What Is Rock Art?
Rock art is the term used by archaeologists and art historians to describe images made on rock surfaces by prehistoric and indigenous peoples. These images take two primary forms: pictographs, which are painted or drawn on rock surfaces, and petroglyphs, which are carved or engraved into the rock. Together they constitute one of the oldest and most widespread forms of human artistic expression on Earth.
Found on every inhabited continent, rock art sites range from single isolated marks to sweeping panoramas with hundreds of figures. Their meanings remain subjects of active scholarly debate — some images appear to record events, others may have served ritual or cosmological purposes, and still others remain entirely enigmatic. According to the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO), rock art is among the most vulnerable categories of cultural heritage, threatened by weathering, vandalism, and climate change.
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Our Focus: The Americas
This resource specializes in the rock art traditions of North America, South America, and the Caribbean. The Americas contain extraordinary concentrations of prehistoric imagery, from the Barrier Canyon pictographs of the American Southwest to the painted caves of Cuba and the magnificent painted shelters of northeastern Brazil.
- North America: Petroglyphs and pictographs across Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and beyond
- Brazil: The Nordeste Tradition of northeastern Brazil, including Serra da Capivara National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Caribbean: Cave art of Cuba, including sites in La Habana, Matanzas, and Camagüey provinces
"Rock art sits at the intersection of archaeology, art history, anthropology, and conservation science — a visual record created by humans who had no other way to leave a message across time."
Rock art research is the study of these messages: what they depict, who made them, when, and what they meant in their cultural contexts. It is a field that requires humility — much of what prehistoric artists intended remains beyond our reconstruction — but also one of remarkable richness, offering windows into minds separated from ours by millennia.
Explore our sections to learn more about research methods, specific traditions like the Nordeste Tradition, the challenges of conservation, and the broader context of prehistoric art history.