Petroglyphs

1. Petroglyphs 3rd Grade Art Project Northwood Elementary PTA Art Enrichment Program

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3. Lesson Overview • Grade: 3 • Medium: textured paper with brown paint • Curriculum Tie in: Native Cultures/ Native northwest coast people • Lesson: Relief and pattern. • Time: 60 Minutes at minimum Project Overview/Skills Students will learn about petroglyphs and see examples from around the world. They will then carve their own petroglyph symbol or story. Vocabulary pet·ro·glyph \ˈpe-trə-ˌglif\ - a carving or inscription on a rock relief - a : a mode of sculpture in which forms and figures are distinguished from a surrounding plane surface engrave – to impress deeply as if with a graver

4. Petroglyph Materials Materials/Home Preparation: • 11 x 17 paper with texture • bamboo chopsticks for carving (other tools ok) • brown tempera paint wet paper towels • Chopsticks ($3 for good disposable ones at Uwajimaya) • Foam paint brushes (regular brushes will work, but foam brushes help create a thick cover on the paper to carve into) • Paper to cover the tables Post-Lesson Email the Parent Letter for this lesson to your room parent (available on the PTA website under ”Art Docent Volunteer Resources”) and ask your room parent to forward it to the class. The letter gives the parents context for the lesson their student completed and this step helps ensure on-going support of the Northwood PTA Art Docent program!

5. Art Lesson Discussion/Exploration Photos of petrogyphs from around the world are shown with text on the following slides. Feel free to add your feelings or knowledge of petroglyphs. You can show the sample of an already made petroglyph to the students before they do the project.

6. Petroglyph • What do you think the word means?

7. Petroglyph • The word comes from Greek words • “petro” means “stone” • “glyphein” means “to carve”. • Petroglyphs are drawings actually carved into rock.

8. Petroglyph vs. Pictograph • Petroglyphs are not the same thing as “pictographs” which are drawings painted on rocks.

9. There are examples of petroglyphs all over the world including North America, Siberia, Africa, Australia and Scandinavia.

10. White Dot • Many petroglyphs are 10,000 -12,000 years old!

11. Petroglyphs are found all over the world and in different cultures, yet have many similar features. • How could people so far away from each other create the same types of designs? • How could people in Siberia carve the same style figures as someone in Australia?

12. Some symbols look like astrological markers, some look like maps or tell stories.

13. Historians think maybe they are a form of pre-writing. • Remember nobody had invented the alphabet 12,000 years ago!! • Nobody seems to know for sure.

14. Here is a picture of Native American cliff dwellings. You can see paintings on the walls of their dwellings in Mesa Verde, New Mexico where the Anasazi Indians once lived.

15. Telling a Story • According to one Hopi elder, this petroglyph may tell the story of two clans (the Mountain Sheep Clan and the Eagle Clan) separating from other people and returning to their place of origin.  • Notice the boxy spiral shape?  This likely represents a “sipapu”, the place where Pueblo people believe they emerged from the earth (believed to be near the Grand Canyon).  • You can also see the head and arms of a figure, and on the bottom right, a possible Katsina clan symbol. 

16. What story is being told here? Petroglyphs, Newspaper Rock National Historical Site, near Canyonlands National Park, Utah

17. More Native American Petoglyphs and Pictographs

19. Today’s Project • In your imagination you will go back 12,000 years and create your very own petroglyph or pictograph. • You can use the examples you saw today to recreate a style or create your own.

20. Now, cave kids…let’s get started!

21. Step 1 – Plan your Design • On a scratch paper, plan out your petgroglyph design • What is the story you are trying to tell? • Which symbols will you use to tell your story?

22. Step 2 – Prep your Paper • Write your name on the back of the paper and turn it back over. • Cover your paper with a medium to thick layer of brown paint

23. Step 3 – Carve your Design • Using your chopstick, carve out a design in the paint that recreates the geometric shapes reminiscent of those seen on Petroglyphs. • You may need to stop periodically to wipe the excess paint off your chopstick in order to make clean lines.

24. Step 4 - Drying • Once you are done with the carving, carry your petroglyph to the drying racks. • On a separate sheet of paper, write a short description of your petroglyph story so that you can share it with your family and friends. • Ask your family members or friends to guess what story you are trying to tell!