A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock 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.

Mar 18, 2025 · Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago.

Mar 20, 2021 · When the desert varnish (or patina) on the surface of the rock was chipped off, the lighter rock underneath was exposed, creating the petroglyph. Archaeologists have estimated there may be over 25,000 petroglyph images along the 17 miles of escarpment within the monument boundary.

What is a Petroglyph? In paleolithic art, the word "petroglyph" (from the French word "pétroglyphe", itself derived from the Greek words "petra" meaning stone, and "glyphein" meaning to carve) refers to any image chiselled into a natural rock surface.

Jul 29, 2013 · A petroglyph is an image that is carved into a rock. This "carving" can produce a visible indentation in the rock, or it can simply be the scratching away of a weathered surface to reveal unweathered material of a different color below.

Nov 19, 2024 · The Rochester Creek rock art panel is a complex petroglyph site on a large rock promontory overlooking Muddy Creek. The main panel features a large “rainbow” pattern that is seen often in the San Rafael Swell.

Feb 13, 2025 · Petroglyph at Chaco Culture NHP showing abrasion, drilling, and carving. U.S. National Park Service Petroglyphs are carved into rock faces by striking a stone into the surface to peck out markings.

Mar 28, 2019 · What Is A Petroglyph? Petroglyphs in Nine Mile Canyon in Utah. Petroglyphs are images carved on the surface of a rock. The techniques used to create these images include pecking, incising, abrading, sculpting, polishing, drilling, and scratching.

Petroglyph National Monument stretches 17 miles (27 km) along Albuquerque, New Mexico's West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment that dominates the city’s western horizon. The 7,236 acre (29.28 km²) monument is cooperatively managed by the National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque.

Mar 11, 2025 · Communicating Without Words. Indigenous peoples across America left behind symbols painted on or carved in rock. Petroglyphs, images carved into rock, and pictographs, images painted onto rock surfaces, take both abstract forms, such as spirals and lines, and recognizable animal or human shapes.The symbols are both art and a means of communication.