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A Look At The Past....
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Feb 23, 2021 13:48:11   #
rockdog Loc: Berkeley, Ca.
 
Cany143 wrote:
Some years ago, I was asked to write a piece about rock art for an NPS publication. The following is what got published:

Reading Rock Art

If you travel the canyons of the American Southwest, you are sure to see figures carved or painted on rock faces. These include abstractions like spirals and dots, or more recognizable forms like animals, humans and handprints. Whatever they represent, these curious figures provoke within most people the desire to understand.

For lack of a better term, we call it “rock art,” but these images are more than mere adornments hung on the landscape. They are communications between people, written not with letters but with visceral, vital imagery. And if we look closely and compare different rock art panels, themes and characteristics emerge, as well as something on the edge of comprehension. A figure on horseback suggests a relatively recent date of production. The portrayal of an atlatl recalls a much older archaic period. A line of ghostly figures holding snakes with birds or other animals hovering above them may suggest an otherworldly experience. In effect, the odd figures convey the social, economic and religious concerns of many different cultures, both historic and prehistoric.

Imagine trying to convey a concept as simple as “food this way” in pictures, or one as complex as your deepest fears and highest aspirations. What symbols would you use? Would a person a thousand years from now
understand them? Would they be able to follow your directions to water or understand your place in the cosmos?
Whatever the intent, rock art can be considered the celebrations, maps and practical wisdom left by indigenous people for those who would follow. Through rock art, knowledge could be passed to future generations—including our own. Though we may not understand them, petroglyphs and pictographs often inspire a sense of awe and
wonder.

One translation of these images might well be: “listen and survive.”
Some years ago, I was asked to write a piece about... (show quote)



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Feb 23, 2021 14:42:50   #
joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA
 
Cany143 wrote:
....and a look to the future.

Archaeology doesn't always present a pretty picture. While I hope no one takes offense at any of these images, they do in fact represent what is both actual and is in place. Only #5 can be considered in any way 'inaccurate' since it shows --as a multi-shot pano-- a greater than 180 degree view of the setting.

Congress designated Arches Nat'l Park a National Monument in 1929; National Park status was not conferred until 1971. This site was first documented in 1957, though it had obviously been seen --and camped at-- well before then. Its difficult to know whether the J. Harpole inscription was made in 1946 or 1948, and it's even harder to know when the (difficult to see) concentric circles, geometrics and animal figures were made, but corrugated and polished grayware pottery that had been recovered, and stone tools that can still be found on site, suggests the presence of people over 700 years previous.

A good place to camp is a good place to camp. The SE facing cliff wall absorbs a lot of radiant energy, and it keeps the place relatively warm well into the night, even in the coldest days of winter.
....and a look to the future. br br Archaeology d... (show quote)


I love your spectacular style

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Feb 23, 2021 16:11:44   #
Cany143 Loc: SE Utah
 
brucebc wrote:
In reference to the more modern art in images 3 and 4; my grandma said "Fools names and fools faces often appear in public places". I also Googled 42GR290 and spent some time looking at it. Where do you find these publications? Your photos and comments are the main reason I look at this site every day. Please keep posting.


Hah! Never thought to Google the trinomial directly. Some research hound I am!

I could've found the particular publication I used (for the info/site plan) on one of my shelves, but it was easier to pull the stuff out of my .pdf copy. In effect, its what's called 'gray literature.' Gray literature is stuff that gets published in a very limited (sometimes as few as 100 copies) way, and is usually technical material that's been published by a governmental agency, a university, or some sort of professional body. Some of those sorts of publications can be had for the asking (if you know what to ask for and there are any copies left), but most are only available to those who've submitted a viable research plan and/or are somehow credentialed.

When I first stumbled across this site --in the early 90's-- then did the low level research to see if there was anything more to find about it, I learned that the person who'd done the first 'official' field work/documentation was someone I already knew. Before retiring, he'd been a Ranger (an archaeologist, and then eventually, the Superintendent) at Arches back in the 70's, and I was able to talk with him about this (and other) sites directly. I credit him --and one other archaeologist in particular-- for having pointed me in some very good directions.

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