Editing Petroglyph (section)

== History ==
[[File:Haljesta.jpg|thumb|Composite image of petroglyphs from [[Scandinavia]] (Häljesta, Västmanland in Sweden). Nordic Bronze Age. The glyphs have been painted to make them more visible.]]
[[File:MtnSheepPetroglyph.jpg|thumb|right|A petroglyph of a caravan of [[bighorn sheep]] near [[Moab, Utah]], United States; a common theme in glyphs from the desert Southwest and Great Basin]]

Petroglyphs have been found in all parts of the globe except [[Antarctica]], with highest concentrations in parts of Africa, Scandinavia and Siberia, many examples of petroglyphs found globally are dated to approximately the [[Neolithic]] and late [[Upper Paleolithic]] boundary (roughly 10,000 to 12,000 years ago).<!--, though some, such as those found at [[Kamyana Mohyla]], were created earlier than this; some petroglyph sites in Australia are estimated to date back 20,000 years,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Finch|first1=Damien|last2=Gleadow|first2=Andrew|last3=Hergt|first3=Janet|last4=Heaney|first4=Pauline|last5=Green|first5=Helen|last6=Myers|first6=Cecilia|last7=Veth|first7=Peter|last8=Harper|first8=Sam|last9=Ouzman|first9=Sven|last10=Levchenko|first10=Vladimir A.|date=2021-02-22|title=Ages for Australia's oldest rock paintings|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-01041-0.epdf?sharing_token=iu72RcqdkdmYMclRIrdzkNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O_ZmBoOTKvLWgoF8thF9coIDbygP5gr-Kcdm5GhKOcaY5vYdC5Bx8luEHVA1cSCa-U2LjpDQWF-SAbSjLwxNVmbrAoEqwBysDTg7IS17aXZZNtUYt5SXbF0ZNisu8GpA-La8EyX4Msu2eLgP4hWMIGwBL5zSQGDevHl_TpZf6G4g==|journal=Nature Human Behaviour|language=en|volume=5|issue=3|pages=310–318|doi=10.1038/s41562-020-01041-0|pmid=33619375|s2cid=232020013|issn=2397-3374}}</ref>{{not in source}}[a rock painting is not a petroglyph] and other examples of petroglyphs are estimated to be as old as 40,000 years.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}-->

Around 7,000 to 9,000 years ago, following the introduction of a number of precursors of [[writing system]]s, the existence and creation of petroglyphs began to suffer and tail off, with different forms of art, such as [[pictograph]]s and [[ideogram]]s, taking their place. However, petroglyphs continued to be created and remained somewhat common, with various cultures continuing to use them for differing lengths of time, including cultures who continued to create them until contact with [[Western culture]] was made in the 19th and 20th centuries.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}