What do petroglyphs tell us?

Petroglyphs are powerful cultural symbols that reflect the complex societies and religions of the surrounding tribes. Others represent tribal, clan, kiva or society markers. Some are religious entities and others show who came to the area and where they went.

What do spiral petroglyphs mean?

Spiral Petroglyphs And yet the symbolic meaning of the spiral in prehistoric art is speculative. Some argue it may have represented the sun, or the portal to a spirit world. Perhaps it represented life itself, or life beyond life perhaps eternity. This is a sacred symbol of the Celtic goddess Epona.

What do the petroglyphs mean?

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 word comes from the Greek prefix petro-, from πέτρα petra meaning “stone”, and γλύφω glýphō meaning “carve”, and was originally coined in French as pétroglyphe.

What do the Native American symbols mean?

Native American symbols are geometric portrayals of celestial bodies, natural phenomena and animal designs. The arrow was very important to the Native Indians. When an arrow pointed to the left it meant warding off evil, pointing to the right meant protection and an arrow pointing down meant peace.

Where did the Paiute people make petroglyphs?

Paviotso Paiute making petroglyphs. 1924 by Edward S. Curtis. The term Paiute involved a great deal of confusion in the 1800s. In common usage, it was applied at one time or another to most of the Shoshonean tribes of west Utah, northern Arizona, southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, Nevada, and eastern and southern California.

Who are the authors of Native American petroglyphs?

The life-long researchinto Native American petroglyphs by LaVan Martineau, an orphanadopted into the Paiute tribe of southeastern Nevada and southwesternUtah, has resulted in detailed interpretations of the rockwritings.

What did the Shoshonean tribe mean by the name Paiute?

In common usage, it was applied at one time or another to most of the Shoshonean tribes of west Utah, northern Arizona, southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, Nevada, and eastern and southern California. The generally accepted idea is that the Paiute means either “water Ute” or “true Ute.”

How many petroglyphs are on the escarpment?

At the monument, archaeologists have estimated there may be over 25,000 petroglyph images along the 17 miles of escarpment. A small percentage of the petroglyphs found within the park pre-date the Puebloan time period, perhaps reaching as far back as 2000 B.C.