A Portable Petroglyph

[Charl]

The only thing I know by way of origin for this incised large pebble/small cobble is that it was found in Norwood, Ma. I don't know the context, the site, anything beyond the town, who I obtained it from, and when I obtained it. Early 90's. So, what follows can only be speculation, all on my part.


I became reinvested in what this represented recently, when it occurred to me that many incised pebbles display this crosshatch pattern, series of lines intersecting other series of lines. Sometimes in roughly right angles, a prehistoric tic-tac-toe board, suggested in jest, I assume, lol.


And I see that such incised pebbles are found at early sites. For instance, the Clovis and pre-Clovis site known as Gault, in Texas. That site has been in the news lately, what with earlier dates still, and it's been talked about here on TNet. Here are two pages from the Lithic Casting Lab, giving a good visual of some of these inscribed stones from Paleo times:


Gault Site Engraved Stones Page 1



And, I've been reading lately about Early and Middle Archaic engraved pebbles found in the Virginia and North Carolina Piedmont. 46 engraved pebbles surface found at the Hardaway site in NC, and 5 more recovered in context. At another site in NC, the engraved stones included "simple crisscrossed lines". In that case, the designs appeared on slate.


https://books.google.com/books?id=W...uals in Archaic Eastern north america&f=false




So, for those reasons, I wondered more about this Mass. quartzite cobble, and am willing to wonder if it might be a fairly early portable petroglyph. I've always appreciated artifacts like this, because they express activity other then utilitarian, other then tools, and instead reflect some function related to ideas. If it somehow reflects the inner life of the ancient one, I am just attracted to that. Not that a tool doesn't represent and reflect inner thought, but in petroglyphs I just believe I'm closer to their cosmology somehow. Hard to describe, but, speculation aside, this is a cool portable petroglyph with a design common in rock art, and the world over. And it really could be any age, just a very simple pattern afterall.

 

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[villagenut]

I like it, and can relate to your feelings about it. Very cool piece.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Your right, i have seen that design at the sites i visit. There is that design inside a circle also. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Nice rock. I hope it turns out to be something more than kids scratching rocks on summer vacation.

 

[Charl]

Nice rock. I hope it turns out to be something more than kids scratching rocks on summer vacation.

Well, no worries there. The cobble itself has as deep a patina as I've seen on quartzite, and the incised lines match that patina. It's one reason I'm willing to speculate it might be very early. My colleague Ed Lenik, an authority on Northeatern rock art, included it in one of his publications on portable rock art. As well, it's a known design element in Native American rock art. In fact, ladder and cross hatch designs are among the most prevelant such elements in native petroglyphs in general. The real mystery is why have so many have been found on smaller, portable stones, as opposed to the more common occurance of large rock petroglyph panels. Like the incised rocks from Gault, which are portable. What was the purpose of such rocks? We'll likely never know.

A few shorter lines present on the other face....

 

[unclemac]

I posted this before, it is from northern NV from a Paiute camp specifically. The Archaeologists at UNR couldn't really identify it.

 

[Reanm8er]

When you think about it, it's very unusual because right angles don't occur in nature, so this expresses human technology. In consideration of that it may have been something designed to attract attention, just like the undisguised human form draws attention in the forest. Some of these stones may have been some kind of an abrasive tool for working some delicate material or perhaps washing primitive clothing.

 

[southfork]

This is a lot smaller but it was portable hanging around ones neck . Made from mariposa slate .

 

[Fred250]

Tic tac toe is older than I thought

 

[Fred250]

When you use one of the ancient art viewers the lines really pop

 

[Fred250]

 

[Charl]

I appreciate the examples unclemac and southfork have added to this thread. Both are really nice, and I agree with Dennis that pendants with designs are a form of portable rock art. The Maine Pendant thread I posted would be another such example, though not with geometric designs.

One of my colleagues in rock art research, ex NJ state archaeologist, Ed Lenik, was willing to be somewhat more speculative in his interpretation of this rock, and I've reproduced his thoughts here, from his most recent work. I don't think it's a net weight, as Ed suggests, because I don't think what he interprets as battering on the sides, is really sufficient to serve the purpose of a notched weight. But, it could be waterworn battering. As I stated earlier, I only know its town of origin. And I certainly respect Ed's opinion, even if I'm in disagreement.


Sorry for the sloppy photography. Normally I would crop a photo to make it neater, but TNet does not accept my cropped photos, and at least the print can be read.