The archaeology of the Americas is the study of the archaeology of the Western Hemisphere, including North America (Mesoamerica), Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This includes the study of pre-historic/Pre-Columbian and historic indigenous American peoples, as well as historical archaeology of more recent eras, including the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and European colonization.
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to a considerable extent pictorial in appearance. A pictogram may also be used in subjects such as leisure, tourism, and geography.
In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of record-keeping, or makes significant contact with another culture that has, and that makes some record of major historical events. At this point ancient art begins, for the older literate cultures. The end-date for what is covered by the term thus varies greatly between different parts of the world.
Archaeological forgery is the manufacture of supposedly ancient items that are sold to the antiquities market and may even end up in the collections of museums. It is related to art forgery.
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France, Portugal, and Spain – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy, Azerbaijan and Greece, as well as in Scandinavia and in Switzerland.
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also may be called cave art or parietal art. A global phenomenon, rock art is found in many culturally diverse regions of the world. It has been produced in many contexts throughout human history. In terms of technique, the four main groups are:
The Angono - Binangonan Petroglyphs are petroglyphs carved into a rock wall in Binangonan, Rizal, Philippines. It consists of 127 human and animal figures engraved on the rockwall probably carved during the late Neolithic, or before 2000 BC. They are the oldest known work of art in the Philippines. These inscriptions clearly show stylized human figures, frogs and lizards, along with other designs that may have depicted other interesting figures but erosion may have caused it to become indistinguishable. The engravings are mostly symbolic representations and are associated with healing and sympathetic magic. The site is sacred for indigenous Tagalog folk religion and is believed to be a home for anitos.
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Michigan. The park, also known as ezhibiigadek asin consists of 240 acres (97 ha) in Greenleaf Township, Sanilac County, in Michigan's Thumb. It contains the largest collection of Native American petroglyphs in Michigan. The carvings were created in the pre-Columbian era and represents aspects of Native American spirituality. There is also an interpretive hiking trail within the park along the nearby Cass River.
Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve is located west of the settlement of Gobustan, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of the centre of Baku. It was established in 1966, when the area was declared a national historical landmark of Azerbaijan in an attempt to preserve the prehistoric rock carvings, mud volcanoes and musical stones in the region.
The Pomier Caves are a series of 55 caves located north of San Cristobal in the south of the Dominican Republic. They contain the largest collection of rock art in the Caribbean created since 2,000 years ago primarily by the Taíno people but also the Carib people and the Igneri, the pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and some of the Lesser Antilles. These caves have been damaged by the uncontrolled mining of limestone nearby.
Caille Island is a 300-acre private island situated 3 miles off the northern end of the Caribbean island of Grenada. It’s adjacent to Ronde Island and lies between Grenada and Carriacou (Grenadines). Caille’s name is believed to have derived from the French word “caillou” meaning “pebble” in English, which is indicative of the stones naturally adorning the landscape. Along with sandy beaches and bays along the coastline, an abundance of green vegetation, coconut palms, and a variety of fruit trees can be found.
Coso Rock Art District is a rock art site containing over 100,000 Petroglyphs by Paleo-Indians and/or Native Americans. The district is located near the towns of China Lake and Ridgecrest, California. Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. In 2001, they were incorporated into this larger National Historic Landmark District. There are several other distinct canyons in the Coso Rock Art District besides the Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons. Also known as Little Petroglyph Canyon and Sand Tanks, Renegade Canyon is but one of several major canyons in the Coso Range, each hosting thousands of petroglyphs. The majority of the Coso Range images fall into one of six categories: bighorn sheep, entopic images, anthropomorphic or human-like figures, other animals, weapons & tools, and "medicine bag" images.
The Petroglyphs of Pusharo constitute a unique and extensive ancient rock art archaeological site in southeastern Peru's Manú National Park, an expanse of rain forest that still contains unexplored and little known areas, and for which an official government permit is required for entry.
Nicholas J. Saunders is a British academic archaeologist and anthropologist. He was educated at the universities of Sheffield, Cambridge, and Southampton. He has held teaching and research positions at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the University of the West Indies, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C., and at University College London, where he was Reader in Material Culture, and undertook a major British Academy sponsored investigation into the material culture anthropology of the First World War (1998–2004). As of 2014 Saunders was Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol, where he was responsible for the MA programmes in historical archaeology and conflict archaeology. As of 2018, he is Emeritus Professor of Material Culture in that department. He is a prominent contributor to the nascent field of conflict archaeology, and has authored and edited numerous academic publications in the field. In addition to his research specialising in the anthropology of 20th-century conflicts and the archaeology of World War I theatres in Belgium, France and the Middle East, Saunders has also conducted extensive fieldwork and research in pre-Columbian and historical archaeology of the Americas. He has been involved with major museum exhibitions in London, Ypres (Belgium), Tübingen (Germany), and at the Centre Pompidou-Metz (France). Saunders has investigated and published on material cultures and landscapes of Mesoamerica, South America, and the Caribbean. His most recent research has been on the aesthetics of brilliance and colour in indigenous Amerindian symbolism, an extensive survey investigation of the Nazca Lines in Peru, the anthropological archaeology of twentieth-century conflict and its legacies along the Soca (Isonzo) Front on the Slovenian-Italian border, and the conflict artworks of the Chinese Labour Corps on the Western Front during and after the First World War.
The Barnesville Petroglyph petroglyph site in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of the village of Barnesville in Belmont County, the petroglyphs have been known both by archaeologists and the general public since the 1850s or earlier. Although the site was significantly damaged during the twentieth century, it is still a significant archaeological site, and has been named a historic site.
Cueva Ahumada is an archaeological site located within several canyons in the La Rinconada village, García Municipality, in the Nuevo León state, México. Cave painting in northeastern Mexico covers two types of artwork: rock engraving, also called petroglyphs. A third type of rock art, geoglyphs so far has not been detected in this region.
Usgalimal rock engravings or Usgalimal Petroglyphs at Usgalimal village, in South Goa, is one of the most important prehistoric sites in western India.
Sidlaphadi near Badami in Karnataka, is a natural rock bridge and prehistoric rock shelter. It is located at about four km. in the middle of a shrub jungle near the historic town of Badami. A bridle and kutcha path through sandstone hills from Badami leads to Sidlaphadi and there is no metal road to the spot. Sidlaphadi literally means in Kannada the Rock of lightning, derived from gaping holes in the natural rock arch, which was formed when a lightning struck. The natural rock bridge structure looks like a wide arch between two sandstone boulders. The rock structure has large, gaping holes in the arch and allows sunlight to enter inside which provides the required light for interiors. It was also a shelter for hunter-gatherer prehistoric people.
In the Neolithic and Bronze Age British Isles, rock art was produced across various parts of the islands. Petroglyphic in nature, the majority of such carvings are abstract in design, usually cup and ring marks, although examples of spirals or figurative depictions of weaponry are also known. Only one form of rock art in Europe, this late prehistoric tradition had connections with others along Atlantic Europe, particularly in Galicia.
The Cochno Stone is a large cup and ring marked rock at Auchnacraig, Faifley, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, next to the Cochno farm. It is also known variously as "Whitehill 1" and "the Druid Stone".
