Native American Symbols, Pictographs & Petroglyphs

Native American Symbols Postcard at Legends’ General Store.

For the earth, he drew a straight line,
For the sky a bow above it;
White the space between for day-time,
Filled with little stars for night-time;
On the left a point for sunrise,
On the right a point for sunset,
On the top a point for noontide,
And for rain and cloudy weather
Waving lines descending from it.
From The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When European explorers arrived in America, Native Americans did not communicate through writing as we know it. Instead, they told stories (oral histories) and created pictures and symbols. This type of communication is not unique to Native Americans, as long before writing was developed, people recorded events, ideas, plans, maps, and feelings worldwide by drawing pictures and symbols on rocks, hides, and other surfaces.

Historic pictorial symbols for a word or a phrase have been found dating before 3000 BC. These symbols, called pictographs, are created by painting on rock surfaces with natural pigments. These natural pigments included iron oxides in hematite or limonite, white or yellow clays, soft rock, charcoal, and copper minerals. These natural pigments were mixed to produce a palette of yellow, white, red, green, black, and blue. Historic pictographs are usually found under protective ledges or in caves protected from the weather.

Paviotso Paiute making petroglyphs by Edward S. Curtis, 1924.

Another similar form of communication, called petroglyphs, was carved, pecked, or abraded into stone surfaces. This carving could produce a visible indentation in the rock or cut deeply enough to reveal unweathered material of a different color below.

Native American symbols were like words and often had one or more definitions and contained different connotations. Varying from tribe to tribe, it can sometimes be challenging to know their meanings, while other symbols are obvious. With the multiple languages spoken by Native American tribes, symbols or “picture writing” was often used to convey words and ideas. Symbols were also used to decorate homes, were painted on buffalo hides, and recorded important events of the tribe.

These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and the descendants of the early Spanish settlers.

The arrival of Spanish people to the Southwest in 1540 dramatically impacted the lifestyle of the pueblo people. In 1680 the Pueblo tribes rose in the revolt against Spanish rule and drove the settlers out of the area and back to El Paso, Texas. In 1692 the Spanish resettled in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. As a result of their return, there was a renewed influence of the Catholic religion, which discouraged participation by the Puebloans in many of their traditional ceremonial practices. Consequently, many of these practices went underground, and much of the image-making by the Puebloans decreased.

There were many reasons for creating the Petroglyphs, most of which are not well understood by modern society. Petroglyphs are more than just “rock art,” picture writing, or an imitation of the natural world. They should not be confused with hieroglyphics, symbols used to represent words, nor thought of as ancient Indian graffiti. Petroglyphs are powerful cultural symbols that reflect the complex societies and religions of the surrounding tribes.

Petroglyphs in the Petrified Forest of Arizona by the National Park Service.

The context of each image is extremely important and integral to its meaning. Today’s native people have stated that placing each petroglyph image was not a casual or random decision. Some petroglyphs have meanings that are only known to the individuals who made them. Others represent tribal, clan, kiva, or societal markers. Some are religious entities, and others show who came to the area and where they went. Petroglyphs still have contemporary meaning, while the meaning of others is no longer known but are respected for belonging to “those who came before.”

The United States has thousands of pictographs and petroglyphs, with the greatest concentration in the American Southwest. The site that has the most is the Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico. At the monument, archaeologists have estimated there may be over 25,000 petroglyph images along the 17 miles of the escarpment. A small percentage of the petroglyphs within the park pre-date the Puebloan period, perhaps reaching as far back as 2000 B.C. Other images date from historic periods starting in the 1700s, with petroglyphs carved by early Spanish settlers. It is estimated 90% of the monument’s petroglyphs were created by the ancestors of today’s Pueblo people. Puebloans have lived in the Rio Grande Valley since before 500 A.D., but a population increase around 1300 A.D. resulted in numerous new settlements. It is believed that most of the petroglyphs were carved from about 1300 through the late 1680s.

Arrow		Protection
Arrowhead		Alertness
Badger Track		Summer
Bear		Strength
Bear Paw		Good Omen
Big Mountain		Great abundance
Bird		Free of worry, Carefree
Broken Arrow		Peace
Broken Cross Circle		Four Seasons, That Which Revolves
Brothers		Unity, Equality, Loyalty
Buffalo Horns		Success
Buffalo Skull		Sacredness, Reverence for Life
Butterfly		Everlasting life
Cactus		Sign of desert
Coyote & Coyote Tracks		Trickster
Crossed Arrows		Friendship
Days-Nights		Time Passing
Deer Track		Game plentiful
Drawn Bow & Arrow		Hunting
Drying Rack		Plenty of Meat
Eagle		Freedom
Eagle Feather		Chief
Enclosure		Ceremonial Dances
End of Trail		Peace, End of War
Evil Eye		This symbol protects from the curse of the Evil Eye.
Facing Arrows		Warding off evil spirits
Four Ages		Infancy, Youth, Middle, Old Age
Gecko		Sign of Desert
Gila Monster		Dream Time
Great Spirit		The Great Spirit is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being prevalent among most Native American tribes.
Head Dress		Ceremonial
Hogan		Permanent Home
Horse		Journey
Kokopelli		Flute Player, Fertility
Lightning		Power, Speed
Lightning Arrow		Swiftness
Man		Life
Medicine Man’s Eye		Wisdom
Morning Stars		Guidance
Mountain Range		Destination
Path		Crossed
Peace Pipe		Ceremonial, sacred
Rain		Plentiful crop
Rain Clouds		Good Prospect
Rattle Snake Jaws		Strength
Saddle Bag		Journey
Skyband		Leading to Happiness
Snake		Defiance
Squash Blossom		Fertility
Sun		Happiness
Sun Flower		Fertility
Sun God Mask		The Sun God is a powerful spirit among a number of Native American tribes.
Sunrays		Constant
Swastika		Four corners of the world, Well-Being
Tipi		Temporary house
Thunderbird		Unlimited Happiness, Caller of Rain
Thunderbird Track		Bright Prospect
Water Running		Constant Life
Wolf Paw		Freedom, Success
Zuni Bear		Good Health