PetrogyphMaryland Petroglyphs (rock carvings)

PETROGLYPHS are prehistoric depictions carved in rock. The designs were pecked or carved into relatively soft rock, and possibly “finished” by polishing the cut grooves with sand and a blunt tool such as a piece of green wood. Many of Maryland's petroglyphs have been destroyed, most of the remaining ones are badly weathered, and only one is still found in its original location.

In Maryland, such prehistoric artwork is known from just two sites: (1) at Bald Friar in the lower Susquehanna River, and (2) at Great Falls in the middle Potomac River. The designs, though sometimes readily recognizable, are often enigmatic. In any case, the meaning behind the petroglyphs, which are thought to be some 500 to 1,000 years old, continues to elude modern researchers.

Bald Friar PetroglyphsMARYLAND'S PETROGLYPHS are a unique aspect of the state's cultural heritage. From an archeological perspective, they are puzzling. The two petroglyph sites in the state are situated in similar settings: the Great Falls petroglyph is located at the point where the Potomac begins its descent from the Piedmont into the Coastal Plain, while the Bald Friar glyphs were found at the lowermost ford of the Susquehanna before it empties into Chesapeake Bay. Likewise, both Maryland sites share the “serpent's head” motif, a design that is noticeably absent from other petroglyph sites in the region, including the famous Safe Harbor glyphs just 20 miles upstream from Bald Friar in the Pennsylvania section of the Susquehanna. At Safe Harbor, the more realistic depictions of a variety of animals and humans (including some with bows) stand in stark contrast to the enigmatic “serpent's head” which predominates at Bald Friar. Could this distinct difference between two sites so close represent two different tribal or cultural areas? Or are the differences the result of time, with one site much earlier or later than the other?
        When were the petroglyphs carved and by whom? Why were these time-consuming art projects undertaken, and why were such specific locations selected? Why are they not found elsewhere in the state? And what do the symbols mean? Some of these questions may be answered by future research, but most will remain questions.

Sources for more information on Maryland petroglyphs:

Anonymous (1927). To Preserve One of the Greatest Monuments of Maryland. Maryland Academy of Sciences Bulletin 6(2):21-22.

Anonymous (1927). The Indian Pictographs of the Susquehanna. Maryland Academy of Sciences Bulletin 6(4):62-64.

Anonymous (1928). The Indian Rocks of the Susquehanna. Maryland Academy of Sciences Bulletin 7(4):53-59.

Anonymous (1929). The Prehistoric Petroglyphs of the Susquehanna. Maryland Academy of Sciences Bulletin 8(2):4-13; 8(4):7-10.

Beveridge, James (1926). The Fictile Art of the Susquehannock Indians. Maryland Academy of Sciences Bulletin 5(2):21-24.

Cadzow, Donald A. (1934). Petroglyphs [Rock Carvings] in the Susquehanna River near Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania. Safe Harbor Report No. 1, Pennsylvania Historical Commission, Harrisburg.

Cresthull, Paul (1973). A Catalog of Maryland Petroglyphs. Maryland Archeology 9(1-2):29-34.

Cresthull, Paul (1974). Typology of Human Head Petroglyphs from the Bald Friar Site. Maryland Archeology 10(1-2):7-14.

Frazer, Persifor, Jr. (1880). The Geology of Lancaster County. Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, CCC. Harrisburg.

Galbraith, F.G. (1883). Rock Carvings on the Susquehanna River. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1881, p. 642.

Lenik, Edward J. (2004). The Bald Friar Petroglyphs of Maryland: Threatened, Rescued, Lost, and Found. In The Rock-Art of Eastern North America: Capturing Images and Insight, edited by Carol Diaz-Granados and James R. Duncan, pp. 290-307. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.

Mallery, Garrick (1893). Picture-Writing of the American Indians. Tenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1888-89. Washington, D.C.

Marye, William B. (1938). Petroglyphs near Bald Friar. In A Report of the Susquehanna River Expedition [Sponsored in 1916 by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation], compiled by Warren King Moorehead, pp. 97-121.

Nicholas, Francis C. (1929). The Petroglyphs of the Susquehanna. Maryland Academy of Sciences Bulletin 8(1):5-13.

Porter, T.C., and S.C. Boyd (1868). Report on Bald Friar Petroglyphs. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 10:522.

Porter, T.C., and S.C. Boyd (1869). Report on Bald Friar Petroglyphs. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 11:3.

Rau, Charles (1882). Observations on Cup-Shaped and other Lapidarian Sculptures of the Old World and in North America. Contributions to North American Ethnology 5:60-62, Figs. 46-51. Washington, D.C.

Reynolds, George M. (1960). Indian Picture Writing from Bald Friar Maryland. Archeological Society of Maryland Miscellaneous Papers 3:23-26.

 

This page updated: May 8, 2009