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Pictograph Photo Gallery
A pictograph is a drawing or painting that is created on a rock.
It is not "carved" into the rock - that would be a "petroglyph."
Lascaux Cave Pictograph: Photo of a pictograph from the famous Lascaux cave complex in southwestern France. In addition to the many realistic depictions of animals in the caves, some scholars believe that markings (dots, arrows and lines) that accompany the paintings are an early form of "written" communication. This photograph by Prof saxx is displayed here under a Creative Commons License.
| Pictographs: Cave of the Hands, Argentina |
Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for Cave of the Hands) is a series of caves in Argentina where ancient people painted on the walls starting over 9,000 years ago. The wall above is one of many that is covered with hand silhouettes. These silhouettes are thought to be made by the artist placing a hand on the wall and then blowing liquid pigment through a hollow bone to spray-paint the wall. The paintings in the caves are so significant that Cueva de las Manos, Patagonia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Image copyright iStockphoto / edurivero.
| Pictographs: Cave of the Hands, Argentina |
Not all of the paintings at "Cave of the Hands" are hands in silhouette. Some are geometric designs, herds of animals, bow hunters, and weapons. Pigments used include: iron oxides (reds), kaolin (white), natrojarosite (yellow), and manganese oxides (black). Image copyright iStockphoto / edurivero.
| Pictographs: South Africa |
Bow hunter pictographs on the wall of a cave in the Cederberg region of South Africa. These images are thought to have been painted about 1500 years ago. Image copyright iStockphoto / skilpad.
| Pictographs: Brazil |
Pictographs painted on a Monte Alegre cave in the Para State of Brazil. Image copyright iStockphoto / Brasil2.
| Pictographs: South Africa |
Pictographs on a rock wall near Drakensberg, South Africa. Image copyright iStockphoto / Henk Badenhorst.
Petroglyph Photo Gallery
| Pictographs: Australia |
Aboriginal pictographs of the Gagudju people of northern Australia. The art is believed to be at least 5,000 years old. Image copyright iStockphoto / Matthew Scherf.
| Pictographs: Namibia |
Pictographs of Bushmen of the Namibian Desert of Africa. Image copyright iStockphoto / Jan Derksen.
| Pictographs: Utah |
Pictographs representing people from the Fremont Culture. Image copyright iStockphoto / Andrea Gingerich.
| Pictographs: Canyon de Chelly, Arizona |
Native American pictographs and petroglyphs at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona. Image copyright iStockphoto / Karen Parker.
| Pictographs: British Columbia, Canada |
Pictograph painted on a bluff near Vaseux Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Image copyright iStockphoto / Laure Neish.
| Pictographs: Nevada |
Pictographs made by Native Americans at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, USA. Image copyright iStockphoto / Robert Maxwell.
| Pictographs: Aruba |
Ancient pictographs photographed in a cave on the island of Aruba. Image copyright iStockphoto / zinchik.
| Pictographs: Sri Lanka |
One of many ancient paintings known as the Sigiriya Damsel frescoes, inside the cave temple at Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka. Sigiriya Rock is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is thought to date from the 5th century. Image copyright by iStockphoto / Cinoby.
| Pictographs: Mexico |
Pictographs photographed in Mexico. Image copyright iStockphoto / Juan Rodriguez.
| Pictographs: Ontario, Canada |
"Two Figures" from the Agawa Rock pictographs, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Image copyright iStockphoto / David Lewis.
| Pictographs: Indonesia |
Rare example of a prehistoric pictograph featuring a fish, discovered in a cave on Misool Island, in the Raja Ampat archipelago of West Papua, Indonesia. The artist(s) likely held the fish against the rock, then used a blowpipe to apply numerous bursts of pigmented water to outline the silhouette of a fish. This cave has numerous fish pictographs; some are silhouettes, others are line art. Image copyright iStockphoto / LoweStock.
| Pictographs: Utah |
Native American pictographs of hands, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, United States. Image copyright iStockphoto / Andrea Gingerich.
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