UTAH ROCK ART VOLUME XXX. Blanding, Utah October 8 11, Edited by Joe Brame, Christine Oravec, and Nina Bowen

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1 UTAH ROCK ART VOLUME XXX Papers Presented at the Thirtieth Annual Symposium of the Utah Rock Art Research Association (URARA) Blanding, Utah October 8 11, 2010 Edited by Joe Brame, Christine Oravec, and Nina Bowen Published 2012 by the Utah Rock Art Research Association Copyright 2012 by the Utah Rock Art Research Association, Salt Lake City, Utah. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission from the author and the publisher. Printed in the United States of America

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3 CONTENTS Galal R. Gough Rainbows and Arcs in Native American Rock Art XXX-1 Bernard M. Jones, Jr The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art XXX-9 Richard Jenkinson Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route XXX-29 iii

4 \ Bernard M. Jones, Jr iv

5 Galal R. Gough RAINBOWS AND ARCS IN NATIVE AMERICAN ROCK ART.. The rainbow is a symbol in Native American creation stories and ceremonies, and in Katsinas decorations (Patterson-Rudolph 1997:26, 33, 50, 75). Rainbows may represent a bridge between earth and sky (Schaafsma 1986b:226) and a passing of rain (Mallery 1893:612). The most significant clustering of rainbow symbols is found in the San Rafael Fremont sites in South Central Utah (Castleton and Madsen 1981:173). But rainbow symbols are found in other areas in Utah, for example along the Escalante River, and in surrounding states, especially in Arizona at Pictograph Cave in Canyon de Chelly, and in New Mexico at the Three Rivers Site. Carobeth Laird in her splendid book on the Chemehuevis describes how "When there is a storm in the desert, thunder rumbles and crashes; beneath dark clouds the rain thrusts forward like an advancing army, accompanied by the glare a crackle of lightning; while away from the center of the storm, rainbows arch over valleys or hang their transparent arcs of glory across rugged cliffs (Laird 1976:99). A remarkable arc of glory is found in Paiute Cave (Figure 1), which is located in the Arizona Strip about thirty miles south of Colorado City. The cave was formed by a collapsed lava tube, with the entrance being an opening at the base of a sinkhole. At mid-day the cave is dark, but Alva Matheson told me that in the early morning sunlight does come through to illuminate the arc. Figure 1. Paiute Cave Rainbow Also along the Arizona Strip, located in the Kaibab National Forest southeast of Jacob Lake, at the Red Point Site, there are four parallel arcs with six possible rays (Figure 2). Figure 2. Kaibab Red Point Arcs A rainbow painted in six colors is located in Utah at the Red Hole Wash (Figure 3), and is pictured in Castleton's Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Utah, Volume One, page 123. He describes the rainbow or arc as "the only one of this kind I have seen, an interesting and most unusual figure." The picture was given to XXX-1

6 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 me by Glenn Stone, who described the location to me as being on the East side of the Molen Seep Range, East of Highway 10, in East Central Utah. Figure 5. Ferron Box Rainbow Panel Figure 3. Red Hole Wash Rainbow In Molen Seep Canyon there is a red pictograph of an anthropomorph and a double arc, with smaller arcs over three figures under the double arc (Figure 4). The dominant figure at the large main panel at Rochester Creek is what Sally Cole, in her Legacy on Stone, calls a "rainbowlike motif (probably Freemont in origin)" (Cole 2009:77). This large design is composed of eight parallel lines which arc around dozens of animals and anthropomorphs, including a male and female who may portray conception and birthing. In fact, the large number of living creatures, deer with antlers and mountain sheep with prominent horns bending over their bodies, suggests a celebration of life forms (Figure 6). Figure 4. Molen Seep Double Arc In Ferron Box, also east of Highway 10, there is a panel above Ferron Creek, with an apparent arc on the left side. But the best panel, high on the cliffs near the northeast end of the canyon, is a red and white rainbow. Under the rainbow there are anthropomorphs with triangular bodies and a possible deer. A petroglyph arc is to the right (Figure 5). XXX-2 Figure 6. Rochester Creek Panel The Silent Sentinel Site in the talus boulders at the front of the southern slope of Cedar Mountain has a panel with many over-lapping figures, and central among them is an arc or rainbow over an anthropomorph (Figure 7).

7 Gough: Rainbows and Arcs in Native American Rock Art Figure 7. Silent Sentinel Site Some of the anthropomorphs have tapered bodies, and others more square in style or humpbacked, suggesting diverse time periods. A second site, further east, is called Daisy Chain, and has an arc made with two parallel lines. There are also snakes on the panel, as well as historic graffiti (Figure 8). Figure 9. Nine Mile Canyon Arc In Dry Fork Valley, northwest of Vernal, there is a panel with a white anthropomorph and designs with red pigment on either side. To the left is what appears to be an arc composed of two red parallel lines, above what could be the head and shoulders of an anthropomorph (Figure 10). Figure 8. Daisy Chain arc panel In Nine Mile Canyon there is a panel with an arc composed of two parallel lines (Figure 9). A possible sun symbol, a deer and other glyphs under the arc are among the representational and abstract designs on the panel. Figure 10. Dry Fork Valley Arc Possible rainbow arcs appear over the head of a figure at Buckhorn Wash (Figure 11). Carol Patterson-Rudolph, in her On the Trail of the Spider Woman, refers to a rain deity at Buckhorn Wash, and that a "third diety has a rainbow over his head, which represents the sky" (Patterson-Rudolph 1997:75). XXX-3

8 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 11. Buckhorn Wash Arc Possible arcs appear above the heads of some human figures in Horseshoe Canyon (Figure 12), but the sequence of such arcs or wavy lines raises a question as to whether they are really arcs, which illustrates the difficulty in identifying arcs and rainbows with certainty, where no ethnographic evidence is available. Figure 13. Escalante Dancing Circle Rainbow Bridge (Figure 14), according to Karl Luckert in Navajo Mountain and Rainbow Bridge Religion, was a site for Navajo offerings and rituals for rain necessary for growth and increase of crops. He also tells of a Navajo, Buster Hastin Nez, going to Rainbow Bridge at about 1935 to hold a major ceremonial requesting rain. Nez stated that the prayed-for rain actually started falling as the party was returning from the ceremony (Luckert 1977: ). Rainbow Bridge was first visited by non-indians in 1909, with Native American guides. John Wetherill and Neil Judd were in that party, and Judd tells of seeing an altar or shrine there on his earlier visits (Judd 1967:39). Figure 12. Horseshoe Canyon Arc? The Dancing Circle Site along the Escalante River, west of the town of Escalante, has two arcs or rainbows to the right side of the panel (Figure 13). The flute player, dancing circle and figure with the crook hooking down the rain drops, would seem to relate to the ethnography of rain making ritual, which could validate the rainbow symbolism. XXX-4

9 Gough: Rainbows and Arcs in Native American Rock Art Figure 14. Rainbow Bridge Site At Picture Canyon in the Dead Mountains, in California just west of the southern tip of Nevada, there is an arc of three to four parallel lines over a water seep (Figure 15). Figure 16. West Stoneman Lake Arc At Canyon de Chelly, in Pictograph Cave, there are two flute players under rainbows, with a large bird and two smaller birds along with a hand print and an anthropomorph (Figure 17). Figure 15. Arc at Dead Mountains West of Stoneman Lake, in north central Arizona, there is an arc or rainbow made of two parallel lines over a human figure (Figure 16). The rock is lightning struck, according to Al Matheson, with the lightning mark going nearly all the way around the rock. Figure 17. Twin Flute Players Under Rainbows at Canyon de Chelly Also, there is a seated flute player under a rainbow, painted in red and white, with other figures (Figure 18). XXX-5

10 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 18. Seated Flute Player These pictures, given to me by Jim Duffield, a former URARA member, date from the climactic rock art period in Canyon de Chelly (Grant 1978:247). The cloud terrace with rain, rainbow and lightning is a frequent symbol in New Mexico, with several versions at the Three Rivers site. The most familiar features a corn plant, with the cloud terrace, rain, rainbow and lightning, and a bird on top (Figure 19). In conclusion, the role of the rainbow in Native American story and mythology is well illustrated in Carobeth Laird's book on Mirror and Pattern: George Laird's World of Chemehuevi Mythology. After her marraige to ethnographer John Peabody Harrington dissolved, she married her Chemehuevi informant, George Laird, who was the source of her Chemehuevi Indian research. Among the stories he told her was the following: "When Coyote, standing lookout at the mouth of the tunnel, had sighted the advancing host of Bear People, he likened them to rain; and that, George explained, is the reason Wolf wore the primary rainbow, 'because the rainbow always comes when the rain goes away.' He went on to say that 'there are always two rainbows - a bright one you can always see, and a dimmer one above it that is hard to see or sometimes invisible.' This secondary rainbow is Coyote's warclothes. Coyote took only four colors and put them on one at a time, but 'Wolf took all the colors together.' Wolf's warclothes is one name for the primary rainbow" (Laird 1984:80). So again the prominence of the rainbow imagery is illustrated in Native American stories and culture. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Figure 19. Panel at Three Rivers Along the upper Rio Grande watershed a majority of the rock art sites have water related imagery, with the rainbow being a frequent feature (Slifer 1998:4, ). I am indebted to Alva Matheson, not only for the inspiration of his photo exhibit at the Twenty-Ninth Annual Symposium of the Utah Rock Art Research Association, but also for giving me the pictures of the Paiute Cave Rainbow and the Arc panel west of Stoneman Lake. Thanks is also expressed to Glenn Stone, who gave the picture of the Red Hole Wash rainbow. The splendid pictures of the flute players under rainbows in Canyon de Chelly XXX-6

11 Gough: Rainbows and Arcs in Native American Rock Art were provided by Jim Duffield, along with the Red Point Arc in Kaibab National Forest, and I am most grateful to him. REFERENCES CITED Cole, Sally J Legacy on Stone. Revised and Updated, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado Castleton, Kenneth B., and David B. Madsen 1981 The Distribution of Rock Art Elements and Styles in Utah. In Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 3: Castleton, Kenneth B 1984 Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Utah, Volume One: The East and Northeast. Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt Lake City. Grant, Campbell 1978 Canyon de Chelly: Its People and Rock Art. University of Arizona Press, Tucson. Judd, Neil 1967 "Return to Rainbow Bridge." Arizona Highways 31 (August 1967), Luckert, Karl W Navajo Mountain and Rainbow Bridge Religion. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona. Mallery, Garrick 1893 "Picture Writing of the American Indian." Bureau of Ethnology, Tenth Annual Report Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Patterson-Rudolph, Carol 1997 On the Trail of the Spider Woman: Petroglyphs, Pictographs and Myths of the Southwest. Ancient City Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Schaafsma, Polly 1986b "Rock Art." In Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 11, Great Basin, Edited by Warren D'Azevedo, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Slifer, Dennis 1998 Signs of Life: Rock Art of the Upper Rio Grande. Ancient City Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Laird, Carobeth 1976 The Chemehuevis. Malki Museum Press, Morongo Indian Reservation, Banning, California 1984 Mirror and Pattern: George Laird's World of Chemehuevis Mythology. Malki Museum Press, Morongo Indian Reservation, Banning, California. XXX-7

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13 Bernard M. Jones, Jr THE SHAMAN S CROOK: A VISUAL METAPHOR OF NUMINOUS POWER IN ROCK ART Power is omnipotent and part of all material and non-material substance in the universe. Supernatural power apportioned by spirits and other hosts was fundamental to the survival of most Native North American peoples, their lifeways and religions (Irwin 1994: ; Olofson 1979:13). A greater portion of that power was acquired by shamans using dream, trance or vision. Shamanic figures, associated paraphernalia and symbols discovered in the rock art record, can provide clues as to how the metaphysical concept of power was expressed, obtained, understood and used by these cultures. A symbol of that power is a crooked staff (Figure 1), or cane carried by a culture s creators, animal ancestors, spirits, priests, leaders or shamans (Figures 2,3 and 5). a metaphor for power and demonstrates how associated imagery of line, shape and form were used in rock art, over time, by many cultures, as abstract visual symbols to exemplify and record the visionary/dream experience of power (Figures 4 and 7). Figure 1. Dual crooks of the Big Fire Fraternity at the Zuni Pueblo. Photo, Kat Johnson. Crook images are visual tropes. Eliade termed this type of icon multivalent, an object or image containing deeply layered symbolism (Eliade 1991:15). This paper uses the crook as Figure 2. Duel crooks in Little Petroglyph Canyon, California. Conceptually, in many North American cultures, humanity is born with low or insufficient levels of power. Theoretically, all human, spiritual and material objects are related (Parsons 1996:198) with some relations having more power than others. To more XXX-9

14 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 readily survive in the world of man, become a leader, warrior, healer or shaman, one must overcome this shortage and obtain more power to combine with his or her own innate gifts. Figure 3. A shaman strolls through a Landscape of the spirit at Three Rivers, New Mexico. Acquiring an enhanced capacity for power is achieved by visiting the kindred, un-manifest or transcendent aspects of power. These facets of power are generally understood as being a series of dangerous, unpredictable, interrelated, supernatural realms or worlds, usually accessed through known areas of concentrated power, which Bahr (1994:233), identifies as landscapes of the spirit (Figures 3 and 7). Depending on societal norms, the visitor may meet or interact with spirits, entities, cultural heroes or gods within spiritual landscapes in the attempt to acquire more power. Culture also determines the means of approaching the supernatural, awe-inspiring, mysterious or numinous experience. It may be an individual pursuit, part of a group rite of passage, or initiation into a particular society or clan. Journeys to obtain power may be accomplished using dream, vision questing or the ingestion of hallucinogens, among others. XXX-10 Each of these processes can cause an altered state of consciousness. This psychic modification helps release an immaterial aspect of the human vital force to contact, engage and arrange associations with inhabitants of the numinous (Spier 1970:237). Dreamers and visionaries use the intangible mobility of trance to pass through holes, openings or cracks in a rock s surface to enter supernatural spaces (Park 1938:28; Parsons 1996:198; Underhill 1969:274, stanza 19). The nature of dream/vision events is accurately described by Irwin (1994:64): The existential world of dream experiences is a tactile, sensory world of immediacy in which actions and events occur with vivid and intense tangibility. It is not a shadowy world of vague appearance and misty forms but a vivid, highly charged world of sensory participation, drama, movement, flight and encounter within often highly detailed scenes that are regarded as actual and real. Participants in dream or visionary experiences become keenly aware of the supernatural aspects of power. Overwhelming physical, visual and auditory sensations assault the visitor. Encounters with unimaginable, extraordinary beings, each embodying a particular facet of power, astound the imagination (Figures 4 and 10). If the visionary is prepared and deemed worthy, entities, gods or spirits teach the visitor unique songs, chants or dance they will need to call power when desired. Individuals are shown the spiritual equivalent of the material

15 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art paraphernalia they will be required to make or find to channel power in the human world. The overwhelming physic experience of visiting the supernatural and interacting with its inhabitants provides the visionary with a series of unique mental constructs. Insights gained and objects necessary for work as a shaman discerned in vision are translated into visual, reciprocal material representations of this experience. The ritual paraphernalia carried and dream images which are recorded in body paint, clothing and lodges are also reciprocated on rock surfaces (Hultkrantz 1980:73-75, 1997:160; Irwin 1994: ; Kelly 1936: ; Olofson 1979:15; Whitley 1997:148). phenomena using a very similar series of linier devices and patterned motifs (Figure 5). Figure 4. A shaman engaged in a dream or visionary experience. Objects necessary for the shamans work are discerned in dreams. Near Seligman, Arizona. As mentioned above, omnipresent moving aspects of power are seen by visionaries and dreamers as swirling inseparable, interconnected energy patterns which could be called powerscapes. It is in these various numinous worlds of power that spirits of all types exist. Observation of ever changing energy patterns generated by the movement of power compelled visionaries throughout Native America to illustrate these extraordinary Figure 5. Sinuous lines snaking from crook configurations and patterned shape are used to illustrate numinous energy. Gila River, Arizona Arrays of sinuous lines and patterned shapes are observed in many North American rock art styles and other cultural materials. Sinuous lines, snaking from crook configurations, radiating from spirit and other forms are displays of symbolic numinous energy. This power symbolism has been variously described in the literature as life energy, magic lines, force lines, wavy lines of power or tigunas (Berlo 2000:45; Kirkland and Newcomb 1967:67 Plate28, No.1; Labbe 1998:43; Vastokas and Vastokas 1973:67). XXX-11

16 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 VISUAL ALLEGORIES OF THE NUMINOUS Endeavoring to read metaphors or reciprocal allegories of the numinous in rock art panels is difficult. Symbol systems defining shamanic rock art are more easily identified when culturally recognized shamanic emblems such as crooked staffs are associated or integrated within geometric or linear compositions. In Lobo Valley, Texas, (Figure 6) a huge boulder covered with petroglyphs provides a striking example of shamanic symbols integrated within an abstracted, linear-geometric composition. Figure 6. A shaman in magic flight amid the swirling power of the numinous. Overlapping zigzag and serpentine lines blend with geometric patterns that appear to emerge from cracks in the rock and play at the boundaries of the boulder. This arrangement implies a sense of depth and significant, intermingled movement within and below the XXX-12 rock s surface. A simplified human form with a phallus and circle for a head has been placed near the center of this energetic composition. The anthropomorph has been placed above a fault or break in the boulder s surface. The figure has no baseline and appears to hover or

17 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art fly within a numinous matrix. Flight is an avian characteristic associated with shamanic or soul flight. Detailed examination of the head reveals a set of projecting horns, a shamanic metaphor for power. The circular head shape may have tripartite symbolism. Circles or concentric circles are a prevalent mental image in dream, trance or meditative states and as symbols of transformational passageways. They are often found in visionary art and represent portals into other worlds (Berlo 2000:45; Eliade 1991:52; Halifax 1979:1; Mallery 1972:236; Spier 1970:401). Arlene Benson, researching ethnography and rock art among the Achumawi of California learned that when concentric circles and zigzags appear together in one design, this marks the place where powerful spirit beings or very powerful shamans can pass through the rock from one world to the next. (Benson and Sehgal 1987b:6-7 and Figure 4). Circles are also grounding devices typifying a cultural center, a starting and ending point for movement between worlds (Berlo 2000:45; Vastokas and Vastokas 1973:39). Potent symbols of shamanic power and transubstantiation are embedded within the overall composition. A crooked staff has been placed at the bottom left of the panel in association with star imagery (Figure 6). Note that these elements, though a part of the composition, have been placed slightly apart, outside of the geometric patterning of most of the panel. The crooked staff is hooked into the swirling supernatural field. The bottom of the staff has been placed into a Pueblo-like stand and may represent the shaman s material staff. The staff becomes a physical grounding device, a return path in his flight between worlds. Within the Pueblo cultures these stands are used to hold crooks, prayer sticks and feathers in ritual (Voth 1901: Plate XLVI). The physical crooked staff s immaterial, reciprocal reflection, its spiritual counterpart, the staff reveled to the shaman in his dream, is imbedded within the patterned numinous. Like the shaman, it is connected to and intertwined within the geometric matrix of the numinous. It is difficult to see, perhaps intentionally, as another metaphor describing the formidable task of visiting or interacting with the supernatural. The immaterial staff is located within the geometric patterns, below and slightly to the left of the flying shaman (Figure 6). Altogether, the visual images contained within this panel help convey authoritative, multivalent, cultural concepts of shamanic power using symbol systems that enjoyed widespread use. Rock art panels with similar physical symbol systems dot the sacred, often feared, environments throughout the southwest and beyond. POWERSCAPES Neophytes wanting to obtain a vision traveled to frightening, culturally known landscapes of the spirit. These landscapes are places of concentrated power, areas according to oral tradition that are occupied by a body of spirits (Hultkrantz 1980:60, 1987:52-53; Park 1938:14-15). Once engaged with the numinous powers encompassing these domains, visionaries were engulfed in a type of psychic terrain, imbedded in the environment of compelling dream or vision experiences this paper terms powerscapes. A panel of rock art in the Picacho Mountains of Arizona provides the viewer a microcosm of the dream experience (Figure 7). In this visual account the visionary has moved into the XXX-13

18 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 dream realm or powerscape through an archetypical circular dream tunnel or path. This transformational dream portal is symbolized by the shapes attached to his right arm. In spirit, he has engaged the energy fields of a powerscape and is experiencing the ecstatic sensation of dancing with the pulsating energy of the numinous. In this nascent condition, a spirit has elected to help the dreamer. The helper is introduced as an up-side-down, abstracted, hominid form placed above the dreamer. The spirit demonstrates its indwelling affiliation with this mystic space and his intent to help by coupling itself to the dreamer using the energy currents of the supernatural. The songs, dance and ritual paraphernalia the dreamer must understand and acquire before becoming a shaman are made known to the visionary/dreamer during this experience. The dreamer is reaching for the spirit s gift, an incorporeal crook, also connected to the flow of the powerscape. He is reaching with his left hand, the hand often used in ritual, the shaman s hand (Spier 1970:283; Parsons 1996:460,870; Underhill 1969:270). When a physical, reciprocal or manifest crook is eventually made by the dreamer following the spirit helper s instructions, it will be his supreme power object as a shaman. This tool will channel the omnipresent energy of the supernatural to his will (Laird 1976:31; Underhill 1969:270). The energized nonmaterial crook touches another static crook form at the top of the composition. The horizontal and slightly diagonal static crook touches the sinuosity of the supernatural power but is not encapsulated in its flow. This may represent the novice s crook in its manifest form. It will be his emblem of supernatural authority, a visual metaphor of omnipotent power which, when energized, connects the XXX-14 supernatural with the human world. The manifest crook becomes a physical symbol of the force behind the shaman s license to practice. Figure 7. A novice, dancing within the ecstatic dream experience, is reaching for the ultimate power object, a crook. Flickering power lines oscillate in a narrow concavity at another site in the Picacho Mountains (Figure 8). Figure 8. The concentric circles of the head symbolize a dream or trance state. This man of power is holding his emblem of power, a crook. Hundreds of tiny pecked dots pepper the same space and increase the ambience of power.

19 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art These patterned power motifs ring a single male shaman immersed in his encounter with power. The concentric motif of his head is a symbol of the dream aperture through which he transcends his physical nature. The shape of his crooked staff is uncommon. He is holding a staff with a thick body and narrow crooked head. This object is an immediate declarative statement of the dream and its associated power to control aspects of the supernatural. A large boulder, its rugged surface covered with petroglyphs, leans against larger rocks in a heavily used spirit landscape named Cadalgo (Figure 9). Visionaries animated this boulder, adding dream imagery to its surface for centuries. Each participant expressed a portion of his experience embodying aspects of the undulating, phantasmal dream world in portallike petroglyphs. These small window-like patterns describe limited personal glimpses into supernatural powerscapes. In time, individual artwork coalesced into a numinous powerscape composition. One dreamer added himself engulfed in power. This shamanic symbol occupies the center of the panel. His elongated, abstracted arms and enlarged hands indicate a holotropic state. One large hand supports a thick crooked staff, a guidepost used to negotiate this spiritual matrix. Additional crook forms are found within this powerscape. A wonderful panel, located in Sloan Canyon, near Las Vegas, Nevada, offers another view of the journey taken to obtain power (Figure 10). This panel displays an inverted individual, symbolic of a dream or trance state, entering a crack in the rock s surface (Underhill 1969:274 stanzas 17 and 19), a metaphoric entrance into the lower spirit world where extraordinary beings with reptilian or distorted humanoid appearance live (Arnold and Stoffle 2006:5). Figure 9. A powerscape near Bishop, California. Figure 10. A novice in magic flight or dream trance enters a powerscape through a crack in the rock. XXX-15

20 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 This individual has entered a powerscape where a crooked staff is being offered the dreamer by distorted spirit beings of the supernatural. Rock art symbols were used as visual metaphors to convey the visionary s holotropic state of consciousness moving into and being immersed within a swirling powerscape (Irwin 1994: ; Whitley 1998:142). As symbols derived from the interactions with spirits in dream or vision, rock art itself is a form of power. As such, shamanic rock art is often found within many cultural landscapes of the spirit. Power symbols offer glimpses of spirit forms residing in the supernatural and are a record of powerful ritual objects a shaman will need to harness the forces of the numinous and bind them to his will. Crooked staff symbolism is one of the most powerful and versatile manifestations of the shaman s power. cracks in the cliff s face. He is wearing large ear ornaments and is holding a crooked staff which is being infused with an almost electric current of power from a crack to the viewer s left (Figure11). The crook is unusual in that its distal end is carved in the shape of a spear point, reminiscent of the crooks carried by plains warrior societies. These symbols identify him as a shaman. The supernatural world is conceptually located just beneath the cliff s face and can be entered through cracks in the rock. The shaman has used the circular dream pathway, symbolically attached to his left arm, to pass through the cracks and access the power of the supernatural. EXPRESSIONS OF NUMINOUS POWER Crooked staffs are holonomic, symbols used to express the whole of the numinous in a highly condensed manner. They are an expressive visual synthesis representing the indwelling, constantly unfolding, power of the supernatural. Rock art masters throughout North America used a combination of dot, line, and abstracted shape to typify the vivid movement of numinous energy, light or power emitting, surrounding or interpenetrating the holonomic symbol of the crook. When manifest crooked staffs are imbued with power, they become numens or supernatural aids and in the hands of shaman are capable of accomplishing fantastic feats. An anthropomorph located high on the walls of Warner Valley, Utah, is part of a small horizontal panel anchored on both sides by XXX-16 Figure 11. The electric power of the numinous enters a shaman s crooked staff. Rock art panels displaying crook shapes emitting power imagery are found throughout the American West. The Yellow Jacket site near Bishop, California, (Figure 12) has a panel displaying this phenomenon. An upright crook has an undulating power line radiating from its base.

21 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art Figure 12. Power radiating from a crook is symbolized using undulating lines. A similar example is found in Arizona at Inscription Point (Figure 13). An undulating power line emits from a crook image on one face of a boulder. Figure 14. Supernatural power is broadcast from crook forms (photo, Chris Rhodes). A small alcove at the Long Lake site in Oregon has a good example of this variation (Figure 15). Large dots in linear patterns appear to drip from the crook end of the staffs. Similar design configurations are found in New Mexico and Arizona. Figure 13. Serpentine energy lines, moving from crooks, snake along a boulder s surface. The Thumb site is a heavily worked panel in the Grand Gulch area of Utah (Figure 14). This panel also displays crooks with oscillating lines, individual crooks and anthropomorphs holding crooked staffs. Other innovations in the symbolic emanation of power are variations in linear dot patterns. Figure 15. Dual crook forms appear to weep power symbolism. XXX-17

22 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 A long staff in Coconino County, Arizona, has a cascade of power spilling from its crook, symbolized by hundreds of dots in a tightly grouped pattern (Figure 16). A similar, though smaller image of this type of power imagery spilling from a crook, is found in The Valley of the Great Kivas in New Mexico (see Roberts 1932:Plate 62). smaller crooked form radiating from its larger power source (Figure 17). Figure 17. These crook shapes represent both omnipotent power and its omnipresent aspect of kinetic energy. Dual crook symbolism, found in the Picacho Mountains of Arizona, emit ethereal crook-like power line imagery (Figure 18). Figure 16. Power pours from a crook, located within a powerscape. (after Malotki, Page 83, plate 85). Repeated crook symbolism can be used to illustrate the kinetic omnipresent aspects of power. In Meadow Valley, Nevada, a powerful crooked staff is shown anchored in a powerscape. The crooked end of the staff projects upward, out of the powerscape. Its supernatural potency is illustrated using a Figure 18. Incorporeal crook forms flow from their host s bodies symbolizing the moving aspects of power. XXX-18

23 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art Another impressive crooked staff icon is found at Corral Lake, Oregon (Figure 19). This commanding symbol is almost six feet long and is located within a compelling spiritscape. It has an assortment of symbolic power imagery emitting from its body including additional smaller crook forms. Little Petroglyph Canyon, California, contains a wonderful example of a shaman using the intangible power of his crook to control a big horn sheep (Figure 20). Figure 19. An imposing crook symbol displaying a variety of power imagery. The contents of any sacred image embody a vital expressiveness; they have a communicative efficacy that functions nonverbally to convey the image s significance (Irwin 1994:212). Crooked staffs and their associated symbolism visually communicate the immediacy of the numinous. SHAMANIC MANIPULATION OF POWER Puha [power] emerges as a mana-like force imbued in the doctor [shaman] and his objects given him by a timidaini [spirit] (Olofson 1979:13). Visual examples of concentrated power being manipulated or controlled by shaman holding crooked staffs or canes can be found in the rock art and other material objects of the American West. Figure 20. A shaman uses the supernatural power contained within the crook to control the movements of a big game animal. An unparalleled allegorical expression of kinetic power being used to control animals is found at Quail Creek, near St. George, Utah (Figure 21). This panel is located within a shallow irregular concavity near the base of a large boulder. The arrangement may be intended to represent numinous activity within this rock. An anthropomorph, almost certainly a shaman, is holding a crooked staff which is projecting repeated crook shapes symbolizing the powerful flow of numinous kinetic energy. This vigorous current is being used to control the movement of game animals. XXX-19

24 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 21. In knowing hands, the powerful kinetic current of the numinous can be used to manipulate or control. It is symbolized here using repeated crook forms. Several fine representations of power manipulation can be seen in the Picacho Mountains of Arizona. One such site displays skillfully manipulated energy patterns which illuminate the somber patina of its panel (Figure 22). Swirling, undulating linear patterns envelop a shaman, creating an illusion of supernatural power radiating from a natural depression in the rock. This mysterious man has adopted a firm ritual stance. His eyes scrutinize the energy field while his elevated staff engages and molds this potency to his service. Power contests among shamans are reported throughout the ethnographic record (Olofson 1979:14). In Chemehuevi myth, Wolf and Lion win a duel of power with their adversaries, the Bluebird Chiefs. While it is not stated in this story that their poros or crooked staffs were used in this duel, the one object of power that the Chemehuevi shaman used was the poro (Laird 1976:31; 1984:239). The Pima-Papago oral tradition tells of a Hohokam shaman destroying the mind of another man of power. I am holding my hand, And with my cane, I have destroyed the understanding, Of this medicine man (Bahr 1994: ). An intriguing Mimbres bowl found at the Old Town ruin in the lower Mimbres Valley of New Mexico may depict just such a power event (Figure 23). Figure 23. A shamanic duel. One individual is firing power from his crook. Figure 22. A shaman has summoned and is projecting power from his crooked staff. XXX-20 The shaman or mythic warriors portrayed on this bowl have laid aside their bows, arrows and quivers. One of these individuals is attempting to subdue the other using power shot by his crook. His opponent may be using a magical shield to deflect the power aimed his way. Hopi priests told Fewkes (1939:28) that these crooks or gnelas have been called warrior prayer sticks, and are symbols of ancient weapons. In many folk

25 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art tales, it is stated that warriors overcame their foes by the use of gnelas which would indicate that they had something to do with ancient war implements. This Hopi story has the flavor of the Pima-Papago and Chemehuevi myths and may be an echo of shamanic abilities among the early pueblo peoples or their ancestors. Chemehuevi ethnography speaks of the ancestral coyote shaman using his poro or crooked staff to hook the wind down to earth (Laird 1976:31). In the Hopi flute ceremony, a crooked stick is said to be used to draw down the clouds when rain they contain is much desired (Fewkes 1914:29). Further, at Jemez Pueblo, Doctor Parsons found that the crook or dyefu is used to pull down the rain, or to catch the water from the sky (Parsons 1925:102). Rock art panels at South Mountain and Gillespie Dam, Arizona, illustrate anthropomorphs interacting with sun symbols, perhaps depicting shaman controlling the sun s movement (Figures 24 and 5). Figure 24. A shaman appears to be interacting with or controlling the sun. (After Bostwick 2002: 188, Figure 247). The concept of using a crook to pull or manipulate objects and animals or to control natural events is dramatically illustrated on a cliff face at San Carlos Mesa in Baja California. In 1988, Eve Ewing and Mark Robin discovered an extraordinary solar interaction with a series of petroglyphs, which marked summer solstice at this site. Their paper describing the find includes an excellent detailed description of the panel and its interaction with the sun s rays (Robin and Ewing 1989:29-35). The authors took me to this site in the summer of The interaction was exactly as they reported. In their description of the site they describe a vague female form (Figure 25). Figure 25. Detail, solstice panel at San Carlos Mesa. To the left of the house is a disintegrated figure made up of approximately 7 segments (depending on which marks on the rock are included in the figure), one of which in the lower part of the figure is pecked around a natural hole in the rock. We interpret this as a possible female symbolism; identification of the figure as an anthropomorph is problematical (Robin and Ewing 1989:30). Closer examination of this figure reveals that it is a classic crook form. The crook is ethereal in appearance as it is emerging from the numinous through a natural hole in the rock, a passageway to and from the supernormal realms; the home of power. As seen in other sites throughout the southwest, the crook XXX-21

26 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 segment of the staff is facing away from the shaman holding it. Feathers tied to the shaft just before the curved segment are a common occurrence in ritual and in symbolic renderings of these crooks. However, the most important aspect of this panel is the kinetic interaction of the sun s rays with the imagery of the panel (Figures 26 and 27). The shaman is symbolically pulling the sun into its summer home, using the power imbued in his crooked staff. The Luiseno, a people living approximately 500 miles north of San Carlos Mesa, had their lives guided by power decisions made by the mythic Kahmelum or first born people of that culture. One of the most important decisions the Kahmelum made was that the sun would return to its home at winter solstice to insure balance in the universe. The Luiseno pulum or shamans were expected to honor this decision through yearly reciprocal actions (Jones 1989:79). The shaman who created the rock art panel at San Carlos Mesa carved a permanent reciprocal action in stone to benefit his people. This visual reciprocal action used the symbol system of the supernatural to pull the sun into his home. This power statement has been repeated many times after his death, insuring the ongoing balance of the universe. SOMETHING FOR SPIRITS TO COME DOWN ON Figure 26. The sunlight dagger at summer solstice after it has passed through the body of the shaman and his crook and is touching the sun s home. Figure 27. The sun, as a light dagger, enters its home and becomes a pool of light in the doorway. Elsie Parson s ethnographic work among the Pueblos sheds light on crook use by these peoples. At Zuni Pueblo, the crook is explained as something for the spirits to come down on (Parsons 1996:693). Visual echoes of this statement are found in rock art hundreds of miles from Zuni and suggest that similar concepts were known and used by people of power in many southwestern cultural settings. A powerful petroglyph panel found on Alamo Mountain, New Mexico, depicts a shaman in magic flight and wearing horns denoting power. The hand of his winged left arm holds a crooked staff. A spirit form is using the shaman s crook as a ladder, bridge or path to move from one world into another. Both the shaman and spirit are connected to a powerscape by the undulating energy patterns of the supernatural (Figure 28). XXX-22

27 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art formed using indistinct line and shape. Its head or mask is conceived using a soft triangle and is very kachina-like. The mask is decorated with horizontal lines, a head feather, two eyes and possibly a mouth. This entity provides a vivid image of a spirit being using the crook as a passageway to move through simultaneous levels of existence. A large, very powerful petroglyph panel found in the Black Mountains of Arizona (Figure 30) displays what appears to be a bird-like spirit emerging from the numinous through an enormous concentric circle pattern. Figure 28. A shaman s crook being used by a spirit to travel between worlds. An analogous reflection of the crook/spirit connection is found at Indian Hill, New Mexico (Figure 29). Figure 30. A compelling, detailed display of power symbolism. Figure 29. A kachina-like spirit using a crook to move through various realities. In this composition, the energy of power undulates between the cane and the edge of the rock. The body of the spirit is ephemeral The inner most circle of this concentric pattern and the distal ends of two crooked staffs terminate in a crack on the rock s surface. This triple metaphor is a compelling, masterful, visual look at unique transcendent symbolism. An anthropomorph has been placed on the back of this relatively large bird-like spirit, perhaps to illustrate control. Both the anthropomorph and spirit are connected to the emergent road connected to the concentric circle. In the cultures of the southern deserts, bird spirits are XXX-23

28 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 prevalent and are considered potent shamanic familiars. An array of rattle symbols is also found on this boulder. Rattles are among the ritual paraphernalia given by spirits or creators and used by shamans to call their helper spirits. The designs on the rattles may also contain numinous symbolism, marks given the shaman by a spirit. The large triangle-like shape connected to the upper crook may be a reference to the sacred mountain of the Mojave and Yuman peoples, the great pointed peak of Avikwa ame (Kroeber 1970:771). Avikwa ame, also known as Spirit Mountain, is the home of the creators Mastamho (Mojave) or Kumastamho (Yuman). Shamans from both groups get their powers directly from mythic characters while visiting Avikwa ame. Crook staffs images, in conjunction with other rock art and natural elements of the spiritual landscape, can symbolize the nexus or pathways between worlds. They can represent aspects of the power structure or ethereal bridge human spirits or shadows use to access the supernatural and simultaneously describe the road over which familiars or spirits enter human environments. XXX-24 CONCLUSION Crooked staff iconography is certainly multivalent. Crook forms and other symbols derived from interactions with spirits in dreams and displayed on rock are a form of shamanic power. Shamanic symbol systems are deeply layered, highly versatile, cultural methods of making explicit the implicit power of the dream. Crooks used by shaman and represented in their rock art are holonomic, reciprocal reflections of that power. Constructions of pecked dots, circles, concentric circles, rayed images, abstracted geometrics, zigzag or serpentine lines in association with crooks, are often derived from communication with spirits in dream. These images symbolize the animated, omnipresent radiant energy force or power of the spirit world. When these shamanic symbol systems are placed on or near openings or cracks on a rock s surface within a landscape of the spirit, they become additional natural metaphors synthesizing their association or connection with numinous powerscapes contained within the mass of a rock, mountain, bluff or boulder. Throughout the American West, recurrent power symbolism follows an amazingly similar series of recurrent abstract patterns in the rock art record across culture and time. Many of these rock canvasses have been created to provide insight into the workings of the numinous, recounting extraordinary sensate visionary experiences within powerscapes. Rock art panels describe the shaman s use of the crook to manipulate or control the movement of animals or to pull wind or water from the sky. Drawings on rock recall the ability of powerful shaman to use crooks to constrain the sun s movement, controlling and directing its course through the seasons of the year. In certain locations, petroglyph panels delineate crooked staffs as metaphoric symbols depicting a road for spirits to come down on or a metaphysical means for the human spiritual essence or shadow to gain access to supernatural realms. Crooks are spoken of in oral tradition as powerful tools used by shaman, ancestors and cultural heroes to heal, destroy and to do battle. They are highly significant visual metaphors of the numinous in rock art. Understanding of this powerful symbol and its use by many peoples over time and space is

29 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art constantly evolving and unfolding as more information concerning this unique form is uncovered. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Ann Fenton for her hospitality and extended tour of the rock art surrounding Bishop, California. To my long time friends Eve Ewing and Mark Robin, the Baja trip was fantastic, gracias amigos. I would like to acknowledge Chris Rhodes and Sheryl Pognant who take the time to look for crook images in their wanderings and share their findings with me. Thank you to Kat Johnson and Ekkehart Malotki for permission to use their photographic images in my work. A special thanks Kathy Jones whose understanding of my passion for rock art has allowed me to spend countless hours of research in the field, library and study. She is always willing to allow me to read a paragraph to see what she thinks and is quick to spot errors. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the editors of this journal, Nina Bowen and Chris Oravec whose precise editing and extraordinary suggestions allowed me to stretch and make this paper a better research tool. REFERENCES CITED Arnold, Richard and Dr. Richard W. Stoffle 2006 Puha Path to Black Mountain. Presentation at the Great Basin Anthropological Conference On Line Publication. Bahr, Donald, Julian Smith, William Smith Allison, and Julian Hayden 1994 The Short Swift Time Of Gods On Earth, The Hohokam Chronicles. University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. Berlo, Janet Catherine 2000 Spirit Beings And Sun Dancers: Black Hawk s Vision of the Lakota World. New York, New York: George Braziller, Inc. Publisher. Benson, Arlene and Linda Sehgal 1987b The Light At The End Of The Tunnel. In Rock Art Papers, edited by Ken Hedges, pp San Diego Museum Papers 23, Volume 5. Bostwick, Todd W Landscape of the Spirits: Hohokam Rock Art At South Mountain Park. The University Of Arizona Press, Tucson. Eliade, Mircea 1991 Images And Symbols, Studies in Religious Symbolism. Translated by Philip Mairet. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Fewkes, J. Walter 1914 Archaeology of the Lower Mimbres Valley, New Mexico. Smithsonian miscellaneous collections 63, No. 10. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. In J. Walter Fewkes, The Mimbres: Art and Archaeology. Avanyu Publishing, Albuquerque, New Mexico. XXX-25

30 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Halifax, Joan 1979 Shamanic Voices: A Survery of Visionary Narratives. E. P. Dutton New York. Hultkrantz, Ake 1980 [1967]The religions Of The American Indians. Reprinted by the University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. Originally De Amerikanska Indianernas Religioner. Published by the University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. University of California Press, Ltd. London, England Native Religions Of North America: The Power of Visions and Fertility. Harper Collins Publishers, San Francisco Shamanic Healing and ritual Drama: Health and medicine in Native North American Religious Traditions. The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, New York. Irwin, Lee 1994 The Dream Seekers, Native American Visionary Traditions of the Great Plains. University Of Oklahoma Press, Norman And London. Jones, Bernard M The Sun Arrives at His Home. In Rock Art Papers, Edited by Ken Hedges, pp San Diego Museum Papers No. 24. Volume 6. Kelly, Isabel T Chemehuevi Shamanism. Essays In Anthropology Presented to A.L. Kroeber In Celebration Of His Sixtieth Birthday. Reprinted by Essay Index Reprint Series, Books For Libraries Press, Inc Freeport, New York. Originally Published by the University of California, Berkeley, California. Kroeber, A.L Handbook of the California Indians. Third printing facsimile of the work published in 1925 as Bulletin 78 0f the Bureau of American Ethnology. California Book Company, Ltd. Berkeley, California. Kirkland, Forrest and W.W. Newcomb, Jr The Rock Art Of Texas Indians. University Of Texas Press, Austin. Labbé, Armand J Shamans, Gods, And Mythic Beasts: Colombian Gold And Ceramics In Antiquity. The American Federation of Arts And University of Washington Press. Laird, Carobeth 1976 The Chemehuevis. Banning, California: Malki Museum Press. Banning, California Mirror And Pattern, George Laird s World Of Chemehuevi Mythology. Malki Museum Press. Banning, California. XXX-26

31 Jones: The Shaman's Crook: A Visual Metaphor of Numinous Power in Rock Art Mallery, Garrick 1972 Picture-Writing of the American Indians, Volume One. A Re-publication of the Tenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution New York: Dover Publications. Malotki, Ekkehart and Donald E. Weaver, Jr Stone Chisel and Yucca Brush: Colorado Plateau Rock Art. Kiva Publishing Inc., Walnut, California. Olofson, Harold 1979 Northern Paiute Shamanism Revisited. Anthropos, Vol. 74. Pages Parsons, Elise Clews 1925 The Pueblo Of Jemez. The Department of Archaeology, Phillips Academy. Andover, Massachusetts. Yale University Press [1939] Pueblo Indian Religion, Volumes I and 2. An Introduction by Ramón A. Gutierrez. Reprinted by Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. Originally published by the University of Chicago Press. Roberts Jr., Frank H.H The Village Of The Great Kivas On The Zuni Reservation New Mexico. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin No.111. Robin, Mark and Eve Ewing 1989 The Sun Is In His House: Summer Solstice at San Carlos Mesa, Baja California Norte. In Rock Art Papers, edited by Ken Hedges, pp San Diego Museum Papers No.24. Volume 6. Spier, Leslie 1970 [1933] Yuman Tribes of the Gila River. Reprinted by the University of Chicago. Originally Published by Yale University and University of Chicago. New York, New York: Cooper Square Publishers. Underhill, Ruth M Papago Indian Religion A reprint of the 1946 Columbia University Contributions to Anthropology. No.33. AMS Press, Inc. New York, N.Y. Vastokas, Joan M., and Romas K. Vastokas 1973 Sacred Art Of The Algonkians: a Study of the Peterborough Petroglyphs. Peterborough, Ontario: Mansard Press. Voth, H. R The Oraibi Powamu Ceremony. Field Columbian Museum Publication 61, 3 (2). (Anthropological Series). Chicago. Whitley, David S Meaning & Metaphor In The Coso Petroglyphs: Understanding great Basin Rock Art. Edited by Elva Younkin pp , Coso Rock Art. XXX-27

32 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 XXX-28

33 Richard Jenkinson ROCK ART ON AN ANCIENT MIGRATORY ROUTE I. THE PROJECT The location of rock art often reflects how native people moved through the landscape, and the rock art itself was a part of their experience of the land. Years ago I read that people probably moved between the Green and Colorado Rivers by traveling through Hell Roaring Canyon, Seven Mile Canyon and Courthouse Wash. There is intermittent water throughout the route and the walking and river crossings are relatively easy. I realized that anyone continuing on to the La Sal Mountains would walk through Mill Creek, because it has a perennial stream and a direct route to the mountains. I mentioned this idea to Gary Cox, a long time ranger at Hans Flat, and he pointed out to me that Horseshoe Canyon, home to the Great Gallery and other impressive rock art panels, connects to the Green River just above Hell Roaring Canyon, and that it was all probably an ancient migratory route for native people. At that point I decided that it would be fun and informative to hike the entire route, document all of the rock art sites that I come across and see what insights come from encountering these sites on foot instead of by SUV. the canyons, and I was aware of about 30 rock art sites in the study area. My original hope was that I would be able to find a total of at least 100 sites, but I was pretty far off in my hypothesis. So far I have hiked the route from the Green River to upper Mill Creek and I have documented 134 rock art sites in 49 miles of canyons. I m sure Horseshoe Canyon will bring many more. This essay will report on what I have found along the route between the Green River and the La Sals, draw some objective conclusions based on data, and also put forth some more subjective conclusions based on the experience of encountering these rock art sites on foot as the native people did. The are two public rock art sites along the way, the Moab Panel at the mouth of Courthouse Wash and the Moab Man Panel across from the Moab Golf Course. I designate these public because they are included in a pamphlet on rock art of the Moab area and visitation is encouraged. Another panel at Bartlett Wash has an information board at the parking area, so visitation there is at least somewhat encouraged. The other 131 panels are less well known. My goal was to walk to all of these sites and see what insights might come from viewing them as a group. The route includes about 95 miles of canyons (Figure 1). I had already hiked in parts of all of XXX-29

34 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 1. Site: Location: Rock Art: Type of Site: Time Period: Habitation: Water: Geological Strata: Elevation: Attractions: At least one photo XXX-30 II. DOCUMENTATION For each site I filled out a brief documentation form and took photos. The form includes entries for the following categories: I wanted to keep the form short and simple because I had to carry everything on my back. I tried to keep it all on one page. Quentin Baker suggested that I record plants that are found in the area of the site, but I chose not to because I am not confident in my ability to identify all of the plants, and since all of these canyons have been extensively grazed, I didn t think the current plants would be a realistic reflection of what was available in the area in the past. A copy of the documentation page was kept in a folder on my computer and a printed page was kept in a notebook. A sample page (Figure 2) shows how a finished page looks.

35 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Site: Moab Panel Location: Outside of the mouth of Courthouse Wash, on the ledges above Highway 191 GPS: Rock Art: Pictographs and Petroglyphs. Some very impressive BCS anthros, unfortunately severely vandalized, but still discernible. The panel is probably at least ten yards wide, but most of the north end is difficult to make out. The petroglyphs are at the base of the BCS panel. They are apparently of Formative origin. Type of Site: Billboard, meant to be seen by anyone entering the Moab Valley through the crossing near today s highway bridge. Each category presented its own issues, which are summarized in the following paragraphs. Site Each site was given a name. I tried to use descriptive names only and to avoid names that would prejudice the way the people see the panel. Some panels already have a commonly used name and I retained those, even when I felt that they might prejudice interpretation. For example, I am not so sure that the central figure of the Intestine Man panel (Figure 3) depicts intestines or even an anthropomorphic figure, but I kept the commonly accepted name. Time Period: Archaic and Formative Habitation: No Water: Plentiful. Courthouse is nearby, and so is the Colorado River. Geological Strata: Kayenta Elevation: 4093 Attractions: A perfect billboard location high above the valley floor but easily accessible. It would be seen by everyone who came through the area. At least one photo: Figure 3. The Intestine Man Panel A site was defined somewhat subjectively. Some sites are as close as ten yards apart, but they didn t seem to belong together, so I separated them in order to be able to provide more accurate data. Other sites extend over a greater distance, but there is continuity, either in imagery or in the physical site. For example one site, a long-inhabited alcove, is probably close to two hundred yards long and has twenty rock art panels. Sites ranged from one figure to hundreds of figures. Figure 2. Sample Documentation Page XXX-31

36 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Location Location was described verbally and with GPS coordinates. Each site was plotted on a map using National Geographic topo software to help me get a feeling for how sites are spaced and clumped on the landscape. Rock Art The rock art was described verbally and recorded with photographs. I noted whether the rock art was petroglyphs, pictographs or both. Some sites are easy to describe verbally because they are small and simple. Other sites, the many large and complex ones, are almost impossible to describe adequately with words. I kept many photos in my computer file for these large sites. Type of Site This included designations like billboard, habitation, along the trail, near water source, etc. This category didn t turn out to be very useful, because almost every site is near the trail and water and not far from a habitation site. This entire route proved to be wellwatered, highly livable and easily traveled. Figure 4. Bartlett Wash Panel, dated at about 2000 years old For all other panels I had to make a subjective judgment based on rock art style. I m not very confident in my ability to do this with much accuracy. I think that when objective methods of dating rock art are further refined, there will be many revelations concerning our assumptions regarding the absolute ages of panels. For my project I labeled every panel as Archaic, Formative or Ute. I used the term Formative instead of Anasazi or Fremont because in the Moab area both groups were present and much of the rock art shows characteristics of both cultures. There were only two panels that I identified as Ute, both containing shield figures (Figures 5 and 6). Time Period There is one panel in the study area that has been scientifically dated. The panel at Bartlett Wash (Figure 4) has been dated to approximately 2000 years old (Tipps 160), which makes it late Archaic. Figure 5. Ute Shield Figure XXX-32

37 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route be of significance. The areas that appeared to me to have been most heavily occupied were upper Hell Roaring Canyon, the Dubinky Well/Bartlett Wash area, middle Seven Mile Canyon, lower Courthouse Wash, and Mill Creek. Water Figure 6. Ute Rock Art figures I suspect that one panel is Pueblo IV (Figure 7). Figure 7. Possible Pueblo IV Panel Habitation I hoped to be able to look at panels that were associated with habitation sites to see whether or not they had any distinguishing characteristics that other panels lacked. Some panels were obviously in alcoves that had been occupied, but others were so close that I felt that their proximity to habitation sites was significant. Then it became difficult to determine how close to a habitation site was close enough. Ultimately, these canyons were so heavily used and occupied that I felt that all sites were relatively close to a habitation site, so I don t consider my data in this category to I thought proximity to a water source might also yield characteristics that could be revealing. I had hiked in all of these canyons before, but until I hiked the length of each of the canyons I did not realize how well-watered these canyons are. I never had to walk far to the next water source and the walking was easy, which explains why this was an ancient migratory route through the area. There is a perennial stream throughout Lower Seven Mile Canyon and Courthouse Wash and again through the length of Mill Creek. At places there was so much water that I struggled to successfully jump across it. In Lower Seven Mile canyon some of the springs were so active that it sounded like someone was running water into a bathtub. Ultimately, like habitation sites, proximity to water proved to be inconsequential because water was never far away. The two driest areas were in lower Hell Roaring Canyon and middle Seven Mile. Lower Hell Roaring had a couple of areas where water is occasionally present, but was absent when I hiked through. There was no rock art in lower Hell Roaring Canyon and few rock surfaces that would have been appropriate for rock art. Middle Seven Mile, however, has a heavy concentration of rock art and the greatest concentration of Archaic rock art between the Green River and the La Sals. It is generally dry, but there are some water XXX-33

38 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 sources. It would be interesting to know if there was more water present in the canyon during Archaic times. XXX-34 Geological Strata I noted the geological strata that each site appears in. The Cutler, Moencopi and Chinle appear only in lower Hell Roaring Canyon. The remainder of the route moves in and out of the Wingate, Kayenta, Navajo and Entrada layers. I didn t expect this data to reveal much of interest, but, surprisingly, this information yielded some of the most significant conclusions. The data will be examined below and detailed results will be presented. Elevation The elevation of each site was recorded. I got the elevation from my GPS device, and I am not too confident that it is a totally accurate reading. The lowest elevation in the study area is the Green River at about 4000 ft. The highest elevation I recorded at a rock art site was 5488 ft. Elevation did not seem to be a significant factor regarding why sites were chosen for rock art. Attractions I couldn t think of a better name for this category, but what I did here was make a subjective judgment regarding why the site was chosen for the creation of rock art. The most common reasons I listed here were that the site was along the trail, near water, in or near a habitation site or a perfect rock surface for rock art. Other comments included areas that are ideal for agriculture, ledges that may have been used for ceremonies or initiations, a wall that is perfect for a billboard site that will be seen by all passersby, and a few high sites that offered excellent views of the sky that might have been used for astronomical observation. Representative Photo For each site I printed a representative photo onto the page with the data. The purpose of the picture was to help me remember the site, so I picked a photo with the most memorable features. For example, the photo of the Moab Panel in Figure 2 is only a small part of the entire site, but it will quickly remind me of what site the data is describing. Photos of the entire site were included in my computer file for the site. III. DATA AND OBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS Total Distance and Total Number of Sites 134 sites were found over a distance of 49 miles, so there are approximately 2.73 sites per mile. I got my distances by using National Geographic software, and I expect that the walking is not nearly so direct. The site number of 134 is the number of sites that I documented. I am sure that there are many more sites that I never found. I tried to cover both sides of the canyon, but often I only looked closely at the areas that showed the most promise. I went up a few side canyons, but even in areas that had a high concentration of rock art the side canyons usually had none. Two exceptions were the branch of Mill Creek known locally as Left Hand and a side canyon in Lower Courthouse Wash. But there were many side canyons that I didn t have time to investigate. I stayed almost exclusively in the canyon bottoms. I investigated the benches in a few areas and often found rock art, so there

39 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route may be more art on the benches that I didn t see. In all, I documented 25 panels on the benches. Some bench areas I investigated because I was told that there was rock art and other areas because I thought that there should be rock art. Of course, sites that were originally made to be hidden or private weren t likely to be seen by me as I walked down the middle of the canyon, so almost all of the 134 sites were originally meant to be seen by people traveling this route. And time and erosion have certainly destroyed many sites over the years. Canyons -- Mileage, Sites, Site Density Table 1. Canyon Mileage, Site Count, Site Density Canyons Mileage # of Sites Site Density (per mile) Hell Roaring / Dubinky/ Bartlett Wash Seven Mile Total Upper Middle Lower Courthouse Wash Total Upper Lower Mouth Moab Valley (all sites are on the Moab Ledge) Mill Creek XXX-35

40 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 I measured each canyon segment in Table 1 separately using my map software, and the segments don t add up to exactly 49 miles, but I don t think the software and my manipulation of it is accurate enough for that to happen. There were some areas with little or no rock art. The lower ten miles or so of Hell Roaring Canyon had no sites, but there were few appropriate rock surfaces and not much water. I suspect that early travelers on the route were doing what I found myself doing--moving rather quickly to get to the next water source. There is a three mile stretch in Mill Creek with no rock art, but the rock in that stretch offers no good surfaces, and if art had in fact been present here, it would have quickly eroded away. Lower Seven Mile Canyon and Upper Courthouse Wash--the area where the trail moves through the Entrada formation--had great surfaces for rock art and lots of water, but very little rock art. This is more of an enigma, and I will discuss it more fully when I consider geology. Figure 8. Boulder site The areas with the heaviest concentrations of rock art were middle Seven Mile Canyon (which had the highest concentration of Archaic sites), the mouth of Courthouse Wash and the lowest part of the canyon, Mill Creek and the Moab Ledge (located on a bench on the east side of the Moab Valley). There were only two boulder sites (Figures 8 and 9). All remaining sites were on canyon walls. Figure 9. Boulder site XXX-36

41 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Geology -- Strata Table 2. Geological Strata Geological Strata Total Length (miles) % of the route from the Green River to the south end of Mill Creek Canyon Cutler/Moencopi/Chinle % Wingate % Kayenta 2.6 5% Navajo % Entrada % Undifferentiated Valley) (Moab % Open Country % Table 2 shows the length of each geological strata was present at or very near the canyon floor and the percentage of the total route from the Green River to Mill Creek for each of the strata. I lumped the Cutler, Moencopi and Chinle together because they only appear in one place (lower Hell Roaring Canyon) and there was only one rock art site in the area. The Entrada also only appears in one stretch, lower Seven Mile and Upper Courthouse Wash. The Wingate, Kayenta and Navajo formations appear in multiple places. The route crosses the Moab Fault, which complicates the geology. The open country appears at the top of Island in the Sky, in upper Seven Mile Canyon and as the route crosses both Highway 191 and the highway in Arches National Park that crosses Courthouse Wash. I listed the Moab Valley as undifferentiated because geologically the valley is a jumbled mess caused by the collapse of a salt valley. XXX-37

42 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Geology -- Site Density and Percentage of Sites Table 3. Site Density and Percentage of Sites Geological Strata Sites Density (sites per mile) % of Sites Cutler/Moencopi/Chinle Wingate Kayenta Navajo Entrada Undifferentiated (Moab Valley) Open Country Table 3 shows the statistics for the density of sites for each geological layer. The number that jumps out immediately is the very high density of sites in the Navajo. The low density in the Cutler/Moencopi/Chinle segment can be explained due to a large extent by the lack of appropriate rock surfaces and lack of water sources. But the low density of sites in the Entrada is intriguing. The layer looks very similar to the Navajo and is very well watered. So why would the density be so high in the Navajo and so low in the Entrada? The data doesn t tell us why, but I will speculate below in the section of subjective conclusions. Conclusion One: There is a disproportionately high number of sites in the Navajo formation and a disproportionately low number of sites in the Entrada formation. XXX-38

43 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Content Table 4. Content of the Rock Art in each Canyon Hell Roaring Area 7 Mile Courthouse Moab Ledge Mill Creek Total % of Sites Total sites in canyon Anthropomorphs Sheep/quadrapeds Snakes Birds Tracks Flute players Centipedes Abstract elements Table 4 indicates the number of sites that contain at least one of the elements. They do not indicate how many of each element are at the site, only that there is at least one. example of a complex panel that could be discussed at great length. Most of the quadrupeds are sheep, but I lumped all quadrupeds together in one category. The abstract category can be anything from dots, circles and other geometrics to shapes that seemed random, or possibly unfinished or eroded figures. Interpretation of a rock art site is difficult and complex. To interpret just one site fully is the subject of an entire essay. Figure 10 is an Figure 10. An example of a very complex site. There are many such sites in the study area. XXXI-39

44 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Rather than trying to take on the impossible task of interpreting the complexities of 134 sites, I have simply gathered some basic data regarding content based on motifs and how often they appeared in each canyon. The following discussion will look at each motif, present examples and draw a few conclusions. Figures are examples of simple, relatively undetailed torsos. Anthropomorphs Anthropomorphic figures were found in 82% of the sites, 110 sites total. At most of these sites, they dominate the imagery. It is easy to say that the rock art of this area, of both the Archaic and Formative periods, is oriented towards humans and their activities. That may seem obvious, but other rock art traditions are not so human-oriented. For example, the cave art of Europe is dominated by animal imagery and humans are relatively rare. Here, however, humans and their activities are the primary concern of the artists. In my analysis of the anthropomorphic images, I will look at art that is characteristic of the archaic and formative cultures, and also examine iconic and narrative imagery. Conclusion Two: Rock art in the study area is dominated by anthropomorphic imagery. Figure 11. Archaic Anthropomorphs Almost all of the Archaic rock art in the study area is painted. The pictographs range from relatively simple armless and legless torsos to complex, detailed figures that are so far removed from the human form that they can at times be difficult to recognize as anthropomorphic. Figure 12. Figures 11 and 12 are painted in red with the wide shoulders and tapered torsos typical of Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorphs. While XXX-40

45 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Horseshoe Canyon (formerly known as Barrier Canyon) is not surveyed in this essay, it is a part of the study area and will be examined soon. I think the influence of the art of Barrier Canyon, especially the Great Gallery, is present throughout the entire route, although we will not be able to fully understand who influenced whom until we can reliably date the artwork. Figures 15 and 16 are details of the panel shown in Figure 4. Figure 13. Figure 15. Figure 15 is a limbless torso with indistinct stripes in the torso most likely created with fingers. Prominent are the large, vacant eyes. Figure 14. Figure 13 shows a variety of faded Barrier Style figures with no ornamentation. Figure 14 is decorated with dots on the shoulders, but is otherwise a typical Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorph with an armless, legless, tapered torso. Figure 16 has much more detail in the torso and a t-shaped head that bears very little resemblance to anything human. These figures are from a panel dated at two thousand years old, as late Archaic, yet they are very different from the formative anthropomorphs that we will see in the next section. XXX-41

46 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 represents a comet. I have no idea what the comet-like shape represents, but its shape and colors add movement to the arrangement. Figure 16. Other anthropomorphs presumed to be archaic show much more detail and complexity. The panel is executed in red, yellow and white pigments, although the yellow is very faded. The central, dominant figure is very detailed with hands and feet that are very different from one another. The snake is right above the head. The anthropomorph on the left is armless and has a t-shaped head, making it appear much less human-like than the central figure. The two shapes on the right are barely anthropomorphic, but one clearly has eyes. Otherwise their only anthropomorphic characteristic is that they are tall and thin. The sheep on the right is positioned like animals in other panels that are interpreted to be shaman s animal helpers. The shamanic interpretation would help make sense of the otherworldly, nonhuman appearance of this and other Archaic panels. This is nothing close to a realistic depiction of our human world. It is something from another world, possibly experienced in an altered state of consciousness. Figure 18 is another carefully arranged Archaic pictograph panel. Figure 17. Figure 17 is a carefully arranged group of four anthropomorphic figures, a sheep, a snake and a curved abstract shape that some people think Under a rain cloud are two anthropomorphs, two snakes, a bird and three parallel, vertical lines. The anthropomorph on the left has a head that looks more like a plant to me, something like a prickly pear. The dominant anthropomorph in the center looks more human, and in his (or her) one arm holds a bird. A closer look (Figure 19) reveals eyes painted in blue and a snake in the large mouth area. The bird is very human-like in structure, with only the feather-like marks on its arms indicating that it is a bird. In this panel we have XXX-42

47 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route seen how the Archaic anthropomorph can in fact stray very far from human representation into something that is more the creation of a human mind than a representation of anything in the empirical world. presents us with mysterious cultural information that we would be hard pressed to examine adequately with empirical data. The Intestine Man (Figure 20), as mentioned above, may not be either a man or a depiction of intestines. Figure 18. Figure 20. The Intestine Man (detail of Figure 3) Figure 19. Detail of Figure 18 A close look at one more panel of archaic anthropomorphs will take us a step further from representational art, by which I mean art that attempts to realistically portray things seen in the natural world. The Intestine Man panel (Figure 3) features three anthropomorphs that bear little resemblance to humans, but it The intestines in the torso could just as easily be snakes. Of course, metaphorically both could be represented. We all contain a gut full of snakes. The arms are upright, as arms might be, but they show little resemblance to real arms. The left arm (right in the photo) is connected to the intestines and appears to be a part of them that extends upward outside of the body. The other arm is attached to the outside of the body. The lower body, where XXX-43

48 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 you might expect to see legs, has something else altogether. It could be dress-like clothing or even feathers, but it doesn t bear much resemblance to anything anthropomorphic. The head appears to have been damaged by erosion, but what is left bears little resemblance to a head. So with all of these traits, is this really an anthropomorph exhibiting intestines? It s difficult to say, but this is a good example of how far from representational art the archaic artist could stray. The figure on the right (Figure 21) is also intriguing. hint that this person is wearing a robe or some garment that covers most of the legs. The arms, however, are replaced by outlines of wings, each of which has a stalk of some kind of vegetation sticking into it from below. Above each wing, flying creatures move away from the head in opposite directions. If they are birds, they would have to be hummingbirds, but I think they are probably wasps or hornets. What are we to make of this? It s hard to say, but it appears to involve plants, wings and insects. The third anthropomorph (Figure 22) is another enigmatic image. Figure 21. Another detail of Figure 3 The head, which looks more like a head this time, has four groups of parallel lines extending from it. The very short legs could Figure 22. Another detail of Figure 3 Again, the legs are very short with feet that appear to end in four claws. One foot has XXX-44

49 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route snake-like lines around it. There appears to be a tail between the legs. The torso has three parallel lines crossing it in two different places, possibly a pattern on clothing. The head is completely missing. A strand of something (vegetation, an animal s detached tail?) represented by three parallel lines is draped over the top of the figure. On one side are more of the insects or birds. On the other side what appeared to me at first to be a bird turned out upon closer examination to be some sort of creature, possibly even the body of a bird, crossed by a snake. I originally thought that the snake was thin wings attached to the body. On the far right side of Figure 3, there is another of the same type of creature that is larger. Again, we are left with little idea of what is actually being depicted here. The Archaic artist(s) responsible for the creation of this panel were certainly not painting a naturalistic portrait of the world around them. The theory that these images are the result of shamanistic altered states of consciousness is certainly possible. Regardless, these images are highly imaginative. Formative Anthropomorphs The anthromorphs from the Formative era panels are noticeably different from those of the earlier Archaic era. There are a few pictographs (Figures 23 and 24), but the vast majority of the images are petroglyphs. Figure 23. In summary, Archaic anthropomorphs are almost always pictographs. They range from relatively simple limbless, tapering torsos to highly complex, detailed depictions of imaginative creatures that bear little resemblance to anything in the natural world. As we shall see in the next section, Formative anthropomorphs from the study area are very different from the Archaic in many respects. Conclusion Three: Archaic anthropomorphs are usually pictographs that are nonrepresentational in nature. Figure 24. XXX-45

50 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Most of the anthropomorphs are silhouettes, rather stiff and static (Figures 25 and 26). their everyday guise. They are probably dressed for ceremonial occasions or are perhaps depictions of supernatural beings. A few of the petroglyphs have details inside the torso, usually of jewelry or other decoration (Figures 27 and 28), but most do not. Figure 25. Figure 27. Figure 26. Elaborate headgear, as shown in Figure 26, is common. These are not depictions of people in Figure 28. XXX-46

51 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route A few are depictions of heads (Figures 29 and 30), but most are full bodies, sometimes with weapons or tools (Figure 31). Figure 29. Simple outlines of heads Figure 31. Formative anthropomorph with shield and possibly a spear or atlatl. Figure 30. Eyes, nose, mouth and antlers. Perhaps painted pigment has disappeared over the years. Figure 32 appears to show the type of hair whorls that unmarried Hopi women wore in historic times. Others are more difficult to interpret. Figure 33 shows either a three-headed person or uses perspective to show three people standing in a group, all facing forward. Figure 32. XXX-47

52 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 33. Figure 34 uses natural stains in the rock to augment the composition. Stains appear between the legs and between each of the arms and the body. Figure 35. Figure 34. Figure 35 has a huge right hand and right foot and a head ornament. Of course, most anthropomorphs don t appear in isolation from other petroglyphs. Figures 36 and 37 show pairs of anthropomorphs that are obviously meant to relate to one another. Figure 36. Note the differences in feet XXX-48

53 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route study area are dominated by anthropomorphic imagery, we will use anthropomorphs as examples of these types of images. Figure 37. Many panels have complex arrangements of figures (Figures 38 and 39). Figure 39. A complex panel with a variety of anthromorphs, sheep and a track. Figure 38. A complex panel located on a ledge We will look at panels with narrative characteristics in the next section. For now, we can summarize our look at Formative anthropomorphs. Conclusion Four: Formative anthropomorphs are usually petroglyphs in silhouette with little detail. Iconic and Narrative Imagery Any type of imagery could be found in iconic or narrative settings, but since the panels in the In Art of the Warriors James Keyser defines iconic imagery: Drawn as individuals or small groups of figures, iconic images are static, showing neither movement nor interaction, and not depicting real life events. (60) Most of the anthropomorphs in the study area seem to me to fit into this iconic category. Narrative images are more active and interactive. Keyser again: [Narrative imagery] depicts real people interacting in everyday events. XXX-49

54 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 With this definition he is referring to the Biographic Tradition of the Great Plains. I think Keyser s definition fits well with the imagery in my study area, except for the word everyday. Many of the narrative panels in the study seem to be referring to ceremonial events or even to scenes that may have been witnessed in the altered states of consciousness of shamanic activities. Let s look first at iconic anthropomorphs. Iconic Anthropomorphs Iconic images are static and are not interacting. Figures 40 and 41 are examples of iconic Formative anthropomorphs. Figure 40. Static outlines of Formative era anthropomorphs Figure 41. A group of iconic anthropomorphs Figures 11, 12 and 13 would be examples of iconic Archaic anthropomorphs. In both Figures 42 and 43, the anthropomorphs are static, facing forward and lacking action. What was the intended purpose of iconic imagery? It is difficult to say, but many of these images retain their power today. Figure 42 is the famous Moab Man, found on the Moab Man panel, one of the two public sites in the study area. It is indeed possible that it may once have been part of a narrative panel, but most of the panel has spalled off over the years and we are left with an iconic image. The Moab Man still has his charisma. He is a featured image used by Moab businesses and events to give them an image both local and exotic. It probably helps that he is located just off the 14 th hole of the Moab Golf Course, where he has cheered on many a double bogey. XXX-50

55 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Figure 44. Figure 42. The still iconic Moab Man Figures 43 and 44 are two more iconic images, each holding what appears to be a similar piece of equipment. One has a triangular head or hat; the other has a flat head and horns. Figure 43. Anthropomorphs in Narrative Settings It is very difficult to communicate narrative in a visual image. Painting is not a temporal art like music or literature. A painting can only give a snapshot of one moment in a narrative sequence. Part of the mystique is wondering what happened before and what will happen after the scene we see. Consider that the rock art we are examining was made hundreds of years ago by a culture that was radically different from ours, and the mystique increases dramatically. Wouldn t it be wonderful if ancient peoples had left millions of videos on some primitive version of YouTube that we could study? But they didn t, and we are left with enigmatic snippets of narrative scenes that give us some cultural information, but invariably pose more questions for us than they answer. Remember that narrative images show action and interaction. We will begin with hunting scenes. Hunting scenes comprise a minority of the narrative XXX-51

56 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 panels, but still they are not rare. Figure 45 shows an antlered bow hunter in a scene with three more anthropomorphs and a line of sheep. Figure 46 is a very complex hunting scene with a large central quadruped, probably a bear, and a multitude of other figures, including two bow hunters and a man with a spear or possibly an atlatl in the upper left hand corner (Figure 47). Figure 47. Detail of Figure 46. A man with an atlatl or spear takes aim. Other narrative panels involve ceremonial events or at least social events. Many panels show lines of people holding hands (Figures 48 and 49), and animated flute players provide music for the occasion (Figures 50 and 51). Figure 45. Figure 48. A group holding hands, presumably for a dance Figure 46. A complex hunting scene Figure 49. Another group of dancers, accompanied by two large snakes XXX-52

57 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Figure 52. Backpackers Figure 50. Two flute players Is it a ceremony, the depiction of a myth, a dream? It is very difficult to know with any certainty, but clearly something is going on. One last narrative image (Figure 53) located in a notch high above the canyon floor, shows another complex scene. Again, people, animals and geometric designs are composed into a portrayal of some ceremony or event. The scene shows action and interaction. Figure 51. Another flute player, obviously having a good time The study area contained only one group of backpackers (Figure 52). Some narrative scenes are very complex. Figure 10 contains many rows of anthropomorphs, animals both large and small, a flute player on his back, and many abstract, geometrical lines and shapes that all seem to be a part of one carefully composed arrangement. Figure 53. XXX-53

58 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 To summarize, anthropomorphs are the dominant content in the rock art in the study area, appearing at 82% of the sites. The anthropomorphs depicted show a great deal of variety. They are rarely representational; instead they seem to express iconic and symbolic concepts. Rather than depicting the outer world, they show the inner world of imagination. a high notch, is quite large and is meant to be seen from the canyon floor. Figure 56 is an unusual naturalistic depiction of sheep grazing on a hillside. The hillside just beyond the panel could have provided the scene. Quadrupeds After anthropomorphs, quadrupeds are the next most common type of image, appearing at 64% of the sites. By far sheep are the most common quadrupeds, although many other types of animals are depicted. We will begin by looking at images of sheep from both the Archaic and the Formative eras. Sheep are far less common in Archaic panels than they are in Formative panels. There is a single sheep pictograph on the right side of Figure 17. Figure 54 shows a detail from the TV Sheep panel. These boxy sheep are an example of Glen Canyon Style No. 5, identified by Christy Turner and dated to the Basketmaker III Culture, A.D. (9) Figure 55. An iconic sheep Figure 56. Grazing sheep Figure 54. Detail of the TV Sheep panel Petroglyphs of sheep are much more common on panels from the Formative cultures. Figure 55 shows an iconic sheep. This one, located in Some sheep show action. Figure 57 shows a sheep in motion, and Figure 58 shows a line of sheep that could almost be said to be dancing. The sheep on the far right is raised up on hind legs. Sheep can also have symbolic content. In one case, a line departing from a sheep s horn coils into a spiral (Figure 59). Another panel shows XXX-54

59 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route what are probably sheep emerging from a crack in the rock (Figure 60). deer. Since he (or she) has no weapon, I assume that this is not a hunting scene. Figure 57. A sheep in motion Figure 60. Quadrupeds appear to be emerging from a crack Figure 58. Figure 61. Figure 62 shows a large elk. Its size dominates the panel, which also includes sheep and people without weapons. Figure 59. Other quadrupeds appear in the study area, but not as often as sheep. Deer and elk are not uncommon and other animals, sometimes difficult to identify, appear as well. Figure 61 shows a horned anthropomorph with a group of Bear tracks are commonly depicted (tracks will be looked at more closely below), but bears themselves are rare. Figure 63 is a detail of Figure 47. It appears to be a large, complex hunting scene, with the bear the central figure. Bears, like deer and elk, are common in the study area, and even today bears will occasionally roam through Mill Creek in the study area. XXX-55

60 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 64. Horned quadruped. The biped is Ryan Anderson of Moab Figure 62. Figure 65. A fox Figure 63. Figure 64 shows a nearly life-sized horned quadruped that is abraded onto the wall of an alcove.. And last, some quadrupeds are clearly not creatures that are found in the natural world. Figure 66 shows a creature whose tail is a large spiral. There is one fox clearly depicted (Figure 65) in a panel that appears to date from the late Archaic. It is interesting to note that canines are fairly common in Archaic era panels, but relatively rare in Formative era panels. Figure 66. XXX-56

61 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Snakes Snakes appear at 50 sites, 37% of the sites in the study area. They are common in both Archaic and Formative panels. They are not depicted in naturalistic settings, and most likely they were not a part of the hunting culture. Armless and legless and as quick as lightning, the snake has a potent bite and arises a very primal fear in many people. When I lived on the Navajo reservation, I found that Navajos were almost unanimously afraid of snakes, which they equated with lightning. When snakes appear in rock art panels, they usually seem to me to be there for symbolic reasons. Snakes can be long and undulating (Figures 67 and 68) or coiled (Figures 69 and 70). Some snakes almost become random meanders (Figure 71). Figure 69. A coiled snake, or is it a spiral with a loose end? Figure 67. An undulating snake, at least 15 feet long Figure 70. A coiled snake Figure 68. This snake was made with three lines instead of the usual two. Figure 71. A meandering snake with two more conventional snakes XXX-57

62 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Vertical snakes also appear, as if they are rising up from the ground (Figure 72). The horned serpent appears occasionally (Figure 74). Figure 74. A horned serpent The Snake in Mouth panel (Figure 18) shows a large snake that seems to be moving towards the head of the main anthropomorph, but a detail (Figure 75) shows where the panel gets its name. Here the symbolic nature of the snake is obvious. The snake is an easy metaphor for the tongue, as here, or for lightning or intestines (Figure 3). Figure 72. Several vertical snakes Snakes often approach the abstract, and Figure 73 could be a rattlesnake or simply an undulating line crossed by shorter lines at the end. Figure 75. Detail of the Snake in Mouth panel Centipedes Figure 73. Like the snake, the centipede is a squirmy thing with a surprisingly potent bite. Only two panels in the study area depict centipedes, but XXX-58

63 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route in both cases, the centipede is a featured image at the panel (Figures 76 and 77). Figure 76. A centipede at an Archaic site Figure 78. Tracks Figure 77. Two centipedes at a Formative site Birds There are few depictions of birds. Only three sites in the study area contain images of birds. Two are on Archaic era panels, but one of those, the Intestine Man site, might well depict flying insects, not birds (Figure 21). The other, the Snake in Mouth site, has a bird/human figure standing on the hand of the central character (Figure 19). Only one Formative era site has a bird image (Figure 78), which appears to be a heron or some sort of shore bird. Tracks appear in 17% of the sites. Tracks of humans and bears are most common, but other types appear as well. Many of the tracks are stylized in design, and it is difficult to be sure what animal s tracks are being depicted. All of the sites with tracks are from the Formative era. Figures 79 and 80 each have more than one kind of track, and Figure 81 shows sandal prints and a bear track carved on the top of a rock. Abstract The abstract category is a bit of a catch all category. Some of the images were put here because I could not relate them to any representational category. Abstract elements appeared at 62% of the sites. XXX-59

64 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Figure 79. For this discussion I will ignore abstract elements that could be unfinished or eroded images, along with meandering lines, and focus on images that seem to have been made intentionally by the artist. I will begin with an image that might very well be a blanket (Figure 82). If it is a blanket, of course, it is not an abstract image, but it would also be the only image of a blanket in the study area. Figure 83 might also have some relation to textiles, or it could just be an abstract design. Figure 82. Figure 80. Figure 83. Figure 81. XXX-60

65 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Figure 84 looks like it could be a stylized depiction of something plant-like or snake-like, but it could also be an elaborate geometric design that had some meaning to the artist. Figure 85 could also be a snake-like image or an image from a pottery design. Figure 86 has what many people call a rake at the top of the panel. This is almost certainly not a rake-like tool. It could be a stylized depiction of a rain cloud, or it could just be a geometric design. Figure 84. Figure 86. Figure 87 is a design of dots. Figure 85. Figure 87. XXX-61

66 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 This appears to be an Archaic panel because of the heavy repatination and the fact that there are some much lighter Formative era images on the same rock surface a few feet away. Dots were found more often on Archaic panels than on Formative panels. Figures 88 and 89 are circular designs. Could they be Ute shield figures? Possibly, but these images and several others like them are found on high ledges that have an excellent view of the western sky. It seemed to me that they might be stations for astronomical observation. If so, these images might have something to do with astronomical symbols. stylized the sun or the stars the same way that we do. Figure 90. Figures 91 and 92 both feature round geometric shapes with small lines around the edge. Figure 88. Figure 91. Figure 92 also has handprints and is clearly meant to symbolize something, but it is very difficult to say exactly what. XXX-62 Figure 89. Figure 90 is an image that we might associate with a star or the sun, but there is no reason to assume that ancient Native American cultures

67 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Figure 92. I will close this section on abstract elements by showing an entire complex panel that features abstraction, mainly lines, in its content. Figure 93 shows the entire panel, which is very difficult to photograph straight on because the ground below the panel slopes sharply down. Figure 94. The left side of the panel shown in Figure 93 Figure 95. The right side of the panel shown in Figure 93 Summary Figure 93. A huge panel dominated by abstract elements Figures 94 and 95 show each side of the panel closer up. Interpretation of this panel could probably fill a book. The patterns of lines give the impression of a city road map, which is certainly not the intention. The lines are definitely not random and are an integral part of the overall design. The point, I suppose, is that many abstract elements probably have a great deal of meaning, but the meaning is lost to us. This long section on content has simply been a look at the different types of images that appear in the study area. Interpretation of 134 entire panels, which would certainly be of value, is beyond the scope of this essay. I will comment on how panels are related to each other in Section IV. XXX-63

68 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Data and Notes by Canyon Tables 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 summarize the data and notes by canyon. Hell Roaring/Dubinky/Bartlett Wash Table 5. Hell Roaring/Dubinky/Bartlett Wash Segment Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Total Geology Miles Sites Cutler Moencopi Chinle in upper Chinle, Density (Sites/Mile) 14 Wingate Kayenta Open land with Navajo outcrops Rock Art Pictographs only 1 Pictographs and petroglyphs 2 Petroglyphs only 4 Archaic rock art Formative rock art 6 Sites 3 all BCS Notes: Hell Roaring/Dubinky/Bartlett Wash: Elevation of sites All sites were meant to be seen by passersby. 4 sites in habitation area, 3 along trails Seven Mile Table 6. Seven Mile Segment Miles Sites Upper Middle Lower Total Geology Miles Sites Navajo Kayenta Wingate Open land (Moab Fault) Entrada Rock Art Pictographs only 7 Petroglyphs only 6 Archaic rock art-- 8 Formative rock art 6 Density (Sites/Mile) Density (Sites/Mile) Sites Notes: Seven Mile Elevation of sites In middle Seven Mile, there are five sites that appear to have been created at habitation sites. There are two impressive sites away from the trail that may have had some sort of ceremonial significance. XXX-64

69 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route Notes: Seven Mile (continued) High percentage of Archaic sites. Preference for Wingate; aversion to Entrada. More pictographs than petroglyphs. Middle Seven Mile feels very lived in. One site is a marker for where the trail leaves the canyon to skirt around a pour off. Courthouse Wash Table 7. Courthouse Wash Segment Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Upper Lower Mouth Total Geology Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Entrada Navajo Kayenta Rock Art Pictographs only 4 Pictographs and petroglyphs 2 Sites Petroglyphs only 12 Archaic rock art 3 Formative rock art 13 Ute rock art 2 Notes: Courthouse Wash Elevation of sites Surprising lack of sites in Entrada Habitation sites throughout Lower Courthouse Primarily formative sites. 5 sites near the mouth of the canyon are up high in the Navajo even though there are good Kayenta surfaces at canyon level. The view of the western horizon from these sites is possibly important for astronomical observation Moab Valley/Moab Ledge Table 8. Moab Valley/Moab Ledge Segment Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Total 4.66 (valley bottom from the Colorado River to the Mill Creek Canyon entrance). 18 (all located far above the valley on Moab Ledge) 3.86 Geology Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Undifferentiated in Moab Valley Navajo -- Moab Ledge is above the valley on the east rim XXX-65

70 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 Rock Art Table 8. Moab Valley/Moab Ledge (continued) Pictographs only 1 Petroglyphs only 17 Formative rock art 17 Sites Fake rock art of recent origin 1 (the pictograph site) Notes: Moab Valley/Moab Ledge Elevation of sites The fake site is white handprints that are very large and poorly made. All other sites are formative time period and petroglyphs. Noticeable consistency in content. (anthros, quads, snakes, abstract) All sites are on Navajo cliff, even though it is far above valley floor. All sites have an excellent view of the western sky and the western rim of the Moab Valley. Mill Creek Table 9. Mill Creek Segment Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Total Geology Miles Sites Density (Sites/Mile) Navajo throughout canyon Rock Art Pictographs only 1 Pictographs and petroglyphs 3 Petroglyphs only 73 Archaic rock art 3 Formative rock art Sites 77 all Notes: Mill Creek Elevation All sites have Formative rock art, only 3 have Archaic. Habitation sites throughout the canyon. All but one site has petroglyphs. Anthropomorphs present at 72 of 77 sites. Five sites have flute players, but one of these has 16 flute players. All sites are in the Navajo, which is present at stream level throughout the canyon. There is abundant water throughout the canyon. No depictions of birds One boulder site XXX-66

71 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route IV. SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE OF HIKING THE ROUTE Unfortunately, the large group of images that we viewed in the section on content comes across more like a catalog from an art exhibition than an experience of rock art in its native setting. The intention of my project was to hike the length of the route and experience the rock art sites as people did in the past. Often my research felt more like me-search. I was always searching for rock art sites, and I was also taking inventory of my experience and how it might shed light on my interpretation of the rock art. Rock art studies often focus on why rock art was made and on isolated images shown as pictures in publications. In this section I want to put more emphasis on the audience for rock art and how they may have been affected by it. Rock art serves to both explain and map the landscape. Location must have had great importance. In The Figured Landscape of Rock Art Chippendale and Nash make a profound statement regarding the importance of location in rock art studies:. The insecurity of time [dating] is compensated for by security in place. (7) In this section, I will draw some general conclusions based on both my statistics and on experiencing the rock art in place. These aren t scientific conclusions based on an empirical approach, but perhaps they could provide a theoretical framework that might be investigated empirically in the future. 1. The Trail Did any of the rock art sites appear to be trail markers, boundary markers or anything of the sort? Of course, the many billboard-type panels were meant to be seen by all passersby, but only one panel seemed to have significance in relation to the trail. When I hiked down Seven Mile Canyon from the top of Island In The Sky, I was surprised to find that my hiking partners and I were stopped by a huge pour-off in the upper part of the canyon. We continued to hike along the canyon rim, but it was beginning to look like we might not ever be able to get back to the canyon floor. A branch of Seven Mile was coming in on our left, and with the main canyon on our right, we were approaching a point that looked too sheer to descend. I was beginning to think that my idea of a migratory route through the canyon might be all wrong. When we got to the sheer point I looked down and immediately recognized where we were. A couple of rock art sites that I had already visited by driving and hiking up Seven Mile were in the area below us. I looked to the right and saw an area that might offer a chance to descend, so we headed that way. When we got there the trail was obvious--a well worn route that at first went down through a wide crack and then out onto slick rock benches that were easy to negotiate. I knew we had found the old route, but as we came out onto the first slick rock bench I was very surprised to see that we were face to face with a large red anthropomorph that I had only seen before from the canyon bottom (Figure 12). It showed up better from above that it does from below. It seemed to me to be clearly associated with the trail, something that I never would have known if I had not hiked the route. I don t mean to say that it was a trail marker, because you had to already be on your descent XXX-67

72 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 before you would see it. But I think it was associated with the trail and the descent, possibly as a greeting, a warning, a blessing, or something of the sort. So, to answer the question that this paragraph began with, I do think that some panels, but not too many, were designed to provide information to those traveling the route. Conclusion Five: Some sites were designed to provide some sort of information to travelers on the migratory route. cultures, but it must be remembered that one transitioned into the other, and the Archaic culture s iconography was, and still is, ever present in the canyons. So, is there evidence in the panels of artists being influenced by panels that they had seen? I will present three examples here of such influence. An image of an armless torso with vertical striping topped by a t-shaped head appears in Hell Roaring Canyon and again in Seven Mile, about eight miles away along the route (Figures 96 and 97). Influence from One Panel to Another I also wondered if it were possible that panels were related to each other in some kind of order, like chapters in a book or lessons to be learned in a sequence. That seemed unlikely, because the panels didn t seem to be made at the same time. In fact, I didn t find any evidence that panels were related in this kind of way. They each had their own content and didn t seem be related. Conclusion Six: The rock art along the route showed no evidence of being related sequentially by content. There was, however, evidence of another kind of influence from panel to panel. I couldn t help but notice how the body of rock art built up over time. At first there would have only been canyon, and then the first Archaic panels were made. If current scientific dating is accurate, the Great Gallery was one of the earliest sites, and what an influence that would have had on all who later traveled the route! We tend to separate Archaic and Formative Figure 96. Seven Mile Canyon XXX-68

73 Jenkinson: Rock Art on an Ancient Migratory Route image in a petroglyph panel about 37 miles away in Mill Creek (Figure 99). Figure 97. Hell Roaring Canyon Are these meant to be representations of the same supernatural character, or did seeing the image in one location inspire the artist in the other location to paint a similar image? It s impossible to say, but these are the only two images of their type along the route, and I can t help but think that ancient audiences in the canyons would have seen them as similar and linked the two sites in their minds because of this. The main figure in the large alcove in Hell Roaring Canyon, the so-called Comet Catcher (Figure 98), appeared to me to be a very unique Archaic anthropomorph. I had never seen anything like it in the study area or anywhere else. But I came across a remarkably similar Figure 98. Hell Roaring Other images in the petroglyph panel seem to be from the Formative period. Is the petroglyph meant to be a copy of the Hell Roaring pictograph? If so, the Archaic rock art was influencing the Formative petroglyphs that came later. Another example of Archaic rock art possibly influencing Formative petroglyphs occurs in Seven Mile canyon (Figure 100). XXX-69

74 Utah Rock Art, Volume XXX, 2012 What especially caught my interest here are the people to the right of the Barrier Canyon Style figure who are bent over and have a staff or stick in their hands. They are not common, but I knew I had seen something like them before. When I looked at a photo of a panel from the San Rafael Swell, I found similar images (Figure 101). Figure 99. Mill Creek Figure 101. An Archaic panel with anthropomorphs or zoomorphs (far left) bent over with staffs, similar to those in Figure 100. Figure 100. A Barrier Canyon Style anthropomorph in a petroglyph panel that includes images that are characteristic of both the Archaic and Formative periods. The panel in the Swell is not in the study area and is far from Seven Mile Canyon, but these are the only two panels that I have seen with this motif. It is possible, of course, that the artist at one panel had seen the other, but it is also possible that both artists were depicting the same sort of ritual or event and produced the same image independent of one another. Is the panel in Seven Mile a Formative panel that has been influenced by Archaic imagery? It is also quite possible that the Seven Mile panel was made in the transitional period between the Archaic and Formative and includes imagery from both periods. Accurate scientific dating of this petroglyph panel could help answer some of the questions that arise here. XXX-70