Category: Roadside Art

The Puako site, which is only a few miles from Waikoloa, has nearly 4,000 documented petroglyphs, some likely to be at least 800 years old. There are some fantastic groupings of anthropomorphic figures here. Some carvings have been lost to construction and fire-fighting activities, and the whole site is set within a dense forest of invasive kiawe trees. Some of the surviving carvings have been damaged by human activities, in some cases vandalism, but also by being loved too much. Taking rubbings or making casts harms the petroglyphs. But the site is still a remarkably concentrated instance of human creative

The Pu`u Loa petroglyph site is in a more-or-less middle-of-nowhere section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was a popular destination, however, over the hundreds of years when its 23,000+ carvings were being created, and it remains deservedly so today for visitors to the park. The site is especially rich in cupules, where umbilical cord stumps were placed to ensure health and long life for babies. It appears many family members made the trek to this location to perform that ritual. Much of the information on this and my other Hawaii pages is from the highly recommend Spirit of Place:

Hawaiian petroglyphs are rich in symbols, with a tremendous concentration at Waikoloa. Circles predominate, some in conjunction with cupules, some concentric, and some stopping short of completion. One theory holds that circles recorded a circumambulation of the island, with multiple circles indicating the number of people in the group. But the certainty of that account seems a bit shaky. More dependable, it seems, is the narrative of cupules being the repository for umbilical cords. Much of the information on this and my other Hawaii pages is from the highly recommend Spirit of Place: Petroglyphs of Hawaii, by Georgia Lee and

The field of petroglyphs at Waikoloa is a survivor of intense development all around it — resorts, condos, golf courses, shopping malls, and more. The vistas remain impressive, however. Much of the information on this and my other Hawaii pages is from the highly recommend Spirit of Place: Petroglyphs of Hawaii, by Georgia Lee and Edward Stasack. It seems to be the most authoritative account of what we know about the carvings, and the difficulties of knowing what we know. The extensive data it lays out reflects an impressive amount of research, and the authors also appreciate the aesthetic impact

Within decades of the first known contact with Europeans, in 1778, the Hawaiian language gained letters. For a brief period while petroglyphs were still a living art, letters, words, and sometimes dates were added to the great aggregation of carvings at Waikoloa. Much of the information on this and my other Hawaii pages is from the highly recommend Spirit of Place: Petroglyphs of Hawaii, by Georgia Lee and Edward Stasack. It seems to be the most authoritative account of what we know about the carvings, and the difficulties of knowing what we know. The extensive data it lays out reflects

An ancient survivor amidst golf courses, condominiums, resorts, and shopping centers, the Waikoloa petroglyph site runs alongside the King’s Highway, itself based on an ancient trail. Ancient carvings in a setting like this are not likely to survive unscathed, and large quantities of them have been destroyed by construction activities. At least a few thousand persist, however. Note that the stick figures are believed to be older than the triangle-bodied figures. Two of these carvings (the second and the last below) can be dated to after 1778, the time of the first known contact with Europeans, led by Captain James