Pictographs

Pictographs, in constrast to petroglyphs, are images painted onto rocks and other surfaces by prehistoric peoples. In some cases people painted with their fingers, at other times with rudimentary brushes. Different paint colors were created by mixing pigments with substances such as charcoal, blood, plant and fish oils, animal fat, and even hematite at times.  The U.S. Southwest harbors an irreplaceably large concentration of pictographs and other rock art in western North America, the oldest believed to have been created nearly 15,000 years ago.