Ancient stone carvings like the Ruthwell Cross, which held a stone carving of the earliest known English poem, help archaeologists understand the culture and history of specific eras.
Ancient stone carving can contain pictographs depicting major events in a society's culture, or they can contain runes or other forms of writing. Some stone carvings involve carving complex shapes like heads from stone.
From Egypt to Ireland to Peru, ancient civilizations often used stone carving as a way to preserve writing or other communications.
Museums like the Museum of History of Stone-Carving Skill of Altai, a Russian museum dedicated to ancient stone carving, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art host exhibits dedicated to ancient stone carving.
Ancient stone carvings appear on a variety of rock, from basic volcanic rock and basalt stone to expensive stones like jade.