The oldest petroglyphs in North America: 15 thousand years ago?
The oldest North America's abstract petroglyphs are located near the Lake Winnemucca in western Nevada. According to scholars, the engravings date back to at least 10.5 thousand years ago, but an even older dating cannot be ruled out which could make them date back to 15 thousand years ago, making them the oldest petroglyphs known in North America.
Near Lake Winnemucca, in western Nevada, there is a series of abstract petroglyphs. According to scholars, the engravings date back to at least 10.5 thousand years ago, but an even older dating cannot be ruled out which could make them date back to 15 thousand years ago, making them the oldest petroglyphs known in North America.
Various methods have been used to date the rock carvings, including identifying the water level of Lake Winnemucca which, before drying up, covered the decorated rocks, leaving a thin layer of white carbonate then used for dating radiocarbon. Analisys suggests that the limestone boulders containing the petroglyphs were exposed to the air between 14.8 thousand and 10.5 thousand years ago.
Petroglyphs consist of large grooves and dots etched deeply into the limestone rock, forming many complex designs.
It is still unknown what the ancient carvings might represent.
Although no people or animals are depicted, the drawings include a series of linked symbols and a series of small, deeply engraved wells. Some appear to represent precious stones, others trees or branches of a leaf.
Was America inhabited 15 thousand years ago? Which civilization made them? What happened to this ancient civilization?
