Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Pictographs and Petroglyphs and the stories they tell!
We can learn about the people that lived tens of thousands of years ago just by looking at the pictures they left behind!
More than 6,000 years ago people were telling stories, not with words as we do today, but with pictures. This is during a preliterate time of human existence, or a time before language was written down and people were able to read and write.
A pictograph is a “picture” of a person or idea. Ancient peoples painted on rocks and caves the stories of their lives and the things that were important to them, such as hunting animals, celebrations and decorative art.
Pictograph 1: A full body (ancient rock art in Arkansas) Pictograph 2: A Pictograph (Lascaux Cave painting) of the large animals alive at the time. Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Another way that pictures were created is as petroglyphs, or pictures that were carved or scraped into rock rather than painted. This rock art is able to be seen throughout the world in thousands of cultures that lived and died, but whom we can remember today because of these wonderful pictures in rock. The word petroglyph comes from the Greek prefix ‘petro’ meaning stone, and ‘glypho’ meaning “to carve”.
Petroglyph 1: Alta, Northern Norway (red ochre paint rock art). Hunter – Gatherers.
Petroglyph 2: Tanumshede, Western Sweden (Nordic Bronze Age).
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Hunters with bows and arrows, and bighorn sheep. Petroglyphs carved by possibly the Fremont people in what is now Nine Mile Canyon, near Price, Utah, USA.
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock State Park near Monticello, Utah, USA. Thought to have been created by Native Americans. (sandstone)
Petroglyphs of animals at a site near Twyfelfontein, Namibia. They are thought to have been made by local tribespeople.
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Activities: Play Dough Petroglyphs 1. How do you like to remember things you do and see when travelling with the family? You can write a Journal entry or share pictures, but you can also create a petroglyph!
a) Draw out a story of your family for your petroglyph before using the play dough.
b) Make some sand play dough. (recipe below)
c) Collect some carving tools like a knife, chopstick, straw, nail etc. Anything thin or sharp that you will use to carve your petroglyphs in the play dough rock.
d) If you want to add some colour like some cultures did you can use markers and paint on the play dough.
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Sand Play Dough Recipe 1/2 cup flour 1/4 cup salt 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup water 1 cup sand
Combine dry ingredients in a large pot and stir until well mixed. Stir in water and oil until combined.
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until dough is thick.
Remove play dough from the pot and place on a plate or cookie sheet until cool enough to handle. Cover with a paper towel or dish cloth so it won’t dry out.
Once dough is cool enough to handle, knead sand into dough until well incorporated.
Once dough reaches room temperature, store in an airtight container or zipper bag.
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Tell a story in pictures
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Pictures telling stories are not just ancient history. We use pictures in our modern world too. Look at this National park service’s signs that are in their parks. Can you figure out what each sign means? Why do you think a park uses these signs?
Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Aboriginal Hand Prints "One old man in Arnhem Land remembered being carried as a child on his father's shoulders as his father climbed up a log leaning against a rock wall. His father then sprayed his hand with red ochre against the rock, leaving a stencil he could still recognize many years later. The main function of the stencils was to record people's presence and association with a site."
Pic 1: Aboriginal hand stencil rock art. Pic 2: Aboriginal rock, stencil art (2000 years old)
Pic 3: Aboriginal rock art, Grampians. Language/History Cosmic Fable 4 Follow-Up Term 4 Week 1 DL 2020
Procedure 1. Observe the examples of Aboriginal art. Aboriginal artists use the 9 lines in their art - long, short, curved, straight, thick, thin, loop, zigzag and dot.
2. Use a scrap piece of paper and trace your hand and cut it out. Tape the hand from the back to a piece of construction paper.
3. Using a squirt bottle, water down tempera paint, about 2 parts paint to 1-part water. Squirt lightly around the hand. Let dry thoroughly.
4. Remove the hand. Using construction paper crayons decorate your hand stencil with Aboriginal designs.