A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

prefix , from meaning "stone", and meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as . Another form of petroglyph, normally found in literate cultures, a

rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ...

or rock-cut relief is a

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

sculpture carved on "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. While these relief carvings are a category of rock art, sometimes found in conjunction with

rock-cut architecture Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods, rock-cut architecture was presumably combined with quarry ...

, they tend to be omitted in most works on rock art, which concentrate on engravings and paintings by prehistoric or nonliterate cultures. Some of these reliefs exploit the rock's natural properties to define an image. Rock reliefs have been made in many cultures, especially in the

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

. Rock reliefs are generally fairly large, as they need to be to make an impact in the open air. Most have figures that are larger than life-size. Stylistically, a culture's rock relief carvings relate to other types of sculpture from the period concerned. Except for Hittite and Persian examples, they are generally discussed as part of the culture's sculptural practice. The vertical relief is most common, but reliefs on essentially horizontal surfaces are also found. The term ''relief'' typically excludes relief carvings inside natural or human-made caves, that are common in India. Natural rock formations made into statues or other sculpture in the round, most famously at the Great Sphinx of Giza, are also usually excluded. Reliefs on large boulders left in their natural location, like the Hittite

İmamkullu relief The Hittite İmamkullu relief (previously also ''İmamkulu'') is a rock relief near the town of İmamkullu in Tomarza district in Kayseri Province, Turkey. In Turkish it is known as ''Yazılı Kaya'' ("inscribed cliff") and ''Şimşekkaya'' (" ...

, are likely to be included, but smaller boulders described as stele or carved

orthostat This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

s. In scholarly texts, a ''petroglyph'' is a rock engraving, whereas a ''petrograph'' is a rock painting. In common usage, the two words are synonymous. Both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or

parietal art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...

Petroforms Petroforms, also known as boulder outlines or boulder mosaics, are human-made shapes and patterns made by lining up large rocks on the open ground, often on quite level areas. Petroforms in North America were originally made by various Native A ...

, or patterns and shapes made by many large rocks and boulders over the ground, are also quite different.

Inuksuit An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) or inukshuk (from the iu, ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ, plural ; alternatively in Inuinnaqtun, in Iñupiaq, in Greenlandic) is a type of stone landmark or cairn built by, and for the use of, Inuit, Iñupiat, Kalaallit, Yu ...

are also not petroglyphs, they are human-made rock forms found only in the Arctic region.

History

Petroglyphs have been found in all parts of the globe except

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, with highest concentrations in parts of Africa, Scandinavia and Siberia, many examples of petroglyphs found globally are dated to approximately the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and late

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

boundary (roughly 10,000 to 12,000 years ago). Around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, following the introduction of a number of precursors of writing systems, the existence and creation of petroglyphs began to suffer and tail off, with different forms of art, such as pictographs and ideograms, taking their place. However, petroglyphs continued to be created and remained somewhat common, with various cultures continuing to use them for differing lengths of time, including cultures who continued to create them until contact with Western culture was made in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Interpretation

Many hypotheses exist as to the purpose of petroglyphs, depending on their location, age, and subject matter. Some petroglyph images most likely held a deep cultural and religious significance for the societies that created them. Many petroglyphs are thought to represent a type of symbolic or ritualistic language or communication style that remains not fully understood. Others, such as geocontourglyphs, more clearly depict or represent a landform or the surrounding terrain, such as rivers and other geographic features. Some petroglyph maps, depicting trails, as well as containing symbols communicating the time and distances travelled along those trails, exist; other petroglyph maps act as astronomical markers. As well as holding geographic and astronomical importance, other petroglyphs may also have been a by-product of various rituals: sites in India, for example, have seen some petroglyphs identified as musical instruments or "rock gongs". Some petroglyphs likely formed types of symbolic communication, such as types of proto-writing. Later glyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age in Scandinavia seem to refer to some form of territorial boundary between tribes, in addition to holding possible religious meanings. Petroglyph styles have been recognised as having local or regional "dialects" from similar or neighboring peoples. Siberian inscriptions loosely resemble an early form of Runic alphabet, runes, although no direct relationship has been established. Petroglyphs from different continents show similarities. While people would be inspired by their direct surroundings, it is harder to explain the common styles. This could be mere coincidence, an indication that certain groups of people Human migration, migrated widely from some initial common area, or indication of a common origin. In 1853, George Tate (topographer), George Tate presented a paper to the Berwick Naturalists' Club, at which a John Collingwood Bruce agreed that the carvings had "... a common origin, and indicate a symbolic meaning, representing some popular thought." In his cataloguing of Scottish rock art, Ronald Morris summarized 104 different theories on their interpretation. More controversial explanations of similarities are grounded in Jungian psychology and the views of Mircea Eliade. According to these theories it is possible that the similarity of petroglyphs (and other atavism, atavistic or archetype, archetypal symbols) from different cultures and continents is a result of the genetics, genetically inherited structure of the human brain. Other theories suggest that petroglyphs were carved by spiritual leaders, such as shamans, in an altered state of consciousness, perhaps induced by the use of natural Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants#Hallucinogenic plants, fungi, and animals, hallucinogens. Many of the Geometry, geometric patterns (known as form constants) which recur in petroglyphs and cave paintings have been shown by David Lewis-Williams to be hardwired into the human brain. They frequently occur in visual disturbances and hallucinations brought on by drugs, migraine, and other stimuli. Recent analysis of surveyed and GPS-logged petroglyphs around the world has identified commonalities indicating pre-historic (7,000–3,000 BCE) intense auroras, or natural light display in the sky, observable across the continents. The Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) of the University of the Witwatersrand studies present-day links between religion and rock art among the San people of the Kalahari Desert. Though the San people's artworks are predominantly paintings, the beliefs behind them can perhaps be used as a basis for understanding other types of rock art, including petroglyphs. To quote from the RARI website:

Using knowledge of San beliefs, researchers have shown that the art played a fundamental part in the religious lives of its painters. The art captured things from the San's world behind the rock-face: the other world inhabited by spirit creatures, to which dancers could travel in animal form, and where people of ecstasy could draw power and bring it back for healing, rain-making and capturing the game.

List of petroglyph sites

Africa

Algeria

* Tassili n'Ajjer

Cameroon

* Bidzar

Central African Republic

* Bambari, Lengo and Bangassou in the south; Bwale in the west * Toulou * Djebel Mela * Koumbala

Chad

* Niola Doa

Republic of the Congo

* The Niari Valley, 250 km south west of Brazzaville

Egypt

* Wadi Hammamat in Qift, many carvings and inscriptions dating from before the earliest Egyptian Dynasties to the modern era, including the only painted petroglyph known from the Eastern Desert and drawings of Egyptian reed boats dated to 4000 BCE * Inscription Rock in South Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, is a large rock with carvings and writings ranging from Nabatean to Latin, Ancient Greek and Crusader eras located a few miles from the Ain Hudra Oasis. A second rock sites approximately 1 km from the main rock near the Nabatean tombs of Nawamis with carvings of animals including Camels, Gazelles and others. The original archaeologists who investigated these in the 1800s have also left their names carved on this rock. * Giraffe petroglyphs found in the region of Gebel el-Silsila. The rock faces have been used for extensive quarrying of materials for temple building especially during the period specified as the New Kingdom. The Giraffe depictions are located near a stela of the king Amenhotep IV. The images are not dated, but they are probably dated from the Predynastic periods.

Ethiopia

* Tiya (archaeological site), Tiya

Gabon

* Ogooue River Valley * Epona * Elarmekora * Kongo Boumba * Lindili * Kaya Kaya

Libya

* Akakus * Jebel Uweinat

Morocco

* The Draa River valley Lion Plate at Twyfelfontein, Namibia (2014)

Namibia

* Twyfelfontein

Niger

* Life-size giraffe carvings on Dabous Giraffes, Dabous Rock, Aïr Mountains

South Africa

* Driekops Eiland near Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley * ǀXam and ǂKhomani heartland in the Karoo, Northern Cape * Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre near Kimberley, Northern Cape * Keiskie near Calvinia, Northern Cape Tunisia * Oueslatia, Ouesslat Mountain, Ain Kanfous and Zamla * Tamerza, Tameghza * The Tataouine Governorate, Tataouine Region, in particular Ghomrassen and Smar

Zambia

* Nyambwezi Falls in the north-west province.

Asia

Armenia

* Ughtasar * Urtsadzor * Aragats * See also Armenian Eternity sign

Azerbaijan

* Gobustan State Reserve * Gamigaya Petroglyphs, Gemigaya * Kalbajar District, Kalbajar * Gala State Historical Ethnographic Reserve, Northern Absheron

China

* Rock Paintings of Helan Mountains, Helan Mountains in Yinchuan * Hua'an Engravings * Kangjia shimenzi in Xinjiang * Lianyungan Rock Engravings * Petroglyphs in Zhuhai * Yin Mountains in Inner Mongolia

Georgia

* Trialeti petroglyphs

Hong Kong

Eight Prehistoric Hong Kong, sites in Hong Kong: * Tung Lung Island * Kau Sai Chau * Po Toi, Po Toi Island * Cheung Chau * Shek Pik on Lantau Island * Wong Chuk Hang and Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong Island, Big Wave Bay on Hong Kong Island * Lung Ha Wan in Sai Kung District, Sai Kung

India

* Bhimbetka rock shelters, Raisen District, Madhya Pradesh, India. * Kupgal petroglyphs on Dolerite Dyke, near Bellary, Karnataka, India. * Kudopi, Sindhudurg district, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra, India. * Hiwale, Sindhudurg district, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra, India. * Barsu, Ratnagiri district, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, India. * Devihasol, Ratnagiri district, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, India * Edakkal Caves, Wayanad District, Kerala, India. * Kollur, Triukoilur 35 km from Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. A large dolmen with four petroglyphs that portray men with trident and a wheel with spokes has been found. The discovery was made by K.T. Gandhirajan. This is the second instance when a dolmen with petrographs has been found in Tamil Nadu, India. In October 2018, petroglyphs were discovered in the Ratnagiri and Rajapur, Maharashtra, Rajapur areas in the Konkan region of western Maharashtra. Those rock carvings which might date back to 10,000 BC, depict animals like hippopotamuses and rhinoceroses which aren't found in that region of India. Some carving depicts, what appears to be Pisces (constellation), Pisces constellation.* Perumukkal, Tindivanam District, Tamil Nadu, India. * Tirukoilur, Kollur, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. * Unakoti near Kailashahar in North Tripura District, Tripura, India. * Usgalimal rock engravings, Kushavati river banks, in Goa * Tourism in Ladakh#Petroglyph, Ladakhi rock art in Ladakh, NW Indian Himalaya. *Ratnagiri Maharashtra Petroglyphs, An eight ftlong petroglyph in Devache Gothane village in Rajapur district, Maharashtra. Petroglyphs In Maharashtra

. Kethaiyurumpu, Tamil Nadu. Situated 28 km north west of Dindigal, Tamil Nadu nearby Idaiyakottai and six km south west of Oddanchartam has revealed several petroglyphs mostly represent abstract symbols on two rocks, which looks like a temporary rock shelter were noticed adjacent to a Murugan temple which is in ruins on top of the Kothaiyurumbu hill.

Iran

During recent years a large number of rock carvings has been identified in different parts of Iran. The vast majority depict the ibex. Rock drawings were found in December 2016 near Golpayegan, Iran, which may be the oldest drawings discovered, with one cluster possibly 40,000 years old. Accurate estimations were unavailable due to US sanctions. Petroglyphs are the most ancient works of art left by humankind that provide an opening to the past eras of life and help us to discover different aspects of prehistoric lives. Tools to create petroglyphs can be classified by the age and the historical era; they could be flint, thighbone of hunted quarries, or metallic tools. The oldest pictographs in Iran are seen in Yafteh cave in Lorestan that date back 40,000 and the oldest petroglyph discovered belongs to Timareh dating back to 40,800 years ago. Iran provides demonstrations of script formation from pictogram, ideogram, linear (2300 BC) or proto Elamite, geometric old Elamite script, Pahlevi script, Arabic script (906 years ago), Kufi script, and Farsi script back to at least 250 years ago. More than 50000 petroglyphs have been discovered, extended over all Iran's states.

Israel

* Kibbutz Ginosar * Har Karkom * Negev

Japan

* Awashima shrine (Kitakyūshū, Kitakyūshū city)Nobuhiro, Yoshida (1994) ''The Handbook For Petrograph Fieldwork'', Chou Art Publishing, , p. 57 * Fugoppe Cave, Hokkaido * Hikoshima (Shimonoseki, Shimonoseki city) * Itsukushima, Miyajima * Temiya cave (Otaru, Hokkaidō, Otaru city)

Jordan

* Wadi Rum * Wadi Faynan

Kazakhstan

* Koksu River, in Almaty Province * Chumysh (river), Chumysh River basin, * Tamgaly Tas on the Ili River * Tamgaly – a World Heritage Site nearly of Almaty

Laos

* Plain of Jars

South Korea

* Bangudae Petroglyphs

Kyrgyzstan

* Several sites in the Tien Shan mountains: Cholpon-Ata, the Talas valley, Saimaluu Tash, and on the rock outcrop called Suleiman's Throne in Osh in the Fergana valley

Macau

* Coloane

Malaysia

* Lumuyu Petroglyphs

Mongolia

* Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai, UNESCO World Heritage site, 2011

Pakistan

* Ancient Rock Carvings of Sindh * Northern Areas#Rock art and petroglyphs, Rock art and petroglyphs in Northern Areas,

Philippines

* Angono Petroglyphs of Rizal, Philippines

Saudi Arabia

File:وادي قرن.jpg, Petroglyphs at Wadi Qarn. File:Madain Saleh (6720062703).jpg, Petroglyphs at Hegra (Mada'in Salih), Mada'in Salih. File:Inscriptions of musical instruments in Hejaz.jpg, Petroglyphs of musical instruments. File:جبال حرة.jpg, Petroglyphs of animals, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk. File:جيال الزيدانية النقش الهيروغليفي.jpg, Hieroglyphic inscriptions, Tabuk. File:نقوش جبل كويفر الاسلامية.jpg, Islamic inscriptions, Al-Qassim Province, Qasim. File:جبل دويدة.jpg, Thamudic inscriptions. * "Graffiti Rocks", about 110 km SW of Riyadh off the Mecca highway * Arwa (village), Arwa, west of Riyadh * al Jawf, near al Dumat al-Jandal, Jawf * Jubbah, Saudi Arabia, Jubbah, Umm Samnan, north of Hail * Janin Cave, south of Hail * Yatib, south of Hail, Saudi Arabia, Hail * Milihiya, south of Hail * Jebel al Lawz, north of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk * Wadi Damm, near Tabuk * Wadi Abu Oud, near al Ula * Shuwaymis, north of Madina * Jebel al Manjour & Ratt, north of Madina * Hanakiya, north of Madina * Shimli * Bir Hima, north of Najran * Tathleeth, north of Najran * Al-Magar, in Najd

Taiwan

* The Wanshan Rock Carvings Archeological Site near Maolin District, Kaohsiung, were discovered between 1978 and 2002.

Thailand

* Pha Taem National Park

Vietnam

* Rock engravings in Sapa, Sa Pa (town), Sa Pa, Lào Cai Province * Rock engravings in Namdan, Xín Mần District, Hà Giang Province File:Cheung Chau Rock Carving 1.jpg, Rock carving on Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong. This 3000-year-old rock carving was reported by geologists in 1970 File:KyrgyzPetroglyphs.jpg, Petroglyphs at Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan File:Tanbaly.jpg, Tamgaly petroglyphs in Kazakhstan File:Buddhas at ili.jpg, Buddhist carvings at Ili River in Kazakhstan File:Angono Petroglyphs1.jpg, Petroglyphs on a rock wall found in the Sierra Madre (Philippines), Sierra Madre mountain range, Rizal, Philippines File:Petoro.JPG, Petroglyph found in Awashima shrine (Japan)

Europe

File:Sweden-Brastad-Petroglyph Skomakaren-Aug 2003.jpg, Carving "The Shoemaker", Brastad, Sweden File:Petroglifo bentayga.jpg, Petroglyph in Roque Bentayga, Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). File:DalgarvenMillCup&Ring.jpg, Petroglyph at Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume, Dalgarven Mill, Ayrshire, Scotland. File:Petroglifos do Castrinho de Conxo.jpg, Bronze Age petroglyphs depicting weapons, Castriño de Conxo, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. File:Labirinto do Outeiro do Cribo.JPG, Labyrinth, Meis, Galicia. File:Laxe das Rodas 01.jpg, Cup-and-ring mark, Louro, Muros, A Coruña, Muros, Galicia. File:Touron petr.JPG, Deer and cup-and-ring motifs, Tourón, Ponte Caldelas, Galicia. File:Petroglyphs in Zalavruga, Belomorsk, Karelia, Russia 03.jpg, Petroglyphs in Zalavruga, Belomorsk, Karelia, Russia

England

* Boscawen-un, St Buryan * Cup and ring mark, Cup and ring marked rocks in: ** Northumberland, ** County Durham, ** Ilkley Moor, Yorkshire, ** Gardom's Edge, Derbyshire, ** Creswell Crags, Nottingham

Finland

* Hauensuoli, Hanko, Finland, Hanko, Finland

France

* Vallée des Merveilles, Mercantour National Park, France File:Vallée des Merveilles 103.jpg, The sorcerer, Vallée des Merveilles, France File:Vallée des Merveilles 101.jpg, The tribe master, Vallée des Merveilles, France

Ireland

* Newgrange * Knowth * Dowth * Loughcrew * Hill of Tara, Tara * Clonfinlough Stone * Boheh Stone

Italy

* Rock Drawings in Valcamonica – World Heritage Site, Italy (biggest European site, over 350,000) * Bagnolo stele, Valcamonica, Italy * Grotta del Genovese, Sicily, Italy * Grotta dell'Addaura, Sicily, Italy * Rock Engraving Park-Grosio, Rock Engravings in Grosio (in Valtellina), Italy File:Parco Grosio La Rupe Magna.jpg, Grosio - Rupe Magna File:Parco Grosio Rupe Magna 5.jpg, Grosio - Rupe Magna File:Parco Grosio Rupe Magna 3.jpg, Grosio - Rupe Magna

Northern Ireland

* Knockmany File:Knockmany Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland left.jpg, Leftmost of three central stones, Knockmany Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland File:Knockmany Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland centre.jpg, Central of three central stones, Knockmany Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland File:Knockmany Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland right.JPG, A stone on the right of the passage, Knockmany Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Sess Kilgreen File:Sess kilgreen 1.jpg, Sess Kilgreen Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland File:Sess kilgreen 2.jpg, Sess Kilgreen Chambered Tomb, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Norway

* Rock carvings at Alta, World Heritage Site (1985) * Rock carvings in Central Norway * Rock carvings at Møllerstufossen * Rock carvings at Tennes

Portugal

* Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley, Portugal File:Rock Art Foz Coa 01.jpg, Carvings of various zoomorphic creatures, including in particular, a horse File:Rock Art Foz Coa 03.jpg, Paleolithic rock engravings breaking the natural rock formation File:Prehistoric Rock-Art Site of the Côa Valley - Penascosa - Bull @ 2011-08-06.jpg, Various zoomorphic creatures, including in particular, a Bull

Scotland

* Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume, North Ayrshire * Burghead Bull, Burghead * Townhead, Galloway * Ballochmyle cup and ring marks

Spain

* Petroglyphs from Galicia (Spain), Galicia * Petroglyphs from the Canary Islands (Spain)

Russia

* White Sea petroglyphs, Republic of Karelia, Russia * Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea, Petroglyph Park near Petrozavodsk–Lake Onega, Russia * Tomskaya Pisanitsa Museum, Tomskaya Pisanitsa * Kanozero Petroglyphs * Sikachi-Alyan, Khabarovsk Krai * Kapova cave, Bashkortostan * Sunduki mountain range, Sunduki Petroglyphs, Khakassia

Sweden

* Rock Carvings in Tanum, Tanumshede (Bohuslän); World Heritage Site (1994) * Himmelstalund (by Norrköping in Östergötland) * Enköping (Uppland) * Skåne, Southwest Skåne (Götaland) * Alvhem (Västra Götaland) * Torhamn (Blekinge) * Nämforsen (Ångermanland) * Häljesta (Västmanland) * Slagsta (Södermanland) * Glösa (Jämtland) * Gärde (Jämtland) * Flatruet (Härjedalen) * Grannberget (Härjedalen) * The King's Grave at Kivik * Rock carvings at Norrfors, Umeå * Släbro rock carvings in Nyköping (Södermanland)

Turkey

* Kagizman, Kars Province, Kars * Cunni Cave, Erzurum Province, Erzurum * Esatli, Ordu Province, Ordu * Gevaruk Valley, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri * Hakkari Trisin, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri * Latmos / Beşparmak Mountains, Beşparmak * Güdül, Ankara Province, Ankara

Ukraine

* Kamyana Mohyla, Zaporizhzhia Oblast * Stone stelae of the Ukraine

Wales

* Garn Turne, Pembrokeshire

Central and South America and the Caribbean

Argentina

* Cueva de las Manos, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, Santa Cruz * Talampaya National Park, La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja * Lihué Calel National Park, La Pampa Province, La Pampa File:Talampaya petroglyphs (1).jpg, Talampaya National Park, La Rioja Province, Argentina File:Petroglifo001.jpg, Petroglyph on Tunduqueral hill at Uspallata, Argentina

Aruba

* Arikok National Park * Quadiriki Caves * Ayo and Casabari Rock Formations

Brazil

The oldest reliably dated rock art in the Americas is known as the "Horny Little Man." It is petroglyph depicting a stick figure with an oversized phallus and carved in Lapa do Santo, a cave in central-eastern Brazil and dates from 12,000 to 9,000 years ago. * Serra da Capivara National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Piauí * Vale do Catimbau National Park, Pernambuco * Ingá Stone, Paraíba * Costao do Santinho, Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina * Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Lagoa Santa (Holy Lake), Minas Gerais * Ivolandia, Goiás File:Serra da Capivara - Painting 7.JPG, Capivara National Park, Piauí, Brazil File:Ivolandia Rupestres 11.JPG, Ivolandia, Goiás, Brazil File:Figuras rupestres, Costão do Santinho, Florianópolis 2.JPG, Costao do Santinho, SC, Brazil

Chile

* Rincón las Chilcas, Combarbalá * Easter Island#Petroglyphs, Easter Island petroglyphs File:Settlers at La Silla.jpg, Numerous rocks boasting thousand-year-old carvings. File:The Ascent of Man.jpg, Modern science and the spectre of ancient man coexist in this thought-provoking image of a petroglyph. File:Llamas at La Silla.jpg, Llamas at La Silla File:Motu Nui.jpg, Petroglyphs at Orongo, Rapa Nui (Easter Island). A Makemake (mythology), Makemake at the base and two Tangata Manu, birdmen higher up

Colombia

* El Abra, Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca * Chiribiquete Natural National Park File:Alb.jpg, El Abra archaeological site, Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca File:Chiribiquete petroglyph 1.jpg, Petroglyph in the Chiribiquete Natural National Park. (Possible equine) File:Chiribiquete petroglyph 2.jpg, Petroglyph in the Chiribiquete Natural National Park. Aboriginal File:Chiribiquete petroglyph 3.jpg, Petroglyph in the Chiribiquete Natural National Park. (Possible mammal). File:Chiribiquete AJ11calabazos.JPG, Petroglyphs in the Chiribiquete Natural National Park.

Costa Rica

* Rincon de la Vieja, Guanacaste Province, Guanacaste

Dominican Republic

* Cueva de las Maravillas, San Pedro de Macorís Province, San Pedro de Macorís * Las Caritas, near Lake Enriquillo * Los Tres Ojos, Santo Domingo Province, Santo Domingo

Grenada

* Mt. Rich Petroglyphs

Montserrat

* Soldier Ghaut petroglyphs

Nicaragua

* El Ceibo Museums#Petroglyphs, El Ceibo Petroglyphs, Ometepe, Rivas, Nicaragua, Rivas * Ometepe Island#Petroglyphs, Ometepe Petroglyphs, Ometepe, Rivas, Nicaragua, Rivas

Paraguay

* Amambay Department

Peru

* Cumbe Mayo, Cajamarca region, Cajamarca * Pusharo, Petroglyphs of Pusharo, Manú National Park, Madre de Dios region * Petroglyphs of Quiaca, Puno Region * Petroglyphs of Jinkiori, Cusco Region

Saint Kitts and Nevis

* Carib Petroglyphs, Wingfield Manor Estate, Saint Kitts

Suriname

* Corantijn Basin

Trinidad and Tobago

* c:File:Caurita Petroglyph.jpg, Caurita

Venezuela

* Caicara del Orinoco, Bolívar (state), Bolívar * Morrocoy National Park, Falcón * Piedra Pintada Archeological Park within San Esteban National Park, Guaraca, Carabobo * Sardinata Beach, Amazonas (Venezuelan state), Amazonas * Taima-Taima, Taima Taima, Falcón

North America

Canada

* Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia * Petroglyph Provincial Park, Nanaimo, British Columbia * Petroglyphs Provincial Park, north of Peterborough, Ontario * Agnes Lake, Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario * Sproat Lake Provincial Park, near Port Alberni, British Columbia * Stuart Lake, British Columbia * Saint Victor, Saskatchewan, St. Victor Provincial Park, Saskatchewan * Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, east of Milk River, Alberta * Gabriola Island, British Columbia * East Sooke Regional Park, British Columbia * Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre, Herschel, Saskatchewan, Herschel Saskatchewan * Lake Temagami, Ontario

Mexico

* Boca de Potrerillos, Mina, Nuevo León * Chiquihuitillos, Mina, Nuevo León * Cuenca del Río Victoria, near Xichú, Guanajuato * Coahuiltecan Cueva Ahumada, Nuevo León * La Proveedora, Caborca, Sonora * Samalayuca Dune Fields, Samalayuca, Ciudad Juárez, Juarez, Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua * Las Labradas (Sinaloa), Las Labradas, near Mazatlán, Sinaloa

United States

Petroglyph on the western coast of Hawaii

Petroglyph Point at Mesa Verde National Park by RO

* Arches National Park, Utah * Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico * Barnesville Petroglyph, Ohio * Bloomington Petroglyph Park, Utah * Capitol Reef National Park, Utah * Caguana Ceremonial Ball Courts Site, Caguana Indian Park, Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado, Puerto Rico * Columbia Hills State Park, Washington (state), Washington * Corn Springs, Colorado Desert, California * Coso Rock Art District, Coso Range, northern Mojave Desert, California * Death Valley National Park, California * Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah * Dighton Rock, Massachusetts * Dominguez Canyon Wilderness, Colorado * Fremont Indian State Park Utah * Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park Washington (state), Washington * Grand Traverse Bay#Culture, Grand Traverse Bay Michigan * Great Basin National Park Nevada * Grimes Point, Nevada * Independence Slab, Ohio * Inscription Rock (Kelleys Island, Ohio), Ohio * Jeffers Petroglyphs, Minnesota * Judaculla Rock, North Carolina * Kanopolis State Park, Kansas * La Cueva del Indio (Indians Cave), Arecibo, Puerto Rico * La Piedra Escrita (The Written Rock), Jayuya, Puerto Rico * Lava Beds National Monument, Tule Lake, California * Legend Rock, Legend Rock Petroglyph Site, Thermopolis, Wyoming * Lemonweir Glyphs, Wisconsin * Leo Petroglyph, Leo, Ohio * Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado * Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, Utah * Olympic National Park, Washington (state), Washington * Paintlick Mountain, Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell, Virginia * Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas * Petrified Forest National Park Arizona * Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico * Picacho Mountain, Picacho Arizona * Picture Canyon, Flagstaff, Arizona * Picture Rocks, Picture Rocks, Arizona * Puye Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico * Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada * Rochester Rock Art Panel, Utah * Ring Mountain (California), Ring Mountain, Marin County, California * Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands * Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park, Sanilac County, Michigan * Sedona, Arizona * Seminole Canyon, Texas * Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada * South Mountain Park, Arizona * The Cove Palisades State Park, Oregon * Three Rivers Petroglyphs, New MexicoThree Rivers Petroglyph Site
. Nm.blm.gov (2012-09-13). Retrieved on 2013-02-12. * Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center, Tibes Indian Park, Ponce, Puerto Rico * Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada * Washington State Park, Washington County, Missouri * West Virginia glyphs * White Mountain (Wyoming), Rock Springs, Wyoming * White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Waddell, Arizona * Winnemucca Lake, Nevada * Writing Rock State Historical Site, North Dakota * Monolyth at Caguas & El Yunque, Puerto Rico * Track Rock, Union County Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia * Forsyth Petroglyph Originally discovered, locates and documented near Cumming, Georgia in Forsyth County, Georgia, Forsyth County but has been relocated to the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia File:Petroglyphs on a Bishop Tuff tableland-750px.jpg, Petroglyphs on a Bishop Tuff tableland, eastern California File:Petroglyph 2 tds.jpg, Southern Utah File:Petroglyphs tds.jpg, Southern Utah File:Petroglyphs in Bryce Canyon.jpg, Utah File:Ute Petroglyphs in Arches National Park.jpg, Arches National Park File:Tracks at Barnesville Petroglyph.JPG, Animal print carvings outside of Barnesville, Ohio File:Petroglyph in Arizona 2007-01-20.jpg, Arizona File:Picacho Petroglyph.jpg, Picacho Mountain Petroglyphs File:Petroglyphs in the Columbia River Gorge.jpg, Columbia River Gorge, Washington (state), Washington File:Upside down.jpg, Upside-down man in Western Colorado File:RochesterPanel 01 2008.JPG, Rochester Rock Art Panel in the San Rafael Swell in Utah File:Spiderweb petroglyph on the Waterfall Trail in the White Tank Mountains, Arizonia.jpg, Web-like petroglyph on the White Tank Mountain Regional Park Waterfall Trail, Arizona File:Chipping petroglyph on Waterfall Trail in the White Tank Mountains.jpg, Chipping petroglyph on the White Tank Mountain Regional Park Waterfall Trail, Arizona File:Arizona petroglyph 1117.JPG, Sample of petroglyphs at Painted Rock near Gila Bend, Arizona off Interstate 8. File:Puye 1.jpg, Puye Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico File:ThunderBird Rock Carved Petroglyph at Twin Buffs.jpg, Lemonweir Glyphs, ThunderBird Rock Carved Petroglyph in West Central Wisconsin File:Sanilac Petroglyphs - Archer.jpg, Detail of a carved archer-like figure, Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park, Sanilac County, Michigan File:Sky Rock.jpg, Sky Rock Petroglyphs, Bishop, California. File:Sky Rock paint.jpg, Sky Rock Petroglyphs, Bishop, California.

Oceania

Australia

* Arnhem Land / Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia * Gosford Glyphs in Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast, NSW (widely regarded as archaeological forgery) * Murujuga, Western Australia – world heritage assessed * Sydney Rock Engravings, New South Wales File:Ku-ring-gai Chase - petroglyph.jpg, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales File:Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park 20 metre long petroglyph.JPG, Part of a 20-metre-long petroglyph at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales File:Petroglyph - well endowed.JPG, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales File:Mutawintji National Park Petroglyph.JPG, Mutawintji National Park, New South Wales File:Burrup rock art.JPG, Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia

References

* Harmanşah, Ömür (ed) (2014), ''Of Rocks and Water: An Archaeology of Place'', 2014, Oxbow Books, , 9781782976745 * Jessica Rawson, Rawson, Jessica (ed). ''The British Museum Book of Chinese Art'', 2007 (2nd edn), British Museum Press, * Laurence Sickman, Sickman, Laurence, in: Sickman L. & Soper A., ''The Art and Architecture of China'', Pelican History of Art, 3rd ed 1971, Penguin (now Yale History of Art), LOC 70-125675

External links

Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database
Bancroft Library's citations to rock art literature. {{Authority control Petroglyphs, Rock art