On a beach on Oahu’s western edge, the ocean has pulled back a layer of time. As the waves shifted sand and sediment in recent weeks, they revealed a sprawling panel of human-like figures, carved centuries ago by Native Hawaiians directly into the shoreline’s sandstone. These figures — some towering eight feet tall — hadn’t been seen in years since they were first discovered.

“This is a natural process that uncovers, and eventually recovers, these glyphs and others located around the island,” said Nathan Wilkes, external communications chief for U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii.

Giant Stick Figures

The petroglyphs, known as ki‘i pōhaku, were first discovered in 2016 by Lonnie Watson and Mark Louviere, two visitors from Texas who spotted them while watching a sunset. Since then, experts and local cultural practitioners have waited for nature to once again unveil them. That moment has come.

Archaeologists have recorded 26 figures on the panel, including 18 stick-like human forms, eight of which appear male. Two of the figures have fingers.

“The ones with the fingers, for me, are pretty unique,” said Alton Exzabe, an archaeologist with the U.S. Army. “Fingers and hands are pretty distinct, as well as the size of them.”

The largest figures span more than eight feet in height and width — far bigger than the typical petroglyphs elsewhere in Hawaii, which usually measure about a foot tall. These artistic renderings, carved directly into a fragile sandstone surface right on the shoreline, may be over 500 years old, possibly more.

The precise meanings of the glyphs remain open to interpretation. “They tend to tell a moʻolelo, or story of the place,” said Nohea Stevens, a local resident, in an interview with Hawaii News Now.

Some believe that carvings are over 1,000 years old, which could mean they emerged during Hawaii’s earliest settlement period, when Polynesian voyagers first arrived from the Marquesas and Society Islands. These settlers, navigating without compasses or charts, relied instead on the stars, wave swells, and seabird behavior to find their way across thousands of miles of open ocean.

Symbolism and Stewardship

To Glen Kila, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner whose family traces its lineage on this land “from the time of the first migration,” the figures hold deep spiritual meaning. He believes the largest image — with arms positioned to mirror the sun’s path across the sky — represents more than human form.

“My interpretation, just by looking at it, was interpretation of Maui, the demigod,” Kila told the U.S. Army in 2017. “The way the fingers are from the east is like the rising sun to the setting sun. So, it’s a religious symbol.”

Kila also sees a message in the petroglyphs’ reappearance. “It’s telling the community that the ocean is rising,” he told the Associated Press, suggesting that his ancestors may be warning of environmental change.

Others propose more prosaic roots. Some researchers believe the figures may reflect an agricultural story or ceremonial practice, pointing to the presence of abstract shapes and symbolic gestures in the panel. Still, no consensus has been reached on the full meaning behind the carvings — and perhaps this ambiguity is by design. Good art is never straightforward to explain, but you know it’s good because you’re compelled to talk about it.

What’s clear is that this site, unlike many others scattered across Hawaii, is uniquely vulnerable. Carved into soft, erodible stone, the figures are exposed to the pounding surf and wind when the sand recedes. Ironically, the same forces that preserve them also threaten them.

“Stewarding these lands is vital to our mission,” said Dave Crowley, who leads the cultural resources management team at U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii. “By protecting cultural sites like these petroglyphs, we honor Hawaii’s heritage, [and] build stronger community ties.”

Crowley’s team manages more than 1,800 archaeological sites across Oahu and the Big Island. For sites like this one, where erosion and exposure are ongoing concerns, they sometimes turn to 3D photogrammetry — using thousands of photographs to create detailed digital replicas that can aid preservation.

But even modern tools may not be enough to balance accessibility and protection. “How much attention do you want to bring to this area?” asked Army archaeologist Laura Gilda. “You don’t really want people to go digging for them when they’re not exposed. But they’re certainly awesome to come and see on the public beachscape.”

What Happens Next?

The beach remains publicly accessible, although parking at the nearby Army recreation center requires military ID. For now, visitors can walk along the shore and witness this brief marvel.

Before the Hawaiian language was ever written down, these carvings functioned as a kind of visual storytelling — coded messages etched in stone. Across the Pacific, petroglyphs served similar roles, transmitting knowledge about land, deities, harvests, and lineage.

Eventually, the wind and waves will reclaim the site, cloaking the figures once again beneath sand, only to later return. It’s a phenomenon that echoes the oral traditions of Polynesia itself — stories told again and again, not fixed in ink, but living, breathing, and changing with the environment.