HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



5E 4 



" Hi / ~ ' 



Fig. 5. — Petroglyphs on the upper Honawau. 



DISCUSSION 



The first question one asks himself when in the presence of these 

 petroglyphs is, How were they made? They are always on durable 

 rocks which are very difficult to work, even with modern imple- 

 ments. They are usually very well executed. The grooves are regular 

 and show careful and exact work. An exception will be noticed in 

 the carvings from the savannah, where the lines are often carelessly 

 done; here they appear to have been made entirely by scratching with 

 a stone having a sharp edge. The striations are clearly visible in the 

 photographs. All the river specimens were rubbed smooth after they 

 had been scratched or pecked to the desired depth. If they had 

 been pecked and left without smoothing, they would have remained 

 rough and weathered as rapidly as the rock surface. No implements 

 were found about the rocks, and so were probably carried away for 

 other use. Where the petroglyphs occur on high cliff -walls, now diffi- 

 cult or impossible of access, it does not necessarily prove that the 

 same difficulty existed at the time they were made. A rock ledge or 

 talus slope, since carried away by the river, may have given easy 

 access to the location. Where they occur on fragments, they have 

 not fallen from the cliffs but were made after the rocks had fallen, 

 as is proved by the fact that the designs may be found on any side 

 except the bottom. 



The question of age is always an interesting one, but here there 

 is very little direct evidence to assist in its determination. Indians 

 occupying the regions where the glyphs occur know nothing of their 

 origin or significance, and have no traditions nor beliefs regarding 

 them. They were made by people who were accustomed to work in 

 stone, but the present tribes use no stone implements. The rocks 

 with glyphs in the savannah are in the region of the traditional home 

 of the Wapisianas. The house of the god Tumincar was in a mountain 

 near by. On one side is "virgin mountain", and on the other is the 

 "virgin mountain's mate". There are traditions connected with all 



[92] 



