Anthropomorphic petroglyph on Gabriola Island. Note how the patina of the rock has been disturbed by tracing.
Gabriola Island has some of the most spectacular and important petroglyphs in the world — and unfortunately, they are just as threatened by developers and development pressures, as I have noted before. Since these sites seem to not always matter as much as I think they should, it is nice to see an awestruck first person account by a person with no vested interest. Why on earth would those who purport to love and respect Gabriola Island and Snuneymuxw culture be so intent on diminishing this kind of experience?
Even so, I must comment on the destructive practice of rubbing, not so much through cloth but the scraping of the lines to remove weathering patina and lichen in order to take clearer photographs. This is a very unfortunate practice which hastens the disintegration of the rock art.
Northwest Coast Archaeology 
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re:gabriola island petroglyphs
The one rubbing was done with extreme care not to damage rock surface. Photos taken at another site
were done without touching the
rock carvings in any way. I am aware
how important these ancient treasures are.
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Hi Elaine. Thanks for the comment. It is clear from the picture that someone, obviously not you, did a lot of lichen scraping to “enhance” this particular carving. I don’t believe the damage shown could have been caused by simple rubbing of the type you describe! q.
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