Rarely are petroglyphs found in upland settings. The images can be found in clusters of a few to groups of hundreds. The majority of these are found in prominent locations, near water, especially larger rivers. There are less than 40 Native American petroglyph sites recorded in the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey files (PASS). They are also unique in that many can be visited in the same place, in the same context, as when their makers created them. Therefore, these images give us our only direct window into the minds of prehistoric humans. However, these types of artifacts practically never survive in the archaeological contexts of Eastern North America. Many were likely portrayed in wood, basketry and clothing. The images and designs found at petroglyph sites were probably common in prehistoric societies. Originally, some may have been decorated and painted, but except for one or two instances, (36CB28, Chickaree Hill Petroglyphs 36E元, Laurel Run Pictographs) there is no evidence remaining on those that can be seen today. They are best viewed when the sun is at a low angle to the rock, usually early or late in the day. Because of this the petroglyphs can be very difficult to see. Pennsylvania's petroglyphs are usually carved less than three eights of an inch deep, and grooves making up designs are less than an inch wide. In soft sandstone they could be simply scratched into the surface (incised). Most petroglyphs were formed using harder stones (direct percussion) or hammer-stones and stone chisels (indirect percussion). They are found throughout the world and can date as far back as tens of thousands of years ago.Īlthough people often think of rock art as something found in the American Southwest, some of Pennsylvania's Native American Peoples also left a legacy of these images carved in stone. Forms include lines, dots, numbers, letters, human, animal, supernatural beings or astronomical images. Petroglyphs ("rock carvings" - From petro, meaning "rock" and glyph, meaning "symbol") -a form of rock art that consist of designs carved into the surface of natural rock.
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