What is a petroglyph? Well, it is not something that was invented. Moreover, it was a form of communication that we humans have had for hundreds of thousands of years. They were of their times mosaic paintings, road signs, and photography. They are images carved into stone. They date back to 20,000 years ago and may possibly go back even further to 40,000 years ago. No singular person could have invented the petroglyph. Not like you can ask someone who was the first one to make a petroglyph. Humans were spreading out across the globe so it is more likely that the act of making petroglyphs was a convergent event. From there the practice was passed down to the next generation. It was passed down for generations until the advent of written language. The circumstances for this to arise had to be because there was no written language for the people to use. There may have been an oral language. Each petroglyph was placed with purpose. They are not just some rock art. They had a significant cultural impact to the person and people that put them down onto the rock. Taking note of surrounding images to provide the context needed for them. They were also used as signage and markers for clan boundaries or where the best hunting grounds were at. This is probably in an effort to keep clans from fighting over resources. It was a way of communicating for early humans without written language.
The impact of petroglyphs is that it was one our earliest forms of communication. Without it, it would have been a lot harder for us to communicate certain things to individuals. Art and pictures are some of the best ways we as a species learn and process information. It solved the issue of no communication among people at the time. It also provided people with a creative outlet and became a cultural symbol for the people that carved them. They changed how we communicate. With petroglyphs there’s a case that the animals turned into symbols like hieroglyphs. Perhaps it was the natural progression of language to start with the petroglyph. There are some inherent negative effects to petroglyphs. It is not a perfect form of communication. Unless you were the one who made it or were present when it was being carved into the stone, you may be lost as to what the meaning is. It is one of the bigger problems when trying to understand them in the modern day. The only one we could possibly ask is dead so we have to rely on their ancestors for not so clear answers. Because it was not that clear a form of communication, there probably were a few fights that broke out because of not understanding what they meant.
With all that said, petroglyphs were an interesting topic to cover. To think human communication goes back so far and can still be complicated is something that usually goes over some peoples heads.
No comments:
Post a Comment