The number one danger petroglyphs face is destruction either by natural processes or at the hands of human beings. Petroglyphs can fall away in rock flakes caused by erosion. Water can come in contact of the rock art and start to erase the drawings. Water can get between the rocks and freeze creating bigger cracks in the rock causing the rock to break. These natural processes usually occur at a slow pace over time. Careless humans have vandalized the Hohokam petroglyphs by spray painting words or images of them, chipping away the rock in attempt to steal the images, or even touching or handling the rock’s surface.  The number one way we can protect the images of petroglyphs is to leave them alone and not touch them!  |