by Lawrence Goodlive

Among the reminders of the indigenous Nicaraguans’  thousands of years of presence is an abundance of  rock art, carvings  in stone, called  petroglyphs.  These symbols are considered a stepping stone in human commucation forms; they were preceded by more primitive cave paintings and evolved into more sophisticated hieroglyphs, the first alphabets. Other sources suggest that some petroglyphs are simply the work of Neolithic  graffiti artists. Making your own interpretation of what they mean, and why, is part of the fun of viewing them. 

 Petroglyphs are associated with ancient sites all over the country. Rock art pervades settings as diverse as the volcanic tuff walls of Cailagua in Masaya, basaltic rock engravings along riversides in Matagalpa and the Segovias and crosses and spiral forms more characteristic of Chontales and parts of the Atlantic and central regions.   ; these are  the Montelimar Cave near the Pacific coast in the department of Managua, Cailagua in Masaya and Isla del Muerto in the Zapatera Archipelago in Granada. The petroglyphs at all three sites were engraved upon volcanic tuff: consolidated volcanic ash that solidified as it cooled. Tuff is intensively quarried in the Pacific region, because it is a readily found and workable material appropriate for construction; there are at least two petroglyph sites that recently disappeared because of quarrying  activity. Sites listed below are just some of the many around Nicaragua.