Rock carving Alberta experts will tell you that these marvelous pieces of history were a great way of keeping a permanent record for eons to come. The Blackfoot people of Canada kept cliff etchings or petroglyphs to keep a record of important historical and spiritual events in their lives. One can see these in the natural reserves in the regions that surround the Milk River where most of these records are kept. The Blackfoot people kept records by either chiseling reliefs into the stone or by painting it.
Pictoglyphs or the painted stone was painted by using a mixture of red ocher, a type of red earth or mineral which was considered as sacred at the time, animal fat or water which was preserved for thousands of years. The carved depictions were chiseled out by using hard stone or bone objects which could have been hard enough to penetrate the softer sandstone. Sandstone is a soft, almost malleable stone similar to limestone which can hold details of chiseling for quite some time.
The cliffs were made from sandstone which was because the area was a large inland sea right in the mists of time. When there was no longer a sea, sand was left which then fossilized into sandstone. It is easier to etch and carve sandstone because it is a softer stone which is similar to limestone.
This enforced the religious beliefs of the people of the time who believed that the powerful spirits lived in the hoodoos at the time. These outcroppings are where most of the petroglyphs are concentrated carrying the meaning that these were a type of communication to their gods or a tribute to them. As time went by, there were advances in technology such as the shields.
They believed that all things were imbued by living spirits and that the Hoodoos, in and around the Milk River were special places for prayer and introspection. They believed that powerful spirits lived within the cliffs. The theory is that the geometric shapes are a form of communication or a tribute to the spirits that lived in those cliffs.
There are stylized stone etchings that show people holding shields in front of them and others where people were sitting on horses. Horses were used at a later stage in the history of these people for hunting and traveling. Other etchings include pictures of Bison, bears, snakes, deer and even insect life and these were done in various sizes, possibly as a depiction of signs or other spiritual rituals around their daily life.
As the Blackfoot people of that time had no way of writing their records onto paper or papyrus because they had no written language, they used the stone as their paper and pictures as their means of communication. Today, researchers and archaeologists have noticed geometric shapes that they have been unable to interpret. The theory is that these shapes were the actual depictions or representations of the gods that the people worshiped at that time.
It is imperative that these records are kept and preserved for the interpretation of future generations, and it has become the responsibility of the natural reserves in the area to do so. If one is caught defacing or vandalizing a rock carving Alberta Canada police can fine that person up to $50 000. It is a serious offense to deface one of these fragile, but durable pieces of ancient history and heritage.
Pictoglyphs or the painted stone was painted by using a mixture of red ocher, a type of red earth or mineral which was considered as sacred at the time, animal fat or water which was preserved for thousands of years. The carved depictions were chiseled out by using hard stone or bone objects which could have been hard enough to penetrate the softer sandstone. Sandstone is a soft, almost malleable stone similar to limestone which can hold details of chiseling for quite some time.
The cliffs were made from sandstone which was because the area was a large inland sea right in the mists of time. When there was no longer a sea, sand was left which then fossilized into sandstone. It is easier to etch and carve sandstone because it is a softer stone which is similar to limestone.
This enforced the religious beliefs of the people of the time who believed that the powerful spirits lived in the hoodoos at the time. These outcroppings are where most of the petroglyphs are concentrated carrying the meaning that these were a type of communication to their gods or a tribute to them. As time went by, there were advances in technology such as the shields.
They believed that all things were imbued by living spirits and that the Hoodoos, in and around the Milk River were special places for prayer and introspection. They believed that powerful spirits lived within the cliffs. The theory is that the geometric shapes are a form of communication or a tribute to the spirits that lived in those cliffs.
There are stylized stone etchings that show people holding shields in front of them and others where people were sitting on horses. Horses were used at a later stage in the history of these people for hunting and traveling. Other etchings include pictures of Bison, bears, snakes, deer and even insect life and these were done in various sizes, possibly as a depiction of signs or other spiritual rituals around their daily life.
As the Blackfoot people of that time had no way of writing their records onto paper or papyrus because they had no written language, they used the stone as their paper and pictures as their means of communication. Today, researchers and archaeologists have noticed geometric shapes that they have been unable to interpret. The theory is that these shapes were the actual depictions or representations of the gods that the people worshiped at that time.
It is imperative that these records are kept and preserved for the interpretation of future generations, and it has become the responsibility of the natural reserves in the area to do so. If one is caught defacing or vandalizing a rock carving Alberta Canada police can fine that person up to $50 000. It is a serious offense to deface one of these fragile, but durable pieces of ancient history and heritage.
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