Last updated: August 15, 2023
Place
Fossil Discovery Trail Petroglyphs
NPS Photo/Conrad Provan
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
The smooth surfaces of the 90 million year old Frontier Sandstone, a shoreline of an ancient interior seaway, provided an ideal canvas for these petroglyphs left by the ancestral indigenous people of the region over a thousand years ago. These designs include both petroglyphs (patterns chipped or carved into the rock) and pictographs (patterns painted on the rock). Pictographs are relatively rare here, perhaps because they are more easily weathered. Some petroglyphs show traces of pigment, possibly indicating that many designs originally included both carved and painted areas. These designs are very fragile. Touching the petroglyphs and pictographs can damage the designs by leaving oils behind that abrade the rock. Tracing and rubbings can damage the soft sandstone designs. For these reasons, please do not touch the designs.
The style and content of indigenous designs vary throughout the region. The “Classic Vernal Style” predominates in Dinosaur National Monument. This style is characterized by humanlike figures, animal-like figures, and abstract designs. Human figures typically have trapezoidal bodies, which may or may not include arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Elaborate decorations on the bodies suggest headdresses, earrings, necklaces, shields, or other objects. Why did these ancestral cultures create these designs and what did they mean? Perhaps the designs served some ceremonial or religious purpose, related to hunting activities, identified clans, or simply expressed the artist’s imagination – or perhaps all or none of these. Attempts to interpret the designs by comparing them with recent Native American groups may provide clues, but the true meaning remains a mystery.
The style and content of indigenous designs vary throughout the region. The “Classic Vernal Style” predominates in Dinosaur National Monument. This style is characterized by humanlike figures, animal-like figures, and abstract designs. Human figures typically have trapezoidal bodies, which may or may not include arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Elaborate decorations on the bodies suggest headdresses, earrings, necklaces, shields, or other objects. Why did these ancestral cultures create these designs and what did they mean? Perhaps the designs served some ceremonial or religious purpose, related to hunting activities, identified clans, or simply expressed the artist’s imagination – or perhaps all or none of these. Attempts to interpret the designs by comparing them with recent Native American groups may provide clues, but the true meaning remains a mystery.