A look back in time has resurfaced in Hawaii, with ancient petroglyphs, estimated to be over 1,000 years old, being unearthed on Oahu’s west side at Pōkaʻī Bay.
The ancient images show stick figure drawings, some resembling a parent and a child, etched into the volcanic stone, with waves crashing over them. These particular petroglyphs in Hawaii were discovered in 2016, but only recently have they reemerged.
Check ‘em out below.
According to Archaeology Magazine:
“These carvings are visible during low tide, as waves gently roll over rocks covered in algae. Experts date them to be at least 500 to 600 years old, although some of the oral traditions state that Native Hawaiians have been in the area for more than 1,000 years. Carved into a sandstone platform, the petroglyphs extend about 115 feet along the shoreline and include abstract shapes and anthropomorphic human figures, some of which are detailed—two of the large figures even have fingers, a rarity in Hawaiian petroglyphs. The tallest figure is more than eight feet tall.”
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Hawaiians have a history of carving images into the stone, depicting stories, messages, or having ceremonial purposes. For more on that history, here’s what the experts say:
“To the Native Hawaiian community, the petroglyphs are not just historic artifacts—they are spiritual and ancestral messages. Some researchers believe they depict ceremonial or religious narratives. One figure with raised and lowered arms might represent sunrise and sunset, connecting the images to natural cycles significant in traditional Hawaiian belief.”
If anything, the reemergence of the ancient drawings are simply cool – like a time capsule into a different era, proof of a past rich with culture and community.
“You just never expect anything like that to be discovered especially in our shoreline. I didn’t even know that was possible,” Nohea Stevens, a Waianae Coast resident, told Hawaii News Now.
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