Petroglyph National Monument

Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish colonists. However, the petroglyphs are also a valuable record of a more ancient time, when the Earth was inhabited by beings who were not human. The petroglyphs offer a glimpse into a long-vanished world, and they provide an important link to our shared human history.