
The central portion of the Australian rock shelter art at Marra Wonga, Queensland,  with an extensive wall of petroglyphs and stencils.

Ancient Dreamtime Myths Unraveled in Australian Rock Shelter Art

Archaeologists working with Aboriginal artists in Australia have interpreted rock shelter art with extraordinary findings. This artistic blend of astronomy, mythology and the Dreamtime is like no...
Ancient petroglyphs at the Valle del Encanto in Chile. Source: Vera & Jean-Christophe / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Alien Petroglyphs of Chile’s Valle del Encanto

The Enchanted Valley, known as el Valle del Encanto in Spanish, is one of the most well-known rock art sites in Chile. Home to a varied set of petroglyphs, pictographs and so-called cup-marked stones...
Aerial view of the Al-Faw archaeological site, home to a neolithic settlement, in Saudi Arabia. Source: CC BY-SA 4.0

8,000-Year-Old Neolithic Temple Discovered in Saudi Arabia

The once magnificent capital of the Kingdom of Kindah, Al-Faw south west of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia has been the subject of a project spearheaded by the Saudi Heritage Commission, headed by a Saudi...
Excavation area in Cueva de Ardales with evidence from the Middle Paleolithic period.	Source: Ramos-Muñoz et al., CC-BY 4.0

The Ice Age Art Gallery Just Got Excavated at Cueva de Ardales

Last year mainstream archaeologists struggled to accept that almost 70,000 years ago someone painted rock art in Cueva de Ardales, a cave in modern day Spain. Now, a team of researchers has shown...
Anthropomorph in regalia (1.81 meters or 5.9 feet high) from 19th Unnamed Cave, which is now the largest Native American cave art site in southeastern North America.		Source: Photograph by S. Alvarez; illustration by J. Simek / Antiquity Publications Ltd.

The Largest Native American Cave Art Site in SE North America Emerges!

The 19th Unnamed Cave in Alabama, first discovered in 1998 in the southeastern US state, was anonymized to keep it safe from the prying eyes of the larger public. It has now turned out to be the...
Photo showing replica rock art etchings by firelight. Source: Needham et al. - PLOS ONE / CC-BY 4.0

Fiery Illusions of Rock Carvings: Prehistoric Movies

A virtual reality investigation of prehistoric rock art has concluded that flickering firelight may have been used to animate a selection of engraved rocks discovered in France. This could mean that...
Judaculla Rock in Western North Carolina. Source: Onmountain / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Indecipherable Judaculla Rock

In the mountains of Jackson County in North Carolina lies a large mysterious rock covered in petroglyphs that have yet to be deciphered. For the Cherokee Indians, the rock and and surrounding area is...
Semih Güneri, a professor from Dokuz Eylül University who has been working on Mongolian petroglyphs for a decade, taking a rubbing of the possibly 15,000-year-old Gobi Desert petroglyphs he has identified with ancient Turkish speaking peoples.	Source: Demirören News Agency

“15,000-year-old” Gobi Desert Petroglyphs Made By Ancient Turks?

A Turkish archaeologist who is an expert on petroglyphs claims his team has found extremely old Gobi Desert petroglyphs made by ancient Turkish-speaking peoples, reports Hurriyet Daily . Although not...
One of the Ural pictograms found along the Neyva River		Source: Данила Дубровский / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Ural Pictograms: Ancient Rock Art Depicting Modern Chemical Compounds

The Ural Mountains run north to south through western Russia. The range runs from the border of the Arctic Ocean in the north all the way to the Ural River in the south. It is known as the primary...
Amazonian rock art at the Serranía La Lindosa in Colombia. Source: Iriarte et al. / Royal Society B

Does Amazonian Rock Art 'Sistine Chapel' Depict Ice Age Megafauna?

Earlier this month, the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B published detailed analyses and pictures of the spectacular 8 mile (13 km) long rock art mural discovered in the...
Indigenous rock art at Western Australia’s Murujuga National Park. Source: totajla / Adobe Stock

Fertilizer Giant Blocked from Removing Aboriginal Indigenous Rock Art

The Australian federal government has blocked a multinational fertilizer company from removing indigenous rock art from Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula. This UNESCO World Heritage-nominated area...
Petroglyphs visible at Little Petroglyph Canyon, or Renegade Canyon, in California. Source: Terry Feuerborn / CC BY-NC 2.0

Remarkable Rock Art at California’s Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons

Within the Mojave Desert, in southeastern California, those interested in ancient rock art are in for a treat. Hidden on a military base is an area with thousands of documented Native American...
The surface of a petroglyph stone in the Indian Head area of Grand Bend National Park, where four vandals wrote their names and the date on December 26, 2021.					Source: National Parks Service

Big Bend National Park Petroglyphs Irreparably Damaged by Vandals

Big Bend National Park in Texas on the Mexican border is home to enormous diversity and crucial Native American history. Native Americans left behind many abstract geometric designs and petroglyphs (...
Wandjina rock art

The Mysterious Aboriginal Rock Art of the Wandjina Sky Beings

One of the most intriguing and perplexing legends of the Australian Aboriginal people is that of the Wandjinas, the supreme spirit beings and creators of the land and people. The land of the Wandjina...
The Pegtymel petroglyphs depicting hallucinogenic mushroom-headed figures, which is evidence of the use of magic mushrooms 2,000 years ago in northeast Russia.          Source: Institute of Archaeology Russian Academy of Sciences

Russia’s Fascinating Remote “Magic Mushroom” Pegtymel Petroglyphs

Russia’s Pegtymel petroglyphs, 2,000-year-old artworks found in a remote area of Arctic Russia, have been revealed to show scenes of hunting, and ritual hallucinogenic mushroom use. The telling...
View of the Romanelli Cave in Italy. 	Source: Sigari et. al. / Antiquity Publications Ltd

New Stone Age Rock Art Discovered at Romanelli Cave

Expert researchers with an interest in ancient European rock art have just completed an exhaustive study of Romanelli Cave, an impressively decorated rock art site located on the southeastern tip of...
Giant Camel Sculptures in Saudi Desert Found To Be Incredibly Ancient

Giant Camel Sculptures in Saudi Desert Found To Be Incredibly Ancient

A team of archaeologists studying life-size rock carvings of animals in the Saudi Arabian desert were shocked to discover the true age of these impressive stone sculptures. These carved figures of...
Lipci’s Prehistoric Rock Paintings: Montenegro’s Primitive Art Site

Lipci’s Prehistoric Rock Paintings: Montenegro’s Primitive Art Site

Prehistoric rock paintings are a true rarity in the Balkan region of southeast Europe. Of course, the region is a hotspot for all kinds of very ancient history, but oddly enough primitive rock...
Hunting scene painted on the wall of Picture Cave, Missouri, USA.       Source: Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers

Missouri’s Native American Picture Cave Has Sold for $2.2million

To the dismay of the Osage Nation leaders, Missouri’s ‘Picture Cave’ has been sold at auction today and bought by an unnamed private bidder. The 43 acres of land in which the sacred cave lies went...
Petit Jean State Park.           Source: Mitch / Adobe Stock.

Petit Jean State Park, Where Natural Beauty Meets Legend

Petit Jean State Park is a state park in Arkansas, USA. In addition to its beautiful natural landscapes, the park is also known for its many archaeological sites, especially rock art sites. Moreover...

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