Green hand on gneiss

Blue hand on gneiss

Red, green, and yellow hands on gneiss

The human hand may be the most common theme in ancient rock art. It is found in rock art created over tens of thousands of years all over the world. Painted versions of the hand were created by (1) putting the pigment on the hand and pressing the hand on the rock or (2) placing the hand on the rock and blowing the pigment around the hand.

The photos show modern rock art on a piece of gneiss from a quarry near Onamia, MN. Five hands in five colors and five sizes were put on the rock. The hands from largest to smallest are green, blue, red, pink, and yellow.