Did you know that rocks could talk? They sure can! They convey all kinds of information both geological and personal. Take a look at the pictures below to view two types of ancient rock language - petroglyphs and pictographs. These images are about 10,000 years old! They have survived the weather and time to give us clues to what the ancient people who made them might have been trying to say.
The first 6 images are reproductions and not the real thing. Petroglyphs were produced by etching. The ancient people who made them used rock tools made out of a harder rock than the sandstone upon which they were etching. The black substance that is on the rock walls upon which they etched is a type of lacquer that leaches from the sandstone during the natural weathering process over time. Pictographs were made from a paint that ancients produced from hematite. The iron in hematite is what makes the color red. I think it's amazing that so called 'primitive' people could produce a paint that has lasted for 10,000 years!
The first 6 images are reproductions and not the real thing. Petroglyphs were produced by etching. The ancient people who made them used rock tools made out of a harder rock than the sandstone upon which they were etching. The black substance that is on the rock walls upon which they etched is a type of lacquer that leaches from the sandstone during the natural weathering process over time. Pictographs were made from a paint that ancients produced from hematite. The iron in hematite is what makes the color red. I think it's amazing that so called 'primitive' people could produce a paint that has lasted for 10,000 years!
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