Do you know the difference between a “Petroglyph” and a “Pictograph”? At Petroglyph National Monument, a US National Park located in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s West Mesa, tourists, anthropologists, and archeologists can appreciate over 15,000 images carved into volcanic rock. These carvings were made by the pre-historic Pueblo Indians and Hispanic settlers. Many are elaborate drawings of man, horse, and natural element imagery. Unlike “petroglyphs,” “pictographs” are an ancient or pre-historic drawing or painting on a rock wall according to the dictionary definition. All right, that sounds the same to me as well, but the Park Ranger put it in layman’s terms: “Carvings are literally picked out of the rock formations to form a picture.” Around the world in Mongolia, the petroglyphs of the Mongolia Altai, were selected as a new World Heritage site by UNESCO. UN News Centre Source and UNESCO The United Nations has added cultural sites in Ukraine, Mongolia, France and Nicaragua to the World Heritage List, closing out this year’s selection with a total of 25 sites, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported. UNESCO named the newly protected sites as the petroglyphs of the Mongolian Altai, the residence of Bukovinian & Dalmatian Metropolitans – Ukraine, the Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral landscape in France, and León Cathedral in Nicaragua. A total of 35 nominated sites were reviewed by the World Heritage Committee, which has been holding its 35th session at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris since last week. During this session the committee chose 25 sites which it deemed to have the necessary “outstanding universal value” to be included on the World Heritage List. Of the 25 sites selected, 21 were cultural, three were natural and one mixed. Two sites – rainforests in Honduras and Indonesia – were put on the separate List of World Heritage in Danger, and one site – India’s Manas Wildlife Sanctuary – was removed from that list. The petroglyphs, or rock carvings, found in three sites in Mongolia illustrate the development of culture over a period of 12,000 years, tracing changes from an era when people hunted for large game to an era when herding became the dominant way of life. “The carvings contribute valuably to our understanding of prehistoric communities in Northern Asia,” UNESCO said in a press statement. Of today’s additions, UNESCO said the Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Ukraine represented an outstanding example of 19th-century historicist architecture. The site includes a seminary and monastery and is dominated by a domed church with a garden and park. The Causses and the Cévennes are a mountain landscape in south-central France interspersed by deep valleys. UNESCO said the area is representative of the relationship between agro-pastoral systems and their biophysical environment, and noted that it is one of the last places in the world where transhumance – the seasonal movement of people with their livestock – is still practiced. León Cathedral, built between 1747 and the early 19th century to the design of architect Diego José de Porres Esquivel, expresses the transition from Baroque to Neoclassical architecture. The cathedral, which houses many important works of art, is characterized by an abundance of natural light and sober interior decoration. There is similarity between the petroglyphs in Mongolia and New Mexico. The horse was an integral part in life’s fabric and culture for both peoples. Both serve as testament to man’s artistic achievements for time immemorial. My question: “Will Petroglyph National Park one day be added to the World Heritage List?” ----By, Susan Sacirbey Become a Facebook Fan: “DIPLOMATICALLY INCORRECT” and “DIPLOMAT ARTIST” Follow on TWITTER @: DiplomaticallyX Related Film and Blog Reports: “Bamiyan Buddha Statues Preservation – UNESCO” diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/bamiyan-buddha-statues-preservation-unesco/26716 “Appreciation for Roots in Another World & Time,” By, Susan Sacirbey diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/appreciation-for-roots-in-another-world-and-time-by-susan-sacirbey/30593 Diplomatically Incorrect Channels: diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/diplomatically-incorrect Ecology-Diplomat Channels: diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/ecology-diplomat