and Heritage Tour Operators in British Columbia
on Gabriola Island
Photo: M. Guille
and paintings are found throughout the inhabited world. In British
Columbia alone, over 500 examples of this type of archaeological
site have been recorded, more than in any other province in Canada.
The rock carvings, or petroglyphs, were made by the aboriginal
people of the region by pecking and abrading selected rock surfaces
with stone tools.
The paintings, or pictographs, were applied to rock with
brushes, sticks or fingers. Pigments were usually made from powdered
minerals (ochres); haematite and limonite.
A binder of animal fat or fish eggs may have been added to make
them adhere to the rock surface. The bonding ability and composition
of the pigment is such that it easily outlasts the commercial paints
of today. Over 90 per cent of all rock paintings are red.
Locations for rock art carvings and paintings were carefully chosen.
They were places of power or mystery; places where the forces of
nature were believed to be especially strong. They are marked by
unusual natural features such as waterfalls, rock formations or
caves. Nearly all sites are near water and may also be near old
village sites or along trails or ancient trade routes.
For reasons not fully understood, a great many petroglyphs were
carved on intertidal beach boulders submerged by the sea, or hidden
below flooding rivers, appearing only when the tide is out or when
the river water levels drop. Pictographs are almost always found
safe and dry above the high-water mark of rivers, lakes or inlets.
They were usually made on smooth, light-coloured rock surfaces where
the red pigment could be easily seen.
Petroglyphs and pictographs are the records of a people with no
written language and are rare links with the past native cultures
of the province. They record coming of age ceremonies, performed
by youths, and were burial markers or guardians for the dead. They
commemorate potlatches and semi-secret events occurring during the
winter ceremonials. Some, like the intertidal carvings of the coast,
may have 'called' the fish into the rivers to be caught. Others
marked the boundaries of hunting and fishing territories. Certain
sites may have been part of secretive shamanistic rituals. A few
were records of disaster: floods, landslides, storms, and wars.
Many appear to have been the personal records of individuals' experiences.
Although in a few cases there are ethnographic explanations of why
a particular carving or painting was made, the majority are still
thought-provoking likeness to a helmeted Viking Photo: M.
The age of very
few petroglyphs and pictographs is known - and they are among the
most recent. The stories of old people or the subject matter of
some of the designs, for example historic sailing ships or horsemen,
are often the only clues to age.
Of the 300 or so sites on the BC coast, fewer than 30 can be dated
and most of these are approximate estimates at best. A few designs
were made as late as the 1920's, but no one knows how old the older
We don't even know which are the older ones. The practice of making
petroglyphs and pictographs is probably as old as man in BC. The
first of the Indian people arrived in the province shortly after
the ice of the last glacial age had begun to retreat some 14,000
The earliest archaeological remains in BC, known at present, are
between 9,000 - 12,000 years old.
It is, however, extremely unlikely that any existing petroglyphs
or pictographs are that ancient since the natural forces of erosion:
washing tides, abrading sand and gravel, wind, sun, rain, frost
and vegetative growth, would have obliterated any early designs
long ago. Field researchers often find vestiges of carvings and
faint traces of paints too weathered to be recorded. The carbon
14 technique and other useful dating tools of the archaeologist
can only rarely be applied to rock art sites. Estimates of the probable
age of existing BC rock art range up to a maximum of 3,000 years.
Researchers are attempting to record and understand rock art before
the relentless forces of erosion succeed in destroying the sites
completely. Only when we understand how these carvings and paintings
were made can we begin to make recommendations for their preservation.
Given time, techniques can be developed to cope with natural erosion.
Human damage poses a far greater threat to rock art sites. Unlike
natural erosion it is unusually swift and violent. Many sites have
already been lost to construction and vandalism. A site that has
survived several hundred years to natural erosion can be severely
damaged or totally destroyed in a few seconds by souvenir hunters
chipping away at fragile surfaces, by thoughtless individuals who
scratch, chalk or paint over the designs, or by the construction
All rock art sites in BC are protected by law. However, none can
be considered as protected unless everyone recognizes them as vulnerable
and respects them as a unique part of the cultural heritage of British
Petroglyph sites in British Columbia
Nanaimo, Vancouver Island
Petroglyph Provincial Park in Nanaimo
provides the most concentrated and easily accessible collection
of carvings in BC. Visitors can make their own petroglyph rubbings
here, or at the Nanaimo Museum, where further information is provided
on other petroglyphs in the area.
Port Alberni, Vancouver
One of the finest panels of petroglyphs to be seen in British Columbia
is located on Sproat Lake, at the east end of Sproat
Lake Provincial Park. Located west of Port Alberni, the park
combines a visit to the petroglyphs with great recreation provided
on Sproat Lake.
Sooke, Vancouver Island
East Sooke Regional Park in yields
magnificent Coast Salish petroglyphs at Alldridge point, designated
as a provincial heritage site in 1927. Here you'll see petroglyphs
carved in a style particular to the Strait of Juan de Fuca region.
Quadra Island, Gulf
abound along the beaches of Quadra Island, around Cape Mudge Lighthouse
and at the Nuyumbalees Cultural Center (formerly Kwagiulth Museum
and Cultural Center) in
Cape Mudge Village. "Cup and Ring" carvings on Quadra Island are
identical to those found throughout Britain and Ireland, particularly
in Northeastern England, and are estimated to date from the same
era - over 5,000 years ago. The petroglyphs in the grounds of the
museum were relocated from Cape Mudge beaches for their protection.
replica used for rubbings at the Gabriola Museum
Island, Gulf Islands
Known as Petroglyph Island, nearly 100 petroglyphs are dotted all
over Gabriola Island, accessible by a short ferry ride from Nanaimo.
The Gabriola Museum, located a short walk from the ferry dock, displays
concrete replicas of a selection of the island's stone carvings,
allowing visitors to take rubbings of these mythical creatures (see
photo on the right).
Thorsen Creek, Bella Coola
Hundreds of petroglyphs have fallen from a cliff-face and lie scattered
among tree roots deep in the forest west of Bella Coola. Norwegian
explorer Thor Heyerdahl suggested that the Easter Islanders originated
here because the incised rock symbols on the canyon face so greatly
resemble the Polynesian stone carvings on Easter Island.
History and Heritage
Tour Operators in British Columbia
For more information
about petroglyphs and pictographs contact the Royal
British Columbia Museum in Victoria.