25 January 2010

Dighton Rock

DightonRock

For thousands of years Native American peoples have carved symbols, signs and images on rock surfaces. The first of the New World petroglyphs to be brought to the attention of European settlers was Dighton Rock, a 40-ton quartz-sandstone boulder found on the east bank of the Taunton River in southeastern Massachusetts.

Dighton Rock was first recorded in 1680 by a clergyman named John Danforth, who made a drawing of the figures and symbols and wrote a brief description of them. Since then, the rock has been studied perhaps more than any other petroglyph in North America. Over 30 theories have been advanced about the origins of the markings, including the idea that the glyphs were created by Native Americans, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Vikings, the Portuguese, and even the Chinese.

Petroglyphs

I'm going with Native Americans as the creators of the markings, and I decided to use some of the Dighton Rock symbols as models for a background under my Eliot Bible facsimile.

And here's the completed text block, ready to print:

EliotCarved

5 comments:

d. moll, l.ac. said...

Love those petros, I think I see some rabbits.

kit said...

me too - and some of the symbols remind me of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Anita Thomhave Simonsen said...

what a big work...you do not make the easiest solution....I´m looking forward to this print...and I love all your writings and research, that you put on the posts....so interesting to follow how you work...sounds like a very good idea.....

Sharri said...

Love the petroglyph idea. You might be interested in my daughter's book "Native American Rock Art: Messages from the past". It's a book for young adults, but it is interesting reading and a resource for adults, too. It's available on Amazon. Wow! That turned into a sales pitch! This should be another outstanding work - can't wait to see how you handle it.

Kaitlyn S. C Hatch said...

Brilliant idea! And super incredible work. I've just recently discovered your blog and I love it.

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