The plan and scope of the present work may be very briefly stated as follows:
After some introductory definitions and explanations general remarks are submitted upon the grand division of petroglyphs or pictures upon rocks as distinct from other exhibitions of pictography. This division is less susceptible of interpretation than others, but it claims special interest and attention because the locality of production is fixed, and also because the antiquity of workmanship may often be determined with more certainty than can that of pictures on less enduring and readily transportable objects. Descriptions, with illustrations, are presented of petroglyphs in North America, including those in several provinces of Canada, in many of the states and territories of the United States, in Mexico, and in the West Indies. A large number from Central and South America also appear, followed by examples from Australia, Oceanica, Europe, Africa, and Asia, inserted chiefly for comparison with the picture-writings in America, to which the work is specially devoted, and therefore styled extra-limital petroglyphs. The curious forms called cup sculptures are next discussed, followed by a chapter on pictographs considered generally, which condenses the results of much thought. The substances, apart from rocks, on which picture-writing is found are next considered, and afterwards the instruments and materials by which they are made. The subjects of pictography and the practices which elucidate it are classified under several headings, viz: _Mnemonic_, subdivided into (1) Knotted cords and objects tied, (2) Notched or marked sticks, (3) Wampum, (4) Order of songs, (5) Traditions, (6) Treaties, (7) Appointment, (8) Numeration, (9) Accounting; _Chronology_, in which the charts at first called calendars, but now, in correct translation of the Indian terms, styled winter-counts, are discussed and illustrated with the care required by their remarkable characteristics; _Notices_, which chapter embraces (1) Notice of visit, departure, and direction, (2) Direction by drawing topographic features, (3) Notice of condition, (4) Warning and guidance; _Communications_, including (1) Declaration of war, (2) Profession of peace and friendship, (3) Challenge, (4) Social and religious missives, (5) Claim or demand; _Totems, titles, and names_, divided into (1) Pictorial tribal designations, (2) Gentile and clan designation, (3) Significance of tattoo marks, which topic is discussed at length, with ample illustration, and (4) Designations of individuals, subdivided into insignia or tokens of authority, signs of individual achievements, property marks, and personal names. Some of the facts presented are to be correlated with the antique forms of heraldry and others with proper names in modern civilization.