Petroglyph Symbols: Why Rock Art Has No Universal Dictionary

Petroglyphs are images carved, pecked or scratched into rock; pictographs are images painted onto it. Together they are known as rock art, and they are found on every inhabited continent. Many websites offer charts that "translate" petroglyph symbols. Rock art does not work that way.

Not a written language

The US National Park Service, which cares for many rock art sites, stresses that rock art is not a writing system with a dictionary. The same image, a spiral or a hand, could mean different things to different peoples in different periods. Most rock art was made long ago by people whose own explanations were never recorded, so its meaning can only be approached through careful study of its setting, its age and the knowledge of descendant communities.

Sacred to living peoples

Many rock art sites remain sacred to the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors made them. In North America, tribal nations are important partners in protecting and interpreting these places, and some meanings are knowledge that belongs to the community rather than to the public.

Where "symbol charts" come from

Popular charts assigning fixed meanings to petroglyph shapes, such as "spiral means journey", are modern inventions, usually compiled for decoration or commerce. They may be attractive, but they are not evidence of what the images meant to their makers.

Seeing rock art respectfully

Visitors can help protect rock art by never touching, chalking or rubbing the images, and by treating the sites as the heritage of living peoples.

Rock art in jewellery

A rock-art-inspired design celebrates one of humanity's oldest forms of expression. It is best described honestly: as inspired by rock art, rather than as a translation of an ancient message. AURYN's designs can be found in the charms collection. For Indigenous traditions of the Americas elsewhere in the Journal, see the Taíno Sun and Moon, the Mapuche hawk and the Nunavut flag.