Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Petroglyphs or Natural Geology?

Norman Muller writes in:
The Ekonk "petroglyphs" are only one part of the story. That entire area of CT and RI seems to have a type of stone with iron oxide veins that promote the development of circular or figure-8 "petroglyphs." There are some on the Miner Farm (see above, particularly the boulder with the figure 8 on the side), and also on the Yawgoog Scout Reservation, such as Millenium Rock. Jim says geologists have looked at this and have said they are manmade, but these geologists need to be re-educated. Also, the channels are too narrow and deep to have been made with stone tools. I have an article somewhere by Bednarik, an Australian rock art expert, who described xenoliths, and then showed an image of a circular one that looked exactly like the ones on the Miner Farm.

6 comments :

pwax said...

Personally, I agree with Norman. Apologies to my friends who think otherwise.

JimP said...

I was hoping there was new information here.

I don't know what to say except that I defer to the myriad of experts who have extensively studied the petroglyphs at Ekonk Hill. I don't have the expertise to refute them.

Millenium Rock at Yawgoog sits a mere 30 feet away from Symbol Rock, which no one in their right mind would say is anything but manmade. I find it a bit too coincidental that so many geologists have gotten Millenium Rock wrong since the 1920's while at the same time it sits so close to an obviously manmade petroglyph. It's possible, but highly improbable.

My mind isn't made up either way -- I'm just going by what qualified geologists are saying. You fellas are more than welcome to disagree, just as long as you point out that you're disagreeing not with me, but with the multiple geologists, archaeologists, anthropologists, and other professors and scientists who have all studied these rocks extensively in the field.

They spent several years studying Ekonk Hill. Yawgoog has been studied since the 1920's.

pwax said...

There is an simple test: saw one of those rocks in half and see if the circular patterns continue on the interior of the rock.

pwax said...

I think petroglyphs next to unusual rock formations would not be such a big coincidence.

JimP said...

But a petroglyph that gelogists have gotten wrong since the 1920's sitting next to an unqestionable petroglyph I think is. The fact that they occur together coupled with the fact that experts who have studied them for almost 90 years all made the same error on only one would be an enormous coincidence.

Also Norman's comments about the channels being too narrow and deep I also disagree with since Symbol Rock -- an unquestionable petroglyph -- has equally deep and narrow channels.

JimP said...

Also this brings up an interesting point that Bruce was talking with me about last year -- the prospect that some natural formations in a rock are enhanced by human hand. These could have started out as natural formations, but then deepened and highlighted by humans.