Petroglyphs Provincial Park
Encyclopedia
Petroglyphs Provincial Park is a historical-class provincial park
situated in Woodview, Ontario, Canada
, northeast of Peterborough
. It has the largest collection of ancient First Nations
petroglyph
s (rock carvings) in Ontario. The carvings were created in the pre-Columbian
era and represents aspects of First Nations spirituality, including images of shamans, animals, reptiles, and, possibly, the Great Spirit itself.
The location of the site was forgotten until 1954, when it was rediscovered accidentally by miners of the Industrial Minerals of Canada. The immediate area of the petroglyphs has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
people between 900 and 1400 AD., if not somewhat earlier during the Archaic. Today, the First Nations people of Ontario call the carvings Kinomagewapkong, meaning "the rocks that teach" or "the Teaching Rocks". The 900 carvings were made using gneiss
hammers to incise showing human figures, animals and a dominant figure whose head apparently represents the sun into the softer, gently sloping walls.
The petroglyphs were first thoroughly recorded in 1967 and 1968 by Joan Vastokas of the University of Toronto and Ron Vastokas of Trent University in Peterborough. Their book, Sacred Art of the Algonkians, is considered by rock art scholars the most definitive study and interpretation to date.
According to the Learning Center aboriginal tour guides and teachers, while the glyphs are important they are not the primary spiritual significance that make this site sacred. The rock site itself is a sacred place, today a place of pilgrimage for Ojibwa people in the neighborhood. The deep crevices in the rock are believed to lead to the spirit world, as there is an underground trickle of water that runs beneath the rock which produces sounds interpreted by Aboriginal people as those of the Spirits speaking to them.
.
The park's visitor centre is known as the Learning Place, and opened in 2002. The centre is managed by Curve Lake First Nation
, and features displays about the petroglyphs and their spiritual significance to the First Nations people. A movie The Teaching Rocks is shown daily, upon request and during evening programs. There is also a children's hands-on activity room and a gift shop.
The rock carvings are covered by a protective building, and there are interpretive plaques and guides at the site. Some native people have requested that photographing and videotaping the rock carvings not be permitted, for spiritual reasons.
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
situated in Woodview, Ontario, 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...
, northeast of Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
. It has the largest collection of ancient 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...
petroglyph
Petroglyph
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 (rock carvings) in Ontario. The carvings were created in the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
era and represents aspects of First Nations spirituality, including images of shamans, animals, reptiles, and, possibly, the Great Spirit itself.
The location of the site was forgotten until 1954, when it was rediscovered accidentally by miners of the Industrial Minerals of Canada. The immediate area of the petroglyphs has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
Petroglyph origins
The stone is generally believed to have been carved by the AlgonkianAlgonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
people between 900 and 1400 AD., if not somewhat earlier during the Archaic. Today, the First Nations people of Ontario call the carvings Kinomagewapkong, meaning "the rocks that teach" or "the Teaching Rocks". The 900 carvings were made using gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
hammers to incise showing human figures, animals and a dominant figure whose head apparently represents the sun into the softer, gently sloping walls.
The petroglyphs were first thoroughly recorded in 1967 and 1968 by Joan Vastokas of the University of Toronto and Ron Vastokas of Trent University in Peterborough. Their book, Sacred Art of the Algonkians, is considered by rock art scholars the most definitive study and interpretation to date.
According to the Learning Center aboriginal tour guides and teachers, while the glyphs are important they are not the primary spiritual significance that make this site sacred. The rock site itself is a sacred place, today a place of pilgrimage for Ojibwa people in the neighborhood. The deep crevices in the rock are believed to lead to the spirit world, as there is an underground trickle of water that runs beneath the rock which produces sounds interpreted by Aboriginal people as those of the Spirits speaking to them.
Ecology
Although officially a Historical Class park, the Petroglyphs themselves are actually concentrated in a relatively small area of the 1643 hectare park. The rest consists of primarily woodland habitat home to several provincially rare species.Facilities
The park is open 10 am to 5 pm daily from the second Friday in May to ThanksgivingThanksgiving (Canada)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day , occurring on the second Monday in October , is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season....
.
The park's visitor centre is known as the Learning Place, and opened in 2002. The centre is managed by Curve Lake First Nation
Curve Lake First Nation
The Curve Lake First Nation is Mississauga Ojibway First Nation located in Peterborough County of Ontario. The Curve Lake First Nation occupies three reserves; Curve Lake First Nation 35 Reserve, Curve Lake 35A Reserve, and Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A. The last of these reserves...
, and features displays about the petroglyphs and their spiritual significance to the First Nations people. A movie The Teaching Rocks is shown daily, upon request and during evening programs. There is also a children's hands-on activity room and a gift shop.
The rock carvings are covered by a protective building, and there are interpretive plaques and guides at the site. Some native people have requested that photographing and videotaping the rock carvings not be permitted, for spiritual reasons.