Wednesday, October 26, 2016

CRESCENT JUNCTION SITE, GRAND COUNTY, UTAH:




Petroglyph panel, Crescent Junction
site, Grand County, Utah.
Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.


Driving in to the Crescent Junction (Utah) rock art site one goes right past a Department Of Energy radioactive tailings disposal site. This reminded me of a RockArtBlog posting on June 10, 2009, titled Protecting Rock Art, in which I discussed poison ivy as a protection for rock art panels, and speculated upon the efficacy of using rock art sites for radioactive or toxic waste disposal to protect the rock art (Faris 2009). This is close in concept, but the disposal is near the rock art, not around it, and, I think, coincidental. In other words they were not looking to protect rock art, they were looking for empty land to dump their radioactive tailings at.


Petroglyph panel, Crescent Junction
site, Grand County, Utah.
Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.



Petroglyph panel, Crescent Junction
site, Grand County, Utah.
Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.

It is a good site though, worth visiting. I was there on a field trip from the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS) which was held in Grand Junction over the weekend of October 6-8. Members of the Grand Junction chapter of CAS are to be congratulated for an excellent meeting and programs.

The Crescent Junction site is on a number of scattered boulders at the base of the Bookcliffs formation on the North edge of the Grand Valley.


Fremont figure, Crescent Junction
site, Grand County, Utah.
Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.


Some of the rock art is archaic imagery with anthropomorphs, quadrupeds, footprints, and symbols intermixed. Many of the human figures seem to be Fremont in origin which give us a timeframe of AD 1 to 1300 (Wikipedia).


Bat? Crescent Junction
site, Grand County, Utah.
Photo: Peter Faris, Oct. 8, 2016.

One of the interesting figures seen here has been identified as a bat by folks in the area. It may be, maybe not, but it is interesting. Also some very complicated panels which could be designated as palimpsests because of intertwined and overwritten figures and symbols.

All in all it is a great example of the type of marginal Fremont site found throughout western Colorado and eastern Utah.

REFERENCE:

Faris, Peter
2009   Protecting Rock Art, June 20, 2009, http://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search/label/poison%20ivy


Wikipedia

Saturday, October 22, 2016

WRITING-ON-STONE PROVINCIAL PARK, ALBERTA, CANADA:


Cliffs and hoodoos at Writing-On-Stone
Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.
Photo. Peter Faris, June 25, 2016.

On June 25, 2016, I had the opportunity to visit a world-class rock art site, Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. Sitting in the valley of the Milk River, this magical area of cliffs, hoodoos, and petroglyphs, was sacred to the Blackfeet people and still evokes an aura of mystery in the mind of a visitor. There is much more rock art here than a person could expect to see in a number of days so I did not resent the fact that the guided tour skipped a number of sites that we could see as we drove by. I still filled the time available with visiting, photographing, and appreciating some remarkable rock art.


Rock art at Writing-On-Stone
Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.
Photo. Peter Faris, June 25, 2016.

Although I would not trade this opportunity to visit Writing-On-Stone for the world I must admit to a couple of disappointments with it. First, the sky was an even overcast gray diffusing the daylight and making photography very difficult. Although I do know that I took pictures of rock art I cannot now find the rock art in some of the pictures that I did take. We all know how the lighting affects rock art photography, and this day was one of the more extreme I have had to put up with. I saw the petroglyphs while I was there, but they do not show up in some of the photographs.


Mitigated cliff at Writing-On-Stone
Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.
Photo. Peter Faris, June 25, 2016.


The second disappointment regards an attempt made to mitigate vandalism to rock art panels. Over the years since the discovery of the site by Anglos people have been adding their names, initials, dates, etc., to the rock art panels. This is the all-too-common vandalism the we see on most known rock art panels. This mitigation was done by removing the inscription, with a hand wielded dental pick in instances where prehistoric rock art might be affected, to grinding the inscriptions off the rock face with a steel-bristled brush, sometimes held in a rotating electric drill. This was done because there was concern that the vandalism would negatively impact on their application to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so they had it removed. Hired workers and volunteer crews between July 26 and August 10, 2012, removed graffiti from 47 panels, and  between September 13 and September 21, 2012, they removed graffiti from a further 47 panels, 94 panels in total were affected.


Mitigated cliff at Writing-On-Stone
Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.
Photo. Peter Faris, June 25, 2016.

Once the graffiti had been chipped or ground off the work area was camouflaged by painting colorants back onto the surface to mimic the patina of the rock face. Colorants used were natural pigments collected in the area, yellow ochre from a rock shelter in the area, red ochre from nodules found on the ground beneath the cliff faces having weathered out of the rock, and for grayish tones charcoal from local vegetation. These colorants were finely ground and mixed with water from the milk river and then brushed onto the surfaces to emulate the untouched rock surfaces nearby.

These techniques were of limited success as by the time of my visit the camouflaging colorants were obviously washed off by weather and the graffiti removal scars stood out as large light-colored, smooth areas very noticeably different from the natural rock surface. Personally, I dislike this technique greatly, I would rather see good, honest initials and names "defacing" the rock face than these large smooth unnatural-looking scars.


Damaged prehistoric petroglyphs
at Writing-On-Stone Provincial
Park, Alberta, Canada. Photo.
Peter Faris, June 25, 2016.

Even more disturbing to me is the fact that in many cases prehistoric petroglyphs were damaged by the removal of overlying graffiti. I have a number of photographs that illustrate this damage (although as I said above they are very difficult to see because of the lighting). Even sillier to me is the fact that staff had gone to some effort to compile a list of the inscriptions that had historical significance, i.e. early explorers and settlers, that they stipulated should be left alone while other graffiti was to be removed whenever possible. Had they just waited, the passing of time would have given the later inscriptions historical significance as well. Remember, all that history is, is what actually happened, and they had actually happened. A prehistoric petroglyph carved over an earlier prehistoric petroglyph was vandalism when it happened.


Be that as it may, this is now also a part of the history of Writing-On-Stone, a lamentable part to be sure, but a part. No matter what else it is, Writing-On-Stone is still a world class rock art site and should not be missed if the opportunity to visit it comes up. And now it can also be considered an educational site that displays a number of what I consider to be mistaken assumptions about what an authentic rock art site is, and should be. Please world, if anyone out there is listening, please do not replicate these techniques elsewhere. 

Saturday, October 15, 2016

INSCRIPTION CAVE AND SENTINEL ROCK, PERRY PARK, DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO:




Sentinel Rock, Perry Park, Douglas
County, Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris,
September 19, 2016.

Every once in a while on RockArtBlog I like to throw in some information on historical inscriptions to present material of interest to historians and genealogists. I first became interested in historical inscriptions a number of years ago when I was asked to give a rock art presentation to a genealogical society, and going through my rock art slides I found that I had inscriptions among the rock art pictures that really had a fascinating back story.

On September 19, 2016, I was guided by my friend Garry to Inscription Cave, in Perry Park, near Larkspur in Douglas County, Colorado. Garry is a very knowledgeable local historian, and the president of a local historical society, who generously gave of his time and knowledge to show me this interesting site.

Inscription Cave, Perry Park, Douglas
County, Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris,
September 19, 2016.

Inscription cave is near the base of Sentinel Rock which is a local landmark. "In the late 1800s, the cave was used as a stopping place for stagecoaches by people going to Larkspur, where they linked up with the railroad that connected them with Denver and Colorado Springs. The rock was a good stopping place because at its base is the cave, which travelers used as a refuge from rain and snow when needed. While they waited for the stagecoach, some of them carved their initials, names, and/or dates into the soft rock of this cave." (O'Hara 2015)


Carrie Curtis, 1871, Inscription Cave,
Perry Park, Douglas County, Colorado.
Photo: Peter Faris, Sept. 19, 2016.

To me this is precisely the fascination that such inscriptions possess. They are a direct link to the history and people of an area. "The history of Perry Park goes back to the earliest days of settlement in Colorado. - The Hayden Survey of 1869 called the region Pleasant Park. John Perry, president of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, discovered the area while searching for railroad routes; by the early 1870s he owned 4000 acres here. Later owners decided to make "Perry Park" a tourist haven. A hotel was built in 1889 at the foot of 300-foot-high Nanichant Rock, and the house that later became the site of the golf course headquarters (Manor House) was built in 1891." (O'Hara 2015)


San Francisco, 1871, Inscription Cave,
Perry Park, Douglas County, Colorado.
Photo: Peter Faris, Sept. 19, 2016.

Examining the names and dates of Inscription Cave (almost all of the inscriptions are actually outside the cave on the cliff face) gives one insight into family names that have been important in the area as well as the comings and goings of visitors. The earliest dates that I saw were Carrie Curtis, 1871, and another that says San Francisco, 1871. The Curtis family were one of the pioneering families in Douglas County Colorado. An inscription that reads H. H. Curtis, 1876, records the visit of the patriarch of the Curtis clan, and other Curtis's that are represented on the rock over different dates are Bess, Fern, and H. B. Of course, many other names are recorded as well, from 1871 up to Carrie and Jerry, 1961. A Smith family is represented by H. J. Smith, 7-4-81, and W. H. Smith, Boston, 09, perhaps records a visit by a family member from Massachusetts.


H. H. Curtis, 1876, and H. J. Smith, 7-4-81. Inscription Cave, Perry Park, Douglas
County, Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris,
Sept. 19, 2016.

There is nothing like these little pieces of local history to give one a feeling of being grounded in place and time. Thank you Garry for your time and effort. I enjoyed it greatly.

NOTE: The designation Inscription Cave is our own and is not an official name for this feature.

REFERENCE:

O'Hara, Garry
2015   Sentinel Rock, self-published.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

DINOSAURS IN ROCK ART? THE BLACK DRAGON CANYON PTEROSAUR - REVISITED:



Drawing of the traditional image
of the supposed "pterosaur" in
Black Dragon Canyon, UT. From
Geggel, 2015, Photos:'Winged Monster'
Rock Art in Black Dragon Canyon',
August 18, 2015,
http://www.livescience.com/51892-
photos-utah-rock-art.html.

On May 24, 2014, I posted a column titled DINOSAURS IN ROCK ART? - THE BLACK DRAGON CANYON PTEROSAUR, about the supposed pictograph of a pterosaur seen on a cliff wall in Utah. In that column I stated: "To me one of the strangest sub-studies of the field of rock art consists of attempts of creationists and evolution deniers to find dinosaurs in rock art. Apparently this is to prove that humans and dinosaurs lived concurrently because that is the only way primitive people would have their examples to portray. As best I can tell this is the work of a group of creationists who ascribe to the theory that the bible says the earth is only 6,000 years old based upon 17th century Bishop Usher’s calculation that “the first day of creation began at nightfall preceding Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC” (Wikipedia), so dinosaurs and humans have to have coexisted." (Faris 2014)


Chalked pictograph in Black Dragon
Canyon, UT. Public Domain.

I then continued, citing Phil Senter whose July 2012 exploration of the subject (Rock Art “Dinosaurs”, More “Dinosaur” and “Pterosaur” Rock Art That Isn’t, Palaeontolical Association) took on the crazy ideas of creationists and evolution-deniers directly. I wrote "Whatever their motivation, there are a few tired examples that get trotted out over and over to supposedly prove that there are indeed portrayals of dinosaurs in rock art. Of these, perhaps the most ubiquitous example is the supposed pterosaur pictograph in Utah’s Black Dragon Canyon. In 2012 Phil Senter stated “An alleged pterosaur painting in Black Dragon Canyon, Utah, is actually not a single painting. Its "head" and "neck" are a painting of a person with outstretched arms. Its torso and limbs are those of a painting of a second person with outstretched arms, whose body continues into the "pterosaur's" "wing." The other "wing" is a painting of a horned serpent. The three paintings only appear connected because someone outlined the group with chalk.” (Senter 2012)" (Faris 2014)




Phil Senter's analysis of the image.

Senter presented a detailed analysis showing that the supposed pterosaur was a combination of smaller painted (and quite faded) Fremont images. An August 18, 2015 article in LiveScience written by Laura Geggel, and titled "Photos: 'Winged Monster' Rock Art in Black Dragon Canyon'" presents a project that resulted in even better analysis of the image and shows the original imagery in greater detail using DStretch analysis of high quality photographs of the panel.


The new DStretch analysis of the
pictograph, Black Dragon Canyon, UT.
From LiveScience.com.

Now a more recent (2015) analysis of the image of the supposed "pterosaur" in Black Dragon Canyon has utilized DStretch to provide even more detail of the real image. This study was conducted by Jean-Loïc Le Quellec, Paul Bahn and Marvin Rowe, ("The Death of a Pterodactyl," Antiquity, Volume 89, p 872-884, 2015, Copyright Antiquity Publications Ltd., published by Cambridge University Press.), and reported on in LiveScience by Laura Geggel in her article Photos: 'Winged Monster' Rock Art in Black Dragon Canyon, August 18, 2015. Where Senter had conclusively proven that the image was not a pterosaur, but was instead a combination of Fremont pictographs including a pair of anthropomorphs, a pair of animals, and a long sinuous image which might represent a therianthropomorphic figure, Le Quellec, Bahn, and Rowe, have now given us even more detailed images of the original Fremont figures, and even more proof of the fallacy of the Creationist position. And, thank you to Laura Geggel and LiveScience for making this accessible. Go to
http://www.livescience.com/51892-photos-utah-rock-art.html to read the whole article and see a number of detailed photographs.

REFERENCES:
Faris, Peter
2014 Dinosaurs in Rock Art? The Black Dragon Canyon Pterosaur, May 24, 2014, httpp://rockartblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Black%20Dragon%20Canyon

Geggel, Laura,
2015 Photos:'Winged Monster' Rock Art in Black Dragon Canyon', August 18, 2015, http://www.livescience.com/51892-photos-utah-rock-art.html

Jean-Loïc Le Quellec, Paul Bahn and Marvin Rowe,
2015 The Death of a Pterodactyl, Antiquity, Volume 89, p 872-884, 2015, Copyright Antiquity Publications Ltd., published by Cambridge University Press.

Senter, Phil
2012 Rock Art “Dinosaurs”, More “Dinosaur” and “Pterosaur” Rock Art That Isn’t, Palaeontolical Association, July 2012. (http://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2012-issue-2-articles/275-rock-art-dinosaurs).

Wikipedia

Saturday, October 1, 2016

HILLSIDE INITIALS AS MODERN GEOGLYPHS:


One aspect of the broader field of rock art is the geoglyph. "A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 meters) produced on the ground." (Wikipedia) In this posting I am going to present the idea of the modern hillside initial as a geoglyph, and discuss a few examples.


Hummingbird geoglyph, Nazca, Peru.
Image from National Geographic,
Volume 217(3), p.62.

The first images that come to mind when discussing geoglyphs are the Nazca Lines, formed by removing patinated rocks from the ground to create lines and patterns with the lighter material beneath.


Uffington White Horse, Great
Britain. From Wikipedia.


Cerne-abbas giant, Great
Britain. From Wikipedia.

England has its great chalk hillside figures although their ages and provenance are really unknown.

Here, in the United States, a modern manifestation of geoglyphs are the hillside initials overlooking so many towns. According to Wikipedia "hillside letters or mountain monograms are a form of geoglyph (more specifically hill figures) common in the American West, consisting of large single letters, abbreviations, or messages emblazoned on hillsides, typically created and maintained by schools or towns. There are approximately 500 of these geoglyphs, ranging in size from a few feet to hundreds of feet tall. They form an important part of the western cultural landscape, where they function as symbols of school pride and civic identity, similar to water towers and town slogans on highway "welcome to" signs in other regions." (Wikipedia)


Today, the "A" in fall, Fort Collins, Colorado.
From alumni_relations@Mailing.
Advance.ColoState.EDU


Painting the "A", 1923, From  alumni_relations@Mailing.
Advance.ColoState.EDU

My undergraduate Alma Mater, Colorado State University, is represented by a large "A" on the foothills of the mountains west of Fort Collins, Colorado. Before 1957, Colorado State University was Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (Colorado A & M), nicknamed the "Aggies", thus the "A". The large "A" was created with rocks and  whitewash on the hill in 1924, and is renewed annually as a rite.


Butte, Montana. Photograph
Peter Faris, June 27, 2016.


School of Mines, Golden, Colorado.
From petroleum.mines.edu

I recently photographed this large "M" for Montana on the hills over Butte, Montana, and another "M" is emblazoned on the side of Lookout Mountain, at Golden, Colorado, for the Colorado School of Mines.

Most discussions of the Nazca Lines, as well as the British Chalk Figures, and indeed  of any prehistoric to antique geoglyphs, make the a priori assumption that they represent a religious or spiritual sentiment of their makers, in other words, the motive for their creation is assumed to be cult related.

I also assume that the motive for the creation of a hillside initial to represent a school is usually tied up with sports enthusiasm for the school's teams, and we all know that a collection of sports fans is pretty much a cult in and of itself. In light of this perhaps we need to reevaluate our opinion of the prehistoric/antique figures, or of the new ones. Do people really ever change?


REFERENCES:

alumni_relations@Mailing.Advance.ColoState.EDU

National Geographic Magazine, Volume 217(3), p.62.

petroleum.mines.edu

Wikipedia