There were many reasons for creating the Petroglyphs, most of which are not well understood by modern society. Consequently, many of these practices went underground, and much of the image-making by the Puebloans decreased. As a result of their return, there was a renewed influence of the Catholic religion, which discouraged participation by the Puebloans in many of their traditional ceremonial practices. In 1692 the Spanish resettled in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. In 1680 the Pueblo tribes rose in the revolt against Spanish rule and drove the settlers out of the area and back to El Paso, Texas. The arrival of Spanish people to the Southwest in 1540 dramatically impacted the lifestyle of the pueblo people. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and the descendants of the early Spanish settlers. Symbols were also used to decorate homes, were painted on buffalo hides, and recorded important events of the tribe. With the multiple languages spoken by Native American tribes, symbols or “picture writing” was often used to convey words and ideas. Varying from tribe to tribe, it can sometimes be challenging to know their meanings, while other symbols are obvious. Native American symbols were like words and often had one or more definitions and contained different connotations. This carving could produce a visible indentation in the rock or cut deeply enough to reveal unweathered material of a different color below.

Curtis, 1924.Īnother similar form of communication, called petroglyphs, was carved, pecked, or abraded into stone surfaces. Paviotso Paiute making petroglyphs by Edward S. Historic pictographs are usually found under protective ledges or in caves protected from the weather. These natural pigments were mixed to produce a palette of yellow, white, red, green, black, and blue. These natural pigments included iron oxides in hematite or limonite, white or yellow clays, soft rock, charcoal, and copper minerals. These symbols, called pictographs, are created by painting on rock surfaces with natural pigments. Historic pictorial symbols for a word or a phrase have been found dating before 3000 BC. This type of communication is not unique to Native Americans, as long before writing was developed, people recorded events, ideas, plans, maps, and feelings worldwide by drawing pictures and symbols on rocks, hides, and other surfaces. Instead, they told stories (oral histories) and created pictures and symbols.

When European explorers arrived in America, Native Americans did not communicate through writing as we know it. Native American Symbols Postcard at Legends’ General Store.įrom The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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