Dating back 10,000 years at the very least, the oldest petroglyphs on record in North America come in the form of ancient etchings on limestone boulders. The rocks are found by the dry Pyramid Lake bed located in the high desert area of northern Nevada, specifically on the reservation land of the Paiute Tribe.
A geochemist named Larry Benson tested the etchings with radiocarbon and found it to be around 14,800 years old. The radiocarbon test revealed the carbonate layer under the petroglyphs to approximately date back 14,800 years. Benson used to be a research scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey. He is presently connected with the University of Colorado Natural History Museum in Boulder as its curator of anthropology.
The Pyramid Lake was also the source of rock samples, sediment, and data on geochemical evidence that reveal the area’s air exposure from 13,200 to 14,800 years ago, as well as 10,500 to 11,300 years back.
Later etchings come in the form of an antelope or a spear, but these oldest carvings are abstract in form and are composed of geometric patterns in tight clusters. Diamond patterns are clearly discernible, as well as long lines with short parallel lines on top. The carved lines are deep and characterized by curved, linear, circular, and geometric patterns. There are also some designs that take the form of trees. There is an evenly-spaced series composed of vertical ‘V’s with vertical lines crossing them.
No study has yet ascertained as to who crafted the carvings on the limestone rocks. Researchers forward the notion that the carvings might be a depiction or rendition of numerous symbols in ancient meteorology like lightning, clouds, and even the Milky Way galaxy.
Whether the carvings are 14,800 or 10,500 years old, they are still the oldest petroglyphs in North America.
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