Petroglyphs: Journal of Antiquities

Petroglyph: Petro-combined form, meaning rock or stone; Glyphs-a shallow vertical channel or carved fluting. (Greek- glyphein: to carve)

After a recent movie night, where I watched

the DVD of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,

I decided that a Journal of Antiquities

would be a fun project.  Indie's dad, Henry Sr.,

had spent years creating

a research journal of all the clues

to finding the Holy Grail. Of course it was

chased  all the way through the movie

and passes through many hands,

both villain and hero...

cryptic clues, diagrams and

drawings make it pretty cool...

I purchased a small journal with

pages 3 1/2" x 5 1/2 ".

I began my search for treasure in a

reference book in our local library.

Amazing diagrams, photos,

maps and explanations fill the book...

Native Americans taking the time to

carve these in stone with

primitive tools must have been

a labor of love, or perhaps

a search for power...

The author of the book didn't claim to know

what these human figures represented.

I have to say it looks to me like there

is some hanky-panky going on!

Perhaps a fertility drawing?

~~~

My antiquities 'research' will continue as

I am fond of ancient cultures and their art:

Egyptian, Mayan, Native American.

There may be some European religious Icons to

be drawn and admired.

Take the journey with me...

Art Journal Page-Tribal

"We evolve at the rateof the tribewe are plugged into."-Carolyn MyersThis quote caught my eye and inspiredthe use of tribal African art designs.The drawing of the sculpture is from an imagein the book "Black Africa" byLaure Meyer. It isthe crowned head of an Oni from the12-15th century in brass & zinc alloy.It is striking because the sculpture hascontour lines carved into the face.The geometric forms are fromPlank Masks, used for familyrituals or funerals.It is interesting that thesegeometric forms also resemblethe forms of other tribal art, such asNative American. Seemsthat the triangleis universal.