petroglyph
PET-roh-glif
An image carved, pecked, or incised into rock — the rock itself is the medium, and the mark is made by removing material from its surface. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, from the <a href="https://rewilding.mx/word/desert-varnish/" class="word-autolink">desert varnish panels of the American Southwest to Scandinavian Bronze Age carvings to Aboriginal rock art in Australia. They are among the oldest surviving human marks on the landscape.
Etymology
From Greek petra (rock) + glyphē (carving). Carved rock.
Notes
Distinguished from pictographs, which are painted rather than carved.
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