The rocks and caves and canyons of the American Southwest and Columbia Plateau make up perhaps the world’s largest Art Gallery. For thousands of years, the people who lived in these regions recorded their lives on any available surface by chipping away at the rock with sharp objects (petroglyphs) or painting using any natural materials that would work (pictographs). Actually, we artists are doing pretty much the same thing today. Since those artists have all passed on, it is left to us, their gallery visitors, to interpret what their artwork might “mean”. We’re sure they won't mind if we do that with a little humor now and then.

These “solid image” stamps are wonderful for making impressions in clay, stamping fabric, doing resist work, embossing, velvet stamping, or creating your own “newspaper rock” type artwork. “Newspaper Rock” is a rock art site where the surface is just about covered with different petroglyph symbols.
Native Americans believe that animal spirits commune with hunters and agree to be partners in the hunt. That’s nice, but we prefer to think of this figure as a spiritual leader maybe getting advice from the animals - sort of like the St.Francis figure - the animals gather round because they know he loves them.
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The “heartline” has a few different interpretations and usually shows up on a Bear or a Deer. We like to think it has to do with love - having a direct connection to someone’s heart. The Bear also symbolizes strength and self-knowledge. Native American animal magic is often based upon the animal’s behavior and the Bear’s habit of hibernation makes it seem like he spends a lot of time in introspection and solitude. Hence, he would know himself very well.
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This could also be interpreted as “walking the dog” but because of the look of that tail and those ears, we just thought it was probably a coyote. Coyote is known as the “Trickster” however, and can change his appearance at will - so there’s no way to be absolutely sure, and that’s the way Coyote likes it.
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Ok, ok, there were probably no domesticated house cats (or houses) when this was done, but it looks like a cat to us. And if it were a mountain lion or bobcat, it would be trying to eat the woman who is dancing around, or at least jumping up to get that bird, right? So we're going to go with the concept of “cave cat” and think that woman and her cat just had a great time all the time (and so did the bird).
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What could these two be discussing? Whether they are actually deer or reindeer? Or maybe they are a loving couple deciding where to go for dinner and whether or not they need reservations. There are more possibilities than we can go into here, so we’ll leave the interpretation up to you.
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This art is based on some wonderful clip art from RT Graphics in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. We use their clip art for lots of things, and when we saw these images, we thought right away that these people were dancing with joy. They must have had a really good day! Or maybe it’s just because the sun is always shining here!
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The hand is found very frequently in rock art. The reason is probably that it was the easiest thing to paint - you just got your hand all covered with pigment and “stamped” it on the rock (the world’s first stamp?), or you held your hand against the rock and blew paint around it (the world’s first mask?). It symbolizes healing and helping, and is the most important tool we humans have.
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Kokopelli shows up more than 250 times in the rock art of the Southwest and other areas of the western United States. It is thought that this flute playing hunchback was a traveling minstrel who went from village to village and was believed to bring fertility and abundance with his music. In the past few years, he has become so popular, he has replaced the howling coyote as the most well known symbol of the Southwest.
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This symbol comes from the Tohono O’odham in Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. Originally it symbolized the secret path the Creator took to his hidden home beneath the mountain peak, but it is more commonly described as the Life Path. The design is well suited to this interpretation because it has no shortcuts, no dead ends, and the entire path must be followed to complete the journey.
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The lizard will detach its own tail to get out of a jam, thus leaving trouble behind. For this reason, the lizard symbolizes “letting go” of baggage and getting on with one’s life.
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Petroglyphs Stamps Page 2