Bryan said a Hawaiian born in 1867 reported that the Lana'i petroglyphs were made about 1870 by students of Lahainaluna School taking a vacation on Lana'i. "This may explain why such subjects as cats and horses were depicted," Bryan said.

It is true that circles and dots are only one type of petroglyph. Thousands of petroglyphs apparently represent humans and animals. Many of them are crudely made with little care, some are unfinished. But others are charming, done with artistic talent.

There's a little duckling in the field at Puako, Hawai'i, that's delightful. The artist has captured the waddling walk of a baby duck with

a few lines. The same artistic merit is true for a hula dancer petroglyph. Other petroglyphs are powerful, like praying figures in the same field. One image I call Ghost Woman. It's ethereal. There's a petroglyph near the Kona Village resort on Hawai'i that may depict human sacrifice. Two men appear to be carrying a body slung on a pole.

Such images have given rise to some heavyweight artists' regarding petroglyphs as works of art. In a lecture at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1955, the late artist Jean Charlot said he believed that Hawaiians carving petroglyphs were more successful in achieving beauty and naturalness than modern artists.

The most outspoken artist is Ed Stasack, formerly professor of art at the University of Hawai'i. In 1974, I went with him on a petroglyph tour of the Big Island. He saw the petroglyphs at Pohue Bay for the first time.

"It is clear at Pohue Bay that there is a spiritual consideration," he said.

"The newer (petroglyphs) made with steel tools seem to be less spiritually oriented. We see ships and horses.

Earlier, the kahunas must have been in charge of petroglyph carving. The spirit seems to have been associated with the head. ... (Here) we have two-headed figures. Also, we see the appearance occasionally of a halo. Sometimes the head is not there at all but is represented symbolically by two or three dots."

Emory disagreed. "Certainly many of the petroglyphs are simply records of a visitor being there or tally marks of a number of visitors. ... A lot of them are made carelessly. Some are incomplete probably because the maker had to move on. ... The spiritual significance of the petroglyphs themselves is Stasack's reaction to them."

In 1970, Stasack wrote a book with art professor Halley Cox about petroglyphs. They pointed out that a number of fields of petroglyphs are at the boundaries of ancient ahupua'a along the route traveled by the procession of Lono during the makahiki season.

Could, then, some petroglyphs be related to the ceremonies necessary to pass from one ahupua'a to another?

Not much new about petroglyphs has come out until Kirch began investigating Kahikinui. What distinguishes his theory is the amount of data he supplies supporting it. He explains that there are two common settings for petroglyphs at Kahikinui.

1. Near the coast in association with a curbstone-lined trail, called the Hoapili Trail. This trail was built in historic, not ancient times, and the petroglyphs were carved with steel, not stone, tools. The petroglyphs along the Hoapili trail frequently depict letters at a time when writing was becoming the rage among Hawaiians.

2. Higher up the slope on the lowest edge of habitation. These petroglyphs are found on ridge edges particularly where a vertical surface of lava projects up on an 'a'a flow. The petroglyphs on the lava faces are typically associated with rock shelters and are found near intermittent watercourses.

Remember that water in arid Kahikinui must have been precious. Kirch writes that he believes the distribution of petroglyphs in association with rock shelters and watercourses "reflects the scarcity and thus importance of freshwater for the ancient Polynesians who lived there. ...

"It was probably here, on the lower margins of permanent settlement, where water was the most difficult to come by ... (that watercourses) were presumably protected and guarded. Rights to procure water from these sources may have been claimed by individual households or kinship groups."

So Kirch speculates that the petroglyphs may signify "specific individuals with access/use rights." In other words, the petroglyphs were deeds owned by a family to water rights.

He makes other interesting observations:

1. "Petroglyphs are lacking throughout the main upland settlement zone (or) on or near temple sites."

2. "It appears that petroglyphs vary significantly between islands, and are thus another aspect of regional variation."

Kirch grew up in Hawai'i, started his career at the Bishop Museum and is now in the research section of the department of anthropology at the University of California Berkeley.