Petroform
Encyclopedia
Petroforms, also known as boulder outlines or boulder mosaics, are human-made shapes and patterns made by lining up large rocks on the open ground, often on quite level areas. Petroforms in North America were originally made by Indigenous Peoples, who used various terms to describe them. Petroforms can also include a rock cairn
or inukshuk
, an upright monolith
slab, a medicine wheel
, a fire pit
, a desert kite, sculpted boulders, or simply rocks lined up or stacked for various reasons. Old World petroforms include the Carnac stones
and many other megalithic monuments.
s and graphs which are inscribed on rock surfaces. They were originally made in North America by native peoples for astronomical, religious, sacred, healing, mnemonic
devices, and teaching purposes. The specific names of these rock formations and the uses varied by political and religious group. Presently, some of these sites are still being used by First Nations, elders, and others.
y, other First Nations
, and the Midewiwin
(Grand Medicine Society). Some teachings may have been lost, along with the peoples that originally made some of the oldest petroforms in North America. In some North American States and Provinces, there are laws to protect these important archaeological and historical sites. Vandalism has occurred in the past, and careful protection of these interesting sites is needed. Perhaps some native elders have decided to keep these areas hidden or secret to avoid the possible destruction or altering of sacred sites and memories. One can learn far more about these ancient peoples when there is greater respect given to the ancient ways and artifacts left behind so long ago. Ancient civilizations thrived in North and South America, with grand architecture, math, geometry, trading networks, trails, canoes, governing structures, astronomy, symbol making, scrolls, mounds, and more. All of this occurred long before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries. There were very few studies or specific mention of Manitoba petroform sites until the 20th century. The first detailed studies and descriptions of some sites in Manitoba
were done by Dr. J Steinbring and R. Sutton after the 1950s.
The first stone phase at Stonehenge
has been dated to about 2600 BCE. Stone circles
are still being made in Wales as part of the Eisteddfod movement, which incorporates this among other elements from the Druidic revival. Desert kites were used by 5000 BCE; they fell out of use in the Neolithic as prey populations declined and the human population rose.
Presently, many Ojibway or Anishinaabe
ceremonies in North America involve the making of turtle shaped fire pits for sacred fires. In some instances, rocks are aligned near the entrance and fire of sweat lodge
ceremonies that symbolize the Moon, the Sun and other things. Rock piles are still made to mark trails and important locations. A large turtle petroform of piled up boulders was recently made in the Whiteshell Park area of Manitoba.
, and other media.
s, ridges, and natural rock formations. Higher ground allowed humans to carefully observe the horizon
to mark and measure astronomical events. Some rock alignments point out four or more directions, lunar events, the rising and setting of planets, some stars, and other astronomical events. Some petroforms can also be used in more complex ways for astronomical predictions, mapping of the sky and ground, and for complex ceremonies that help to memorize many oral stories and songs. Petroforms are similar in some ways to medicine wheels which are also aligned with sunrises and sunsets, equinox
es, solstice
s, lunar events, and star patterns. Petroforms also mirrored the night sky, and the patterns of the stars, similar to astrological signs and symbols. The Sioux
have oral stories of the serpent in the sky, a turtle, a bear, and other patterns seen in the stars. What is often known today as Orion's belt
was one prominent, bright star formation, along with the central and stationary north star, now named as Polaris
. What is now known as the planet Venus is the very bright morning and evening star that is very noticeable and at times is the first and last to appear. Petroform sites in North America can be found in Manitoba
, Saskatchewan
, Alberta
, Wisconsin
, Minnesota
, Wyoming
, Montana
, along the Mississippi River
, the Missouri River
, and elsewhere. It has been suggested that megalithic monuments including Stonehenge
may have incorporated important astronomical alignments.
of the Arctic act as navigation aids, an aid for hunting, or to mark important locations. Some petroforms are located along portage routes and canoe routes as well. Human made markers can be easier to remember than less unique natural features of the landscape.
s widespread in Europe and much of Asia are interpreted as Neolithic burial chambers.
groups also made shapes of humans, snakes, turtles, fish, bears, cougars, thunderbirds
, medicine wheels, circles, rectangles, and other complex geometric shapes that are still intact today. The Nazca Lines
include many animal and other shapes. Petroforms in North America are often related to earthen mound
s. Mounds were sometimes built over the older petroforms, or later made near them. Petroforms also marked out the area for various ceremonies, sweatlodges, fasting
, and sacred fires. They often mark an important or sacred area, or point to an important place. Offerings and prayers are made in these areas, along with initiations and vision quests. The exact, original purposes of the Carnac stones
, Stonehenge
, and many other megalithic monuments are lost.
, in Whiteshell Provincial Park
, Canada
. Whiteshell Park is named after the white cowrie shells used by some Anishinaabe
peoples in ceremonies. The natural landscape
of the park, with many movable rocks and boulders left behind after the last ice age, gave humans the easy opportunity to arrange them into many human made patterns. Some large boulders appear to be carved, chipped, or altered to look like turtle heads and other animals. Petroform shapes were used to guide travelers, point out the directions, for astronomy, as memory devices, and for ceremonial use. Different colours of rocks were used in some of the petroforms. Petroforms provide a way to memorize long oral stories, songs, and ideas associated with the shapes, the number of rocks, and the geometrical patterns of the rocks. Some common shapes are turtles and snakes, along with various circles.
These ancient sites are in need of protection from anyone who might accidentally or purposely move any of these ancient rocks that would destroy their astronomical alignments. Specific laws are set up to protect them from vandals, and to preserve them intact for generations to come.
The Southeastern Manitoba sites contain all the many variations of petroforms from across North America
, which suggests that many of these rock art shapes originated there, in the central area of the North American continent. The Whiteshell River
runs into the Winnipeg River
which is the only water route for prehistoric travelers and later fur traders to canoe directly across the Canadian Shield
between the large Lake Winnipeg
and Lake Superior
. The two rivers meet in this park and funneled prehistoric native traders from across the western prairie rivers, from the northern lakes, from south along the Red River
, and from the Eastern Great Lakes
. The Canadian Shield would have also been an ideal place to mine and quarry various types of rock for tools and arrow heads, and to spear or trap fish along the many rapids.
There are many unknown questions about these fascinating rock shapes that are found in the boreal forests of Manitoba
, on very large, bare, flat, surfaces of the Canadian Shield
granite rock ridges. The granite was made smooth and flat due to the last ice age as large glaciers passed over the ridges. A large 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) site exists in the Whiteshell Provincial Park
and may possibly be the largest, intact petroform site in North America. This site is protected by the Province of Manitoba
. There are also many other smaller sites in the park, and some sites elsewhere in Manitoba, North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, etc. The word "Manitoba" possibly comes from two Ojibway words meaning where the Spirit, or Manitou, sits. The locations of these petroforms are considered sacred ground by many, and the area was used for ceremonies, to pass along stories, share knowledge, and for elders to gather. One story indicates that this is the general area where the first human was lowered to the Earth. Whiteshell Park has some of the oldest granite bedrock areas on Earth that are mostly composed of a pink coloured granite, or smooth granite
ridges, sometimes perfectly bare and flat, and sometimes a mix of red and grey granite. There are some very large flat areas of this pink, or red coloured, felsic
granite that were excellent areas for aboriginal peoples to regularly gather in large numbers without causing a lot of muddy trails and ground. Some of the granite rock is about 3.8 billion years old. The very large flat surfaces of granite resemble a concrete city scape, which provided an ideal place for many prehistoric travelers and traders to gather very often on dry, partly open, flat, and high ground. A practical consideration is that a human made fire on this open rock cannot easily spread to a dry forest.
The Canadian Shield
is an ancient bedrock of mountains that have been scraped down to smaller ridges by many ice ages. These ridges would have been excellent ancient highways to walk across a land of wetter areas, bogs, dense forests, lakes, and away from the main river canoe routes. Native peoples used the landscape in a reasonable and wise way, that allowed them to more easily move in search of food, for travel, for gatherings, for ceremonies, and for exploring. These ancient rock ridges became valuable routes that snake through the thick forests and across wet and difficult terrain. Petroforms made upon these granite ridges would have been partially a natural outcome based on the importance and use of the ridges for practical reasons and the abundance of glacial till
and boulders to make the petroforms. The Whiteshell River
and Winnipeg River
routes were used by natives, fur traders, trappers, and were the main routes to the western prairies from the Eastern Great Lakes
and rivers. The petroforms found in the Whiteshell River area are close enough to the canoe routes or river highways that native peoples needed and used.
Other very similar rock circles and medicine wheels can be found across North America
, but sites elsewhere do not have the diversity of shapes and geometry that the Whiteshell Park sites have. The Whiteshell Provincial Park is named after a white shell, or the miigis shell (a cowrie shell) that was very important to many native peoples across North America and elsewhere in the world. These shells were used for ceremonies and they are found naturally from the shores of the Pacific Ocean
. The shells were a part of an extensive prehistoric trading network across North America. Copper, flint, and other types of minerals were also used and traded from far away. Stories written on birch bark scrolls
by the midewiwin
document some of the history of Ojibway migrations and the discovery of white miigis shells along Lake Superior
and elsewhere.
that have many medicine wheels and other large petroform shapes. The Turtle mountains are a hilly, rocky terrain, with many small lakes. The glacial till left behind provided plenty of rocks and boulders to pile, line up, and to make many medicine wheels and petroforms. The lack of agriculture in the area helped to protect many petroforms from destruction. The Turtle Mountains are part of the Mandan trail, and the Sioux
also came through the area. The landscape features, including a long natural ridge through North Dakota
, named as a serpent, were known and named by native peoples. Natural ridges, hills, and human made mound
s were also used for astronomical and burial purposes. Higher areas provided an easier way to observe the horizon, sky, sun, moon, planets, and stars. In addition, higher areas were necessary to keep watch for defensive purposes, similar to old churches and castles in towns and villages.
are being studied more closely, and can be dated more easily because of soil deposits over centuries. Many other sites have no layers of soil deposited around the petroforms. Forested areas and soil cover have partially protected many of the petroforms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In many areas across the prairies, large circular medicine wheels were made as astronomical devices, directional maps, and for ceremonial use. Some of these medicine wheels are large, and many were destroyed for agricultural needs by clearing the grasslands of any rocks. Some are intact, such as in the Turtle Mountains
, and other sandy, rocky, or more remote areas that had less crop farms and settlements. Mound
building was also associated in some way with petroform use. Petroforms originally predated the use of mounds and other human-made earthen works that required more time and effort. Although mound building could have originally been necessary and practical to provide some higher ground during floods. There is some speculation that larger mounds would have served as dikes and defensive fortifications, including providing higher ground to keep watch.
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
or inukshuk
Inukshuk
An inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...
, an upright monolith
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
slab, a medicine wheel
Medicine wheel
Medicine wheels, or sacred hoops, were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground. Most medicine wheels follow the basic pattern of having a center of stone, and surrounding that is an outer ring of stones with "spokes", or lines of rocks radiating from the center...
, a fire pit
Fire pit
Fire pits have been in existence for a very long time and despite many technological advancements since the advent of man's use of fire, they have remained a popular item because of their versatility. A fire pit can physically vary from a pit dug into the ground to an elaborate gas burning...
, a desert kite, sculpted boulders, or simply rocks lined up or stacked for various reasons. Old World petroforms include the Carnac stones
Carnac stones
The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of alignments, dolmens, tumuli and single menhirs. The more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people...
and many other megalithic monuments.
Definition
Petroforms are shapes and geometrical patterns made from arranging large rocks and boulders, often over large areas of open ground, unlike the smaller petroglyphPetroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s and graphs which are inscribed on rock surfaces. They were originally made in North America by native peoples for astronomical, religious, sacred, healing, mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
devices, and teaching purposes. The specific names of these rock formations and the uses varied by political and religious group. Presently, some of these sites are still being used by First Nations, elders, and others.
History
Some of the North American petroform shapes are over 2,500 years old. It is difficult to date all of them accurately because of a lack of soil deposits in some areas. There are claims that some petroforms are up to 8,000 years old. Like the petroglyphs, many petroforms have complex and lengthy teachings that have been passed down orally by the OjibwaOjibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
y, other First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
, and the Midewiwin
Midewiwin
The Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of the aboriginal groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew and the practices of Midewiwin referred to as Mide...
(Grand Medicine Society). Some teachings may have been lost, along with the peoples that originally made some of the oldest petroforms in North America. In some North American States and Provinces, there are laws to protect these important archaeological and historical sites. Vandalism has occurred in the past, and careful protection of these interesting sites is needed. Perhaps some native elders have decided to keep these areas hidden or secret to avoid the possible destruction or altering of sacred sites and memories. One can learn far more about these ancient peoples when there is greater respect given to the ancient ways and artifacts left behind so long ago. Ancient civilizations thrived in North and South America, with grand architecture, math, geometry, trading networks, trails, canoes, governing structures, astronomy, symbol making, scrolls, mounds, and more. All of this occurred long before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries. There were very few studies or specific mention of Manitoba petroform sites until the 20th century. The first detailed studies and descriptions of some sites in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
were done by Dr. J Steinbring and R. Sutton after the 1950s.
The first stone phase at Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
has been dated to about 2600 BCE. Stone circles
Gorsedd stones
Gorsedd Stones are groups of standing stones constructed for the National Eisteddfod of Wales. They form an integral part of the druidic Gorsedd ceremonies of the Eisteddfod...
are still being made in Wales as part of the Eisteddfod movement, which incorporates this among other elements from the Druidic revival. Desert kites were used by 5000 BCE; they fell out of use in the Neolithic as prey populations declined and the human population rose.
Presently, many Ojibway or Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
ceremonies in North America involve the making of turtle shaped fire pits for sacred fires. In some instances, rocks are aligned near the entrance and fire of sweat lodge
Sweat lodge
The sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna and is an important event in some North American First Nations or Native American cultures...
ceremonies that symbolize the Moon, the Sun and other things. Rock piles are still made to mark trails and important locations. A large turtle petroform of piled up boulders was recently made in the Whiteshell Park area of Manitoba.
Designs and purposes
In some cases, petroforms were made by non-literate cultures who have left no written record of whatever reasons led them to construct these forms. Oral history was passed along by many native groups, and a few groups had very complex symbolic writings on rock, petroglyphs, birch bark scrollsBirch bark scrolls
Wiigwaasabak are birch bark scrolls, on which the Ojibwa people of North America wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes. When used specifically for Midewiwin ceremonial use, these scrolls are called mide-wiigwaas...
, and other media.
Astronomical markers
Some petroforms were used as astronomical calendars, with rocks aligned to solstice and equinox sunrises and sunsets. They are often found in higher areas, on hills, moundMound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s, ridges, and natural rock formations. Higher ground allowed humans to carefully observe the horizon
Horizon
The horizon is the apparent line that separates earth from sky, the line that divides all visible directions into two categories: those that intersect the Earth's surface, and those that do not. At many locations, the true horizon is obscured by trees, buildings, mountains, etc., and the resulting...
to mark and measure astronomical events. Some rock alignments point out four or more directions, lunar events, the rising and setting of planets, some stars, and other astronomical events. Some petroforms can also be used in more complex ways for astronomical predictions, mapping of the sky and ground, and for complex ceremonies that help to memorize many oral stories and songs. Petroforms are similar in some ways to medicine wheels which are also aligned with sunrises and sunsets, equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
es, solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
s, lunar events, and star patterns. Petroforms also mirrored the night sky, and the patterns of the stars, similar to astrological signs and symbols. The Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
have oral stories of the serpent in the sky, a turtle, a bear, and other patterns seen in the stars. What is often known today as Orion's belt
Orion (constellation)
Orion, often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky...
was one prominent, bright star formation, along with the central and stationary north star, now named as Polaris
Polaris
Polaris |Alpha]] Ursae Minoris, commonly North Star or Pole Star, also Lodestar) is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star....
. What is now known as the planet Venus is the very bright morning and evening star that is very noticeable and at times is the first and last to appear. Petroform sites in North America can be found in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, along the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, and elsewhere. It has been suggested that megalithic monuments including Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
may have incorporated important astronomical alignments.
Hunting aids
The desert kites of Syria, Jordan, and the Negev — long lines of stones — are interpreted as aids to hunting large game animals like gazelles, ibexes, wild asses. There are similar structures on most continents.Navigation aids
The inuksuitInukshuk
An inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...
of the Arctic act as navigation aids, an aid for hunting, or to mark important locations. Some petroforms are located along portage routes and canoe routes as well. Human made markers can be easier to remember than less unique natural features of the landscape.
Burial sites
The DolmenDolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
s widespread in Europe and much of Asia are interpreted as Neolithic burial chambers.
Mnemonic device
Indigenous peoples have an oral tradition of story telling. Many of these rock shapes are used to memorize and to help tell stories and legends. Some petroforms go in the order of the story, helping one to memorize the successive steps.Other rituals and unknown purposes
AboriginalIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
groups also made shapes of humans, snakes, turtles, fish, bears, cougars, thunderbirds
Thunderbird (mythology)
The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a "supernatural" bird of power and strength...
, medicine wheels, circles, rectangles, and other complex geometric shapes that are still intact today. The Nazca Lines
Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The high, arid plateau stretches more than between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of Lima...
include many animal and other shapes. Petroforms in North America are often related to earthen mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s. Mounds were sometimes built over the older petroforms, or later made near them. Petroforms also marked out the area for various ceremonies, sweatlodges, fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
, and sacred fires. They often mark an important or sacred area, or point to an important place. Offerings and prayers are made in these areas, along with initiations and vision quests. The exact, original purposes of the Carnac stones
Carnac stones
The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of alignments, dolmens, tumuli and single menhirs. The more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were hewn from local rock and erected by the pre-Celtic people...
, Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, and many other megalithic monuments are lost.
Conservation and protection
Many petroform sites are important archaeological areas that need to be protected from vandals and misuse. In the past, many petroform sites have been disrespected and even destroyed. More education is needed to ensure that petroforms are not neglected or damaged by excessive numbers of visitors to these sites. In some cases, sacred, intact, remote sites should not be disturbed at all, except for important research and exclusive ceremonies. Petroforms, effigies, and other rock art can easily be unintentionally destroyed. Trails should not be made to intact and important historical sites. Rare and significant locations should not be indicated by conspicuous signs. In the Arctic it has been necessary to ask visitors to avoid confusing the archaeological record by putting up inuksuit of their own. There needs to be more education to ensure that some of these important sites are not easily found, easily misused, and potentially lost forever. Snow mobiles and all terrain vehicles can also easily disturb the rock formations. It is estimated that hundreds of formations were destroyed to clear land for agriculture. There are more petroforms to be discovered that are partially buried under soil, or covered with moss and forest.Whiteshell Provincial Park
One of the locations of petroform sites, including effigies, is in Southeastern ManitobaManitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, in Whiteshell Provincial Park
Whiteshell Provincial Park
Whiteshell Provincial Park is a 2,729 km2 park centrally located in Canada in the province of Manitoba. It can be found in the southeast of the province along the Manitoba-Ontario border, approximately 130 km east of Winnipeg. The park is located in the Canadian Shield region and has many...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Whiteshell Park is named after the white cowrie shells used by some Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
peoples in ceremonies. The natural landscape
Natural landscape
A natural landscape is a landscape that is unaffected by human activity. A natural landscape is intact when all living and nonliving elements are free to move and change. The nonliving elements distinguish a natural landscape from a wilderness. A wilderness includes areas within which natural...
of the park, with many movable rocks and boulders left behind after the last ice age, gave humans the easy opportunity to arrange them into many human made patterns. Some large boulders appear to be carved, chipped, or altered to look like turtle heads and other animals. Petroform shapes were used to guide travelers, point out the directions, for astronomy, as memory devices, and for ceremonial use. Different colours of rocks were used in some of the petroforms. Petroforms provide a way to memorize long oral stories, songs, and ideas associated with the shapes, the number of rocks, and the geometrical patterns of the rocks. Some common shapes are turtles and snakes, along with various circles.
These ancient sites are in need of protection from anyone who might accidentally or purposely move any of these ancient rocks that would destroy their astronomical alignments. Specific laws are set up to protect them from vandals, and to preserve them intact for generations to come.
The Southeastern Manitoba sites contain all the many variations of petroforms from across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, which suggests that many of these rock art shapes originated there, in the central area of the North American continent. The Whiteshell River
Whiteshell River
Whiteshell River is one of the major rivers in Whiteshell Provincial Park, located in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, near the Ontario border. This river is close to some petroform sites that are about 2000 years old or older...
runs into the Winnipeg River
Winnipeg River
The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is in area, mainly in Canada. About of this area is in northern...
which is the only water route for prehistoric travelers and later fur traders to canoe directly across the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
between the large Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
and Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. The two rivers meet in this park and funneled prehistoric native traders from across the western prairie rivers, from the northern lakes, from south along the Red River
Red River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
, and from the Eastern Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The Canadian Shield would have also been an ideal place to mine and quarry various types of rock for tools and arrow heads, and to spear or trap fish along the many rapids.
There are many unknown questions about these fascinating rock shapes that are found in the boreal forests of Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, on very large, bare, flat, surfaces of the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
granite rock ridges. The granite was made smooth and flat due to the last ice age as large glaciers passed over the ridges. A large 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) site exists in the Whiteshell Provincial Park
Whiteshell Provincial Park
Whiteshell Provincial Park is a 2,729 km2 park centrally located in Canada in the province of Manitoba. It can be found in the southeast of the province along the Manitoba-Ontario border, approximately 130 km east of Winnipeg. The park is located in the Canadian Shield region and has many...
and may possibly be the largest, intact petroform site in North America. This site is protected by the Province of Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. There are also many other smaller sites in the park, and some sites elsewhere in Manitoba, North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, etc. The word "Manitoba" possibly comes from two Ojibway words meaning where the Spirit, or Manitou, sits. The locations of these petroforms are considered sacred ground by many, and the area was used for ceremonies, to pass along stories, share knowledge, and for elders to gather. One story indicates that this is the general area where the first human was lowered to the Earth. Whiteshell Park has some of the oldest granite bedrock areas on Earth that are mostly composed of a pink coloured granite, or smooth granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
ridges, sometimes perfectly bare and flat, and sometimes a mix of red and grey granite. There are some very large flat areas of this pink, or red coloured, felsic
Felsic
The word "felsic" is a term used in geology to refer to silicate minerals, magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium....
granite that were excellent areas for aboriginal peoples to regularly gather in large numbers without causing a lot of muddy trails and ground. Some of the granite rock is about 3.8 billion years old. The very large flat surfaces of granite resemble a concrete city scape, which provided an ideal place for many prehistoric travelers and traders to gather very often on dry, partly open, flat, and high ground. A practical consideration is that a human made fire on this open rock cannot easily spread to a dry forest.
The Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
is an ancient bedrock of mountains that have been scraped down to smaller ridges by many ice ages. These ridges would have been excellent ancient highways to walk across a land of wetter areas, bogs, dense forests, lakes, and away from the main river canoe routes. Native peoples used the landscape in a reasonable and wise way, that allowed them to more easily move in search of food, for travel, for gatherings, for ceremonies, and for exploring. These ancient rock ridges became valuable routes that snake through the thick forests and across wet and difficult terrain. Petroforms made upon these granite ridges would have been partially a natural outcome based on the importance and use of the ridges for practical reasons and the abundance of glacial till
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
and boulders to make the petroforms. The Whiteshell River
Whiteshell River
Whiteshell River is one of the major rivers in Whiteshell Provincial Park, located in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, near the Ontario border. This river is close to some petroform sites that are about 2000 years old or older...
and Winnipeg River
Winnipeg River
The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is in area, mainly in Canada. About of this area is in northern...
routes were used by natives, fur traders, trappers, and were the main routes to the western prairies from the Eastern Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
and rivers. The petroforms found in the Whiteshell River area are close enough to the canoe routes or river highways that native peoples needed and used.
Other very similar rock circles and medicine wheels can be found across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, but sites elsewhere do not have the diversity of shapes and geometry that the Whiteshell Park sites have. The Whiteshell Provincial Park is named after a white shell, or the miigis shell (a cowrie shell) that was very important to many native peoples across North America and elsewhere in the world. These shells were used for ceremonies and they are found naturally from the shores of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The shells were a part of an extensive prehistoric trading network across North America. Copper, flint, and other types of minerals were also used and traded from far away. Stories written on birch bark scrolls
Birch bark scrolls
Wiigwaasabak are birch bark scrolls, on which the Ojibwa people of North America wrote complex geometrical patterns and shapes. When used specifically for Midewiwin ceremonial use, these scrolls are called mide-wiigwaas...
by the midewiwin
Midewiwin
The Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of the aboriginal groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew and the practices of Midewiwin referred to as Mide...
document some of the history of Ojibway migrations and the discovery of white miigis shells along Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
and elsewhere.
Turtle Mountain Provincial Park
There are areas in and around Turtle Mountain Provincial ParkTurtle Mountain Provincial Park
Turtle Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Within it is the Adam Lake and Max Lake campgrounds. The Park is known for its bike trails, fishing, back country cabins and canoe routes...
that have many medicine wheels and other large petroform shapes. The Turtle mountains are a hilly, rocky terrain, with many small lakes. The glacial till left behind provided plenty of rocks and boulders to pile, line up, and to make many medicine wheels and petroforms. The lack of agriculture in the area helped to protect many petroforms from destruction. The Turtle Mountains are part of the Mandan trail, and the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
also came through the area. The landscape features, including a long natural ridge through North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, named as a serpent, were known and named by native peoples. Natural ridges, hills, and human made mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s were also used for astronomical and burial purposes. Higher areas provided an easier way to observe the horizon, sky, sun, moon, planets, and stars. In addition, higher areas were necessary to keep watch for defensive purposes, similar to old churches and castles in towns and villages.
Wisconsin
The petroform sites in WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
are being studied more closely, and can be dated more easily because of soil deposits over centuries. Many other sites have no layers of soil deposited around the petroforms. Forested areas and soil cover have partially protected many of the petroforms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In many areas across the prairies, large circular medicine wheels were made as astronomical devices, directional maps, and for ceremonial use. Some of these medicine wheels are large, and many were destroyed for agricultural needs by clearing the grasslands of any rocks. Some are intact, such as in the Turtle Mountains
Turtle Mountains (California)
The Turtle Mountains, and Amat 'Achii'ar in the Mojave language, are located in San Bernardino County, California, in the southeastern part of the state.-Geography:The Turtle Mountains are southeast of Needles, California, west off of U.S...
, and other sandy, rocky, or more remote areas that had less crop farms and settlements. Mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
building was also associated in some way with petroform use. Petroforms originally predated the use of mounds and other human-made earthen works that required more time and effort. Although mound building could have originally been necessary and practical to provide some higher ground during floods. There is some speculation that larger mounds would have served as dikes and defensive fortifications, including providing higher ground to keep watch.
See also
- CairnCairnCairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
- Buffalo jumpBuffalo jumpA buffalo jump is a cliff formation which North American Indians historically used in mass killings of plains bison. Hunters herded the bison and drove them over the cliff, breaking their legs and rendering them immobile. Tribe members waiting below closed in with spears and bows to finish the kills...
- Hopewell cultureHopewell cultureThe Hopewell tradition is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BCE to 500 CE. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related...
- InukshukInukshukAn inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...
- MoundMoundA mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
- Mound builder (people)
- PetroglyphPetroglyphPetroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
- PetrosomatoglyphPetrosomatoglyphA petrosomatoglyph is an image of parts of a human or animal body incised in rock. Many were created by Celtic peoples, such as the Picts, Scots, Irish, Cornish, Cumbrians, Bretons and Welsh. These representations date from the Early Middle Ages; others of uncertain purpose date back to megalithic...
- Pictograph
- Rock ArtRock artRock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...