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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. The term generally refers to rock engravings of ancient origin, often associated with prehistory peoples. The oldest petroglyphs in the world are deemed to be those at Murujuga in Western Australia, which are 40,000–50,000 years old. Some petroglyphs are classified as protected monuments and some have been added to the list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, or such status has been applied for.
In scholarly texts, a petroglyph is a rock engraving, whereas a petrograph (or pictograph) is a rock painting. In common usage, the words are sometimes used interchangeably. (2025). 068131723X, Random House. 068131723X
Petroglyphs and petrographs both belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or parietal art. Petroforms, or patterns and shapes made by many large rocks and boulders over the ground, are quite different. Inuksuk are not petroglyphs, but human-made rock forms found in Arctic regions.
The oldest petrogryphs are those in Murujuga, Western Australia, some of which are estimated to be 40,000–50,000 years old. The Murujuga site was declared a World Heritage Site in July 2025.
Around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, following the introduction of a number of precursors of , the existence and creation of petroglyphs began to suffer and tail off, with different forms of art, such as and , 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.
Some petroglyph maps, which depict trails as well as contain 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 "". Ancient Indians made 'rock music'. BBC News (2004-03-19). Retrieved on 2013-02-12.
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 , 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, 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 widely from some initial common area, or indication of a common origin. In 1853, 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."J. Collingwood Bruce (1868; cited in Beckensall, S., Northumberland's Prehistoric Rock Carvings: A Mystery Explained. Pendulum Publications, Rothbury, Northumberland. 1983:19) In his cataloguing of Scottish rock art, Ronald Morris summarized 104 different theories on their interpretation.Morris, Ronald (1979) The Prehistoric Rock Art of Galloway and The Isle of Man, Blandford Press, .
Other theories suggest that petroglyphs were carved by spiritual leaders, such as , in an altered state of consciousness,D. Lewis-Williams, A Cosmos in Stone: Interpreting Religion and Society through Rock Art (Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2002). perhaps induced by the use of natural hallucinogens. Many of the Geometry (known as ) 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.
The Rock Art Research Institute 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 possibly be used as a basis for understanding other types of rock art, including petroglyphs.
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