People have been communicating with symbols since the dawn of man. American Indians carved images into rocks to speak a language of symbols. They were communicating things about their lives like religion, food, tribal happenings.
The word petroglyph has Greek origins that means “rock carving”. Here is an example of a many symbols carved into a sandstone rock face. Over time rock faces get a varnished coating that can be etched into like this one.
This is an interesting site that is a good place to start to learn more about petroglyphs, particularly in North America http://www.crystalinks.com/petroglyphs.html
If only there was some way to bring petroglyphs into our online world. Wouldn’t that be cool?
Comment by Brian Massey — October 22, 2008 @ 4:11 am
Brian -
Sure thing! You can make your own petroglyph about you. It is called Mikons.com. I am fascinated with icons and images that are used to connect people. Check it out and stay tuned. You might also want to check out MikonMixers.com
Mark
Comment by mikonmark — October 22, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
I hosted a ladies happy hour last weekend and had a sheet of Mikons from the SEM for SMB Conference in my laptop case. I purposefully laid the Mikons between the wine and cheese. Someone asked me what they were and that sparked a great conversation about Mikons, archetypes and what symbols would represent us … several ladies stole a Mikon or 2 …
Comment by sushirose — October 23, 2008 @ 2:14 am