Petroforms, also known as boulder outlines or boulder mosaics, are human-made shapes and patterns of rocks on the open ground. Petroforms in North America were originally made by Indigenous Peoples, who used various terms to describe them. Petroforms can also include a rock cairn or inukshuk, an upright monolith slab, a medicine wheel, a fire pit, a desert kite, sculpted boulders, or simply rocks lined up or stacked for various reasons. Old World petroforms include the Carnac stones and many other megalithic monuments.^[1]

 

Petroforms are shapes and patterns made from arranging large rocks and boulders, often over large areas of open ground, unlike the smaller petroglyphs and graphs which are inscribed on rock surfaces. They were originally made in North America by native peoples for astronomical, religious, sacred, healing, mnemonic devices, and teaching purposes. The specific names of these rock formations and the uses varied by political and religious group.

 

Some of the North American petroform shapes are over 2,500 years old. It is difficult to date all of them accurately because of a lack of soil deposits in some areas. There are claims that some petroforms are up to 8,000 years old. Like the petroglyphs, many petroforms have complex and lengthy teachings that have been passed down orally by the Ojibwa, other First Nations, and the Midewiwin (Grand Medicine Society). Some teachings may have been lost, along with the peoples that originally made some of the oldest petroforms in North America. In some North American States and Provinces, there are laws to protect these important archaeological and historical sites. Vandalism has occurred in the past, and careful protection of these interesting sites is needed. Perhaps some native elders have decided to keep these areas hidden or secret to avoid the possible destruction or altering of sacred sites and memories. One can learn far more about these ancient peoples when there is greater respect given to the ancient ways and artifacts left behind so long ago. Ancient civilizations thrived in North and South America, with grand architecture, math, trading networks, trails, canoes, governing structures, astronomy, symbol making, scrolls, mounds, and more. All of this occurred long before the arrival of Europeans in the 1500s and 1600s. There were very few studies or specific mention of Manitoba petroform sites until the 1900s. The first detailed studies and descriptions of some sites in Manitoba were done by Dr. J  Steinbring and R. Sutton after the 1950s.