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 Petroforms in North America were originally made by various Native American and First Nation tribes, who used various terms to describe them. Petroforms can also include a rock

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

or inukshuk, an upright monolith slab, a medicine wheel, a

fire pit The defining feature of fire pits is that they are designed to contain fire and prevent it from spreading. A fire pit can vary from a pit dug in the ground (fire hole) to an elaborate gas burning structure of stone, brick, and metal. Certain cont ...

, 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.

Definition

Petroforms are shapes and geometrical patterns made from arranging large rocks and boulders, often over large areas of open ground, unlike the smaller

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

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 They were originally made in North America by native peoples for astronomical, religious, sacred, healing,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 A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

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

The first stone phase at

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

has been dated to about 2600 BCE.

Stone circles A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being bu ...

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 possibly by 3000 BCE; they fell out of use in the Neolithic as prey populations declined and the human population rose. Petroform 3 josephprymak Joseph Prymak

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. Like the petroglyphs, many petroforms have complex and lengthy teachings that have been passed down orally by the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, other

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

, and the

Midewiwin The Midewiwin (in Ojibwe syllabics, syllabics: , also spelled ''Midewin'' and ''Medewiwin'') or the Grand Medicine Society is a religious society of some of the Indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North A ...

. 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. 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 is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

were done by J. Steinbring and R. Sutton after the 1950s. Presently, many

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

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.

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 scrolls, 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,

mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

s, ridges, and natural rock formations. Higher ground allowed humans to carefully observe the

horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

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 A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

es,

solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

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 Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

. 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

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

, and elsewhere. It has been suggested that megalithic monuments including

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, and wild asses. There are similar structures on most continents.

Navigation aids

The inuksuit of the Arctic act as navigation aids, an aid for hunting, or to mark important locations. The rock marker helped the traveler or hunter to find the best route across the land. Someone left a marker to help anyone else passing through the area, and to help with not getting lost. These markers can have very practical and universal purposes. Some petroforms are located along portage routes and canoe routes as well. Human made markers can be easier to remember than common natural features of the landscape. Rock ridges would have been natural trails through dense forest or wet terrain. Whiteshell Provincial Park petroforms are located on top of the granite ridges that snake through the forest and wetlands landscape.

Burial sites

The

Dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s widespread in Europe and much of Asia are interpreted as Neolithic burial chambers. Large boulders make excellent long term markers for important and sacred places, just as burial plots are marked by large stones today. Some petroforms could be close to ancient burial areas, or near sacred areas associated with the dead. Large rocks are a universal marker that can last for generations. Boulders will last for tens of thousands of years. In memory of a person or the history about a place, these markers help future generations to learn about the past. These markers help to provide long term memories and reminders of a time long ago.

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. Large rocks are very permanent, thereby helping to pass along certain memories, knowledge, and wisdom. Some large boulders in North America have long stories that relate to the area and a memory about that place. A large boulder, sitting alone, catches the eye as a major landmark. Many petroforms in Whiteshell Provincial Park have long stories associated with each one.

Other rituals and unknown purposes

Aboriginal 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. There was certainly an attempt to leave their mark upon the landscape, and large boulders or rocks are very permanent markers. The Nazca Lines include many animal and other shapes. Petroforms in North America are often related to earthen

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 is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

, 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,

, and many other megalithic monuments are lost.

Localities

Whiteshell Provincial Park

One of the locations of petroform sites, including effigies, is in Southeastern

, in Whiteshell Provincial Park, Canada. Whiteshell Park is named after the white cowrie shells used by some

peoples in ceremonies. The

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...

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. It is an area where three rivers meet, along the edge of the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

, close to the edge of prairie grasslands. The rivers were ancient highways and trade routes, bringing humans from far and wide to the area. Some large boulders appear to be carved, chipped, or altered to look like turtle heads and other animals. A very wide variety of petroform shapes are found in the park, including snakes, turtles, geometric lines, patterns, and large circles. Most of the known petroforms are found on the top of granite ridges. The granite ridges and hills are often very flat in areas, resembling a large concrete parking lot. These open areas have a very smooth granite left behind from the last ice age. In some areas there is no soil, no lichen, and the surface is polished to a shine. The large boulders aligned are in striking contrast to the flat granite beneath them. Local First Nations have teachers and elders that pass along the stories associated with some of these petroforms. Many of the sites and their past use is a mystery, with no certain answers. Some elders refer to one site as extremely sacred and important, and few people should venture there. The Midewiwin have oral teachings about some of the petroforms, but no one group claims to know all the history of the area.

Wisconsin

The petroform sites in

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 A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

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.

References

Current Research on Wisconsin Petroforms by Jack Steinbring
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090106031513/http://www.nativepeoples.com/article/articles/197/1/Petroforms.html Petroforms As It Is Above, So It Is Below by Patricia A. Kurtz*Steinbring, Jack 1970 "Boulder Site In Southeastern Manitoba," in Ten Thousand Years: Archaeology In Manitoba, Walter Hlady, Edit., pp. 223–268, Manitoba Archaeological Society, Winnipeg. *Danziger, E and R.T. Callaghan 1986 “The Southeastern Manitoba Petroforms,” in Studies in Manitoba Rock Art: Petroforms, Province of Manitoba Historic Resources Branch, 2nd Edition, Second Printing, Winnipeg.

External links

Google Maps of Whiteshell Provincial Park

Bannock Point Petrofoms

Turtle Mountain petroforms

{{Prehistoric technology, state=expanded Archaeological features Ojibwe