Information AboutPetroglyph |
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| communication | |
| nordic bronze age | |
| prehistoric art | |
| stone age | |
| rock art | |
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:''For the company, Petroglyph Ceramic Lounge, see Contemporary Ceramic Studio . Petroglyphs are Image s incised in Rock , usually by Prehistoric , especially Neolithic , peoples. They were an important form of pre- Writing symbols, used in Communication from approximately 10,000 B.C.E. to modern times, depending on culture and location. The word comes from the Greek words ''petros'' meaning "stone" and ''glyphein'' meaning "to carve" (it was originally coined in French as ''pétroglyphe''). The term 'petroglyph' should not be confused with Pictograph , which is an image drawn or painted on a rock face, both of which contribute to the wider and more general category of Rock Art . HISTORY , India ]] The oldest petroglyphs are dated to approximately the Neolithic and late Upper Paleolithic boundary, about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, other Writing System s such as Pictograph s and Ideogram s began to appear. Petroglyphs were still common though, and some less advanced societies continued using them much longer, even until contact with Western Culture was made in the 20th Century . Petroglyphs have been found in all parts of the globe except Antarctica with highest concentrations in parts of Africa , Scandinavia , Siberia , southwestern North America and Australia . INTERPRETATION These images probably had deep cultural and religious significance for the societies that created them; in many cases this significance remains for their descendants. Many petroglyphs are thought to represent some kind of not-yet-fully understood symbolic or ritual language. Later glyphs from the Nordic Bronze Age in Scandinavia seem to refer to some form of territorial boundary between Tribe s, in addition to possible religious meanings. It also appears that local or regional dialects from similar or neighboring peoples exist. The Siberian Inscriptions almost look like some early form of Runes , although there is not thought to be any relationship between them. They are not yet well understood. Some researchers have noticed the resemblance of different styles of petroglyphs across different continents; while it is expected that all people would be inspired by their surroundings, it is harder to explain the common styles. This could be mere coincidence, or an indication that certain groups of people Migrated widely from some initial common area. Other, more controversial, explanations are mostly grounded in Jungian Psychology and the views of Mircea Eliade . According to these theories it is possible that the similarity of petroglyphs (and other Atavistic or Archetypal Symbol s) from different cultures and continents is a result of the Genetically inherited structure of the human brain. Other theories suggest that petroglyphs were made by Shaman s in an Altered State Of Consciousness , perhaps induced by the use of natural Hallucinogen s. Many of the Geometric Pattern s (known as Form Constant s) which recur in petroglyphs and Cave Paintings have been shown to be "hard-wired" into the human brain; they frequently occur in visual disturbances and hallucinations brought on by drugs, Migraine and other stimuli. Present-day links between shamanism and rock-art amongst the San people of the Kalahari desert have been studied by the Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) of the University Of The Witwatersrand {Link without Title} . 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 San 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. The West Virginia controversy The as having been visited by Irish , Iberian , Libyan , and Egyptian explorers "some 2,000 to 2,500 years ago". In fact, Fell's methods involved an almost arbitrary grouping of markings, an interpretation of them as the only Consonant s of Ogam, and the addition of Vowel s and horizontal Stem Lines where he saw fit. This allowed him to decide which of three consonants each Glyph should represent. Fell's work was subsequently debunked by Linguist s and Archaeologists from several countries {Link without Title} , to which Fell responded by accusing them of being "too damn lazy" to read his writings, and of being "ignorant". Even those who agreed with Fell's interpretation of the marks as being Ogam disagree with his translation. Edo Nyland believed the "inscription" at Horse Creek to be in Basque and translated it very differently, as a description of a Bison hunt! For instance, the section which Fell translates as ''"A happy season is Christmas, a time of joy and goodwill to all people."'' is given by Nyland (1996) as ''"Club blows in abundant measure (were needed) because many which had fallen into the ravine resisted with obviously broken legs. Brothers, come and help the slaughterer to finish them off."'' {Link without Title} Any interpretation which leads to such radically different interpretations should be treated with caution. Unfortunately, Fell's dubious Ogam theory has influenced many subsequent interpretations of carvings and paintings all over America. LIST OF PETROGLYPH SITES Africa
Asia-Pacific Island, Hong Kong . This 3000-year-old rock carving was reported by Geologist s in 1970 . It consists of two groups of similarly carved lines surrounding small depressions]]
South America North America
Europe .]]
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