Sunday, March 2, 2014

Ancient Art: Decoding Rock Art


Pictograph Arizona spiral
 
Courtney Miller
Throughout the southwest, Native Americans have left images pecked or painted on canyon walls, caves and large stones.  Like so many others, I wonder whether these images represent stories or just graffiti.  Were the artists just doodling in their idle time, or were they leaving a message for their friends and posterity?
I am convinced that most of the petroglyphs and pictographs were, in fact, messages and stories.  I say this because although there are many recognizable depictions of animals, people, reptiles, etc., that could be just random doodling by bored children or adults to pass the time,  there are also many abstract symbols that, like our alphabet, have no likeness in nature and therefore must represent a common concept.

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