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Petroglyphs

Dinosaur tracks in highlight and petroglyphs circled by dashed lines. Source: Troiano, et al., Scientific Reports 2024

Dinosaur Tracks in Brazil Found to Have Petroglyph ‘Companions’

A study of a site in Brazil known for its dinosaur tracks has revealed stunning new details about previously unexamined petroglyphs (rock carvings) that cover the very same set of rock formations as...
The drum is one of the earliest methods of ancient communication.  Source: zolotareva_elina / Adobe Stock

The Evolution of Ancient Communication Methods

Throughout history, communication wasn’t as effortless as it is today. In today’s world, you can connect with people in every part of the world within seconds and access an almost infinite amount of...
Images of Mysterious Rock Art. Source: JSirlin/Adobe Stock; ©John Wombell; ©Salima Ikram; ©Amit Bhardwaj/Times of India; Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Ten Mysterious Rock Art Examples from the Ancient World

Rock paintings and engravings are among the world’s oldest continuously practiced art form and are as diverse as the wide-ranging cultures and civilizations that have produced them. Depictions of...
Fort Pearce protected heritage site Sign.	Source: Jacqueline Russell/BLM Utah/ Public Domain

Irreversible Damage Caused at Fort Pearce Puebloan Site

A historically rich area, Utah has had a long history of vandalism and theft across archaeological and paleontological sites. Newly added to this list is the digging of a 2-foot wide and 15-foot-deep...
Researcher records pueblo culture petroglyphs found high in Mesa Verde.	Source: Jangiellonian University

Petroglyph Discoveries Offer Breakthrough in Understanding Pueblo Culture

In a significant archaeological development, a team from the Jagiellonian University (JU) has made groundbreaking discoveries regarding the ancient Pueblo culture along the Colorado-Utah border. This...
One of the petroglyphs at the riverbank site in Praia das Lajes, Manaus, Brazil. Source: Valter Calheiros

Brazilian Drought Unveils Rare Ancient Petroglyphs On Manaus Riverbed

Due to a current drought in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, enigmatic ancient engravings dating to between 1,000 and 2,000 years old have resurfaced from a riverbed. This discovery marks only the...
A warriors petroglyph found at the La Sabana petroglyph site, lost Pre-Hispanic city near Acapulco city, Mexico.   Source: INAH

Lost Pre-Hispanic City Near Acapulco Yields Astounding Petroglyphs

A find near the Mexican city of Acapulco, in the depths of a sprawling pre-Hispanic city, spanning 334 hectares includes 38 petroglyphs, circular calendars, and a beautiful representation of a rain...
Landscape of Cathedral Spires at sunset, Custer State Park, Black Hills, South Dakota. Source: Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock.

Sacred Hills: Preserving Lakota Sioux Culture in South Dakota (Video)

Preserving the rich heritage of Lakota Sioux culture in South Dakota's sacred hills is a profound endeavor. These hills, the heart of Mother Earth for the Lakota , hold deep significance. The Black...
Damaidi rock art at Helan Mountain in Ningxia, China. Source: Rita Willaert/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Is 8,000-year-old Damaidi Rock Art the Origin of Chinese Writing?

The Chinese writing system is by far one of the most complex in the world, and its origins are truly ancient. In fact, ​​Chinese characters are the oldest continuously used system of writing in the...
Remarkable Kville petroglyphs found in Sweden. Source: Foundation for Documentation of Bohuslän's Rock Carvings

Stunning 2,700-Year-Old Petroglyphs Found Hidden Under Moss in Sweden

Researchers combing through the countryside near the municipality of Tanum in the province of Bohuslän along Sweden’s western coastline were shocked to discover a set of approximately 40 petroglyphs...
Ancient Alaskan Petroglyphs in Stone. Some of the best surviving examples of native artistic expression are petroglyphs found in southeast Alaska. Source: LoweStock/Adobe Stock

The Continuing Enigma of the Petroglyph Beach in Wrangell, Alaska

The wild and enigmatic northern regions of North America have always been a place of great mystery. The wild beauty of Alaska, of Canada’s vast northern provinces, and their tranquil coastal areas,...
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...
Phallic megalith covered with glyphs and author in the Pohnpaid meadow (Image © 1992 Carole Nervig)

Glyphs Upon A Stone Altar: The Petroglyphs Of Mu

Awareness of Nan Madol as a world class archaeological site has grown exponentially over the last decade, especially since achieving World Heritage Site status in 1996. Constructed upon an offshore...
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...
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...
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 (...
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...
Deriv; Hawaiian Tiki carvings and Easter Island statues with Rongorongo script

Was there a Common Writing System used by Pacific Islanders?

In 2016 two tourists found engraved petroglyphs on a Hawaiian Beach. This was an important find because it suggested that the ancient Polynesians had a common writing system which was used from...
Jan Simek, professor of anthropology, next to Mississippian Period cave drawings.		Source: University of Tennessee Knoxville

Mississippian Period Cave Art Tells A Tale From 6,500 Years Ago

North America is home to a number of cave art sites, some of which date as far back as 6,500 years ago. However, the first discovery of cave art in America was only in 1980 and that is probably why...
One of the more mysterious Saudi Arabia rock art examples found in the Bir Hima region.                  Source: Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage / UNESCO

Bir Hima Saudi Arabia Rock Art Site Gets UNESCO World Heritage Status

UNESCO has just added the famed Saudi Arabia rock art of site Bir Hima to its list of World Heritage sites. Officially designated as the “Hima Cultural Area,” this expansive section of the Najran...
The Araña Caves are best known for their rock painting of honey hunting. Source: Right: Turismo Comunidad Valenciana / Left: GNU Public Licence

The Araña Caves of Valencia: Entering a Bygone Era Through Rock Art

In 1920, a teacher named Jaime Poch heard of some cave paintings near Bicorp in the Caroig mountain range in Valencia, Spain. Now, over a hundred years later, the site known as the Araña Caves is a...
5,000-Year-Old Deer Carvings Discovered In A First for Scotland!

5,000-Year-Old Deer Carvings Discovered In A First for Scotland!

Lost for around 5,000 years, an amateur archaeologist has discovered deer carvings inside Kilmartin Glen’s Dunchraigaig Cairn in the west of Scotland. The Neolithic or Early Bronze Age carvings...

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