Why Were Petroglyphs Made?

Why were petroglyphs made? Although the images vary in age and style from one part of the West to the next, they may have served as much more than pictures etched into stone. Experts believe many were created as sacred symbols, visual prayers, records of dreams and visions, and ways of communicating thoughts and messages. Yet the exact reasons they were created remain open to debate.

It was a sunny afternoon in November when I first took in the astounding beauty of Renegade Canyon. Located within the highly guarded China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in the California Desert, the canyon features thousands of petroglyphs etched on its sheer rock walls. I was privileged to be part of a group that was allowed to tour the canyon that day, an event that only happens a few times per year.

Renegade Canyon is home to the largest concentration of ancient petroglyphs in North America. Similar images etched in stone can also be found throughout the deserts of the West. They range in age from 200 to 16,000 years old and are as mysterious as they are beautiful.

Key Takeaways

• Petroglyphs may have served as sacred symbols, visual prayers, memorials and ways to communicate thoughts, feelings and messages.
• Many experts believe shamans created some petroglyphs to record dreams, visions and messages received during spiritual experiences.
• Ancient people created petroglyphs by pecking away the dark coating known as desert varnish to expose the lighter rock underneath.
• Common petroglyph images include bighorn sheep, thunderbirds, crosses, geometric shapes and hunting tools such as the atlatl.
• The exact meaning of many petroglyphs remains unknown because the cultures and beliefs of the people who created them are difficult to interpret today.

Why Were Petroglyphs Made?

Experts have long tried to interpret the meaning of the drawings left behind. Images of animals, humans and abstract shapes can be found in rocky deserts in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada.

“Rock art all over the world is, in great part, the result of indigenous people who did not possess a written language,” says Dr. Alan Garfinkel, founder and president of the California Rock Art Foundation.

“The images on stone are best likened to a codex or a set of symbols that communicate thoughts, feelings, messages and sacred narratives. They also serve as visual prayers, memory palaces and perpetual memorials for individuals and groups living within the vicinity of the rock art sites.”

Dr. Garfinkel adds that although petroglyphs are commonly referred to as rock art, Native people do not like the images on stone referred to as art.

“They do not feel this is ‘art’ as non-Indians define it,” he says. “The images are meant to be religious symbols full of power and sacredness.”

Were Petroglyphs Created by Shamans?

The widely accepted theory is that shamans created these images thousands of years ago as part of a spiritual ritual.

“Shamans are religious functionaries that were responsible for connecting or being the liaison from the terrestrial to the celestial worlds, from the mundane to the supernatural, from the conventional to the supernatural,” says Dr. Garfinkel. “They brought down the rain, they communicated with the deities and the shamanistic ancestor deities of the spirit world. They were—and are—the healers, the Native doctors.”

Compelling evidence exists that shamans were the principal “artists” who drew the images on stone, according to Dr. Garfinkel.

“These images were in part meant to memorialize their dreams, visions and the messages they received from the spirit world when in trance.”

While we can surmise the images have a sacred significance, their exact meaning remains elusive. When looking at the various images etched into stone, it’s easy to see the connection to dreams and visions. Some petroglyphs represent common elements of reality such as bighorn sheep, snakes and the sun. Others appear to be abstract. Part-animal, part-human figures can be seen, along with random geometric shapes and patterns. While otherworldly creatures can be the stuff of sleeping dreams, visions of geometric shapes and patterns have been reported by modern humans who have entered trancelike states.

“It is difficult to get into the mind of the original artist that produced the images we see incised in stone, and this situation exists for a number of reasons,” says Dr. Garfinkel. “The cognition and cultural values of an artisan centuries and millennia ago is certainly very different from anything we might imagine for ourselves as members of a 21st-century western industrial society.”

How Were Petroglyphs Made?

Petroglyphs by definition are images etched into stone, rather than painted. The geological elements present in Western deserts created a virtual canvas for ancient artists.

Petroglyphs are found on a variety of different types of sedimentary stone, including basalt, limestone and granite. What each of these rock surfaces shares when petroglyphs are present is a coating of “desert varnish.” A red-to-black veneer found on exposed rock surfaces in arid environments, it is composed of clay minerals, oxides and hydroxides of manganese or iron. Desert varnish takes thousands of years to form, so it is only seen on rocks that do not easily erode.

Ancient artists created their images by pecking away at the desert varnish, exposing the lighter rock underneath. Until recently, scientists weren’t sure what type of rock was being used to chip away at the desert varnish. But recent research has shown that all petroglyph surfaces containing remnants of the stone used to remove the desert varnish were created using quartz. Because quartz is believed to have powerful energy by indigenous people of the region, it makes sense it would have been used as the hammerstone to create spiritual imagery.

Determining the age of a petroglyph means using qualitative and technical methods of dating. The qualitative method uses the content of the drawings to rule out older periods, while the technical method employs radiocarbon measurements, X-ray fluorescence, cation-ratio dating of the varnish and other scientific techniques. Using these techniques, some petroglyphs have been estimated to be as old as the Ice Age. Images showing more recent phenomena, like a rider on horseback, date back to the 16th century. This is when Spaniards first appeared in the Southwestern U.S.

Common Petroglyph Symbols and Their Meanings

Although petroglyphs show much variety around the West, some images are more common than others and even easier to interpret. By looking at what modern indigenous people of the region have retained of their ancient culture, ethnologists can make sense of the images seen in the petroglyphs.

One such image is the encircled or boxed cross, which is found in petroglyphs throughout the Americas.

“It has celestial meaning in representing the morning and evening star. The star is the planet we know as Venus [which appears either at sunrise or sunset, depending on the time of year], yet aboriginal people knew it as two different stars. These stars were the personifications of celestial, supernatural beings. The cross and its four staffs are meant to also represent the four cardinal directions, and the four basic elements of the universe: earth, wind, fire and water.”

Bighorn Sheep Petroglyphs

The bighorn sheep is another widely seen image in petroglyphs. It is one of the most common symbols found throughout the desert west.

“On a common level, we know these creatures,” says Dr. Garfinkel. “They are majestic and remarkable animals. To the Native people, the sheep were at one level food. They would hunt these creatures for their meat. They were, in fact, a tasty treat. And one that was revered for its valuable meat and for its skin.”

The bighorn sheep was also perceived as a symbol of rain, good health, and sacred and religious prestige. According to Garfinkel, the bighorn was the shamanistic boss of the large game animals.

“The horns of this sheep are impressive, and native people perceived these animals as extremely powerful and able to perform almost magical or supernatural moves as they climbed up near-vertical shelves of stone,” he says. “They lived in the uppermost strata at the tops of mountains, which made them even more sacred, holy and religiously powerful.”

Thunderbird Petroglyphs

The thunderbird is another common figure seen in petroglyphs. It is known throughout California, the Great Basin, the Plains and Eastern North America.

“The thunderbird is perceived as an image, and meant to remind us of an offering for rain and water for life,” says Dr. Garfinkel. “Also for the hope of power and strength akin to the eagle, with even greater magic to produce lightning and thunder. Since the thunderbird is an avian creature of the sky, it is considered one of the most powerful and sacred of the religious beings.”

Another frequently seen image in petroglyphs is the atlatl, an ancient hunting weapon used by humans well before our species found its way to the Americas. Represented as a circle with a spear, the atlatl was used to hunt large game, such as the bighorn sheep. It was eventually replaced with the bow and arrow, which is also depicted in later etchings.

Preserving Petroglyphs

Over the past hundred years, petroglyphs throughout the West have been destroyed through vandalism. This has motivated those who treasure these ancient images to strive to protect them.

The petroglyphs of Renegade Canyon are preserved because of their location on the China Lake Naval Base. They can only be viewed on rare guided tours. But in parks and monuments around the West, petroglyphs are both protected and available for viewing by the public.

Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada is home to a spectacular array of petroglyphs. These can be seen by car or on foot. Dinosaur National Monument, Arches National Park, Newspaper Rock State Historic Park and Nine Mile Canyon have petroglyphs open for viewing. In Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park is home to a large tableau of etched images. And Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico, within the city limits of Albuquerque, is open for hiking while viewing the rocks.

FAQs About Petroglyphs

Why were petroglyphs made?

Petroglyphs appear to have been created for a variety of reasons, including religious and spiritual purposes, communication, memorializing individuals or groups, and recording dreams and visions. The exact meaning of many individual images remains unknown.

What is the difference between a petroglyph and a pictograph?

A petroglyph is an image etched or pecked into a rock surface, while a pictograph is an image painted onto rock. Petroglyphs in the deserts of the West were often created by removing the dark coating of desert varnish to expose lighter rock beneath.

Who made petroglyphs?

The people who created petroglyphs were Indigenous peoples who lived in the regions where the images are found. Some experts believe shamans were responsible for creating at least some of the images as part of spiritual practices.

What do petroglyphs mean?

Petroglyphs can depict animals, people, celestial symbols, hunting tools, geometric shapes and other figures. Some images have meanings that can be interpreted through knowledge retained by modern Indigenous cultures. The meaning of many others remains uncertain.

How old are petroglyphs?

Petroglyphs in the American West vary greatly in age. Some have been estimated to be thousands of years old. Some date as far back as the Ice Age. Images depicting more recent subjects can date to the 16th century and later.

The Meaning of Petroglyphs Endures

Why were petroglyphs made? We may never know the exact meaning behind every image etched into the stone. Some appear to have been created as sacred symbols. Others may have recorded dreams, visions, hunting practices, important events or messages for those who came after. What we do know is that these images offer a rare glimpse into the lives, beliefs and traditions of the Indigenous people who created them.

These are only a few places where petroglyphs can be easily seen and appreciated. Because this ancient imagery is common throughout the West, you may even stumble upon some images on a hike in the desert. If you do, be sure to pause and honor the people who created them—and remember that these remarkable images are more than pictures on stone. They are a connection to people and cultures that came long before us.

This story about why were petroglyphs made previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Audrey Pavia.