Editing Petroglyph (section)

{{Short description|Images carved on a rock surface as a form of rock art}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Rock carving|other uses|Rock art}}
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[[File:Golpayegan.petroglyphs0101.jpg|thumb|Rock art in [[Iran]], [[Teimareh]] region]]
[[File:Libya 5321 Meercatze (Gatti Mammoni) Petroglyphs Wadi Methkandoush Luca Galuzzi 2007.jpg|thumb|right|Rock carving known as {{lang|de|Meerkatze}} (named by archaeologist [[Leo Frobenius]]), rampant lionesses in [[Wadi Mathendous]], Mesak Settafet region of Libya.]]
[[File:Laxe dos carballos 01.JPG|thumb|European petroglyphs: {{lang|es|Laxe dos carballos}} in [[Campo Lameiro]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], Spain (4th–2nd millennium BCE), depicting [[cup and ring mark]]s and deer hunting scenes]]
[[File:Negev camel petroglyph.jpg|thumb|Petroglyph of a camel; Negev, southern Israel.]]
[[File:Petroglifos de Las Labradas 08.jpg|thumb|Petroglyphs of the archaeological site of [[Las Labradas (Sinaloa)|Las Labradas]], situated on the coast of the [[San Ignacio Municipality, Sinaloa|municipality of San Ignacio]] ([[Mexico|Mexican]] [[Sinaloa|state of Sinaloa]])]]
A '''petroglyph''' is an [[image]] created by removing part of a [[rock (geology)|rock]] surface by incising, picking, carving, or [[abrasion (geology)|abrading]], as a form of [[rock art]]. Outside [[North America]], scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage Sites]].{{clarify |reason=Several different petroglyph sites are identified in the article as UNESCO World Heritage Sites with no mention of 'tentative'. Where does the 20,000 year number come from? |date=May 2025}} Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with [[prehistory|prehistoric]] peoples. The word comes from the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] prefix {{transliteration|grc|[[wikt:petro-|petro-]]}}, from {{lang|grc|πέτρα}} {{transliteration|grc|petra}} meaning "[[stone]]", and {{lang|grc|γλύφω}} {{transliteration|grc|glýphō}} meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as {{lang|fr|pétroglyphe}}.

In scholarly texts, a ''petroglyph'' is a rock engraving, whereas a ''[[petrograph]]'' (or ''pictograph'') is a rock painting.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wieschhoff |first1=Heinrich Albert |title=Africa |date=1945 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |quote=Most noteworthy among the relics of [[Africa]]'s early periods are the rock-paintings (petrographs) and rock-engravings (petroglyphs) which have been discovered in many parts of the continent.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = T. Douglas Price | title =  Europe Before Rome: A Site-by-Site Tour of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages | date = 2012 | publisher = Oxford University Press | quote = This art falls into two categories, depending on how it is made: petroglyphs are carved into rock, and pictographs are painted on the rock.| page = 116}}</ref> In common usage, the words are sometimes used interchangeably.<ref>{{cite web |title=petrograph |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petrograph |website=Merriam-Webster |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=November 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language |date=2001 |publisher=Random House |isbn=0-681-31723-X |page=1449}}</ref> Both types of image belong to the wider and more general category of rock art or [[parietal art]]. [[Petroforms]], or patterns and shapes made by many large rocks and boulders over the ground, are also quite different. [[Inuksuk]] are not petroglyphs, but human-made rock forms found in Arctic regions.