It is quite common in looking at rock art to have the feeling that the images are telling a story, and that you can almost understand it, almost being the key word here. Although many rock art researchers deny that we can interpret the imagery we find, I disagree - at least in some cases. Some rock art is obviously telling a story and we are meant to be able to decipher it.
A prime example of this is Bird Rattle’s panel from Writing-On-Stone at Alberta, Canada. As explained by Klassen, Keyser, and Loendorf in their paper in Plains Anthropologist (2000) “The recent discovery of photographs and narrative of a 1924 trip by Roland Willcomb and Piegan elder Bird Rattle demonstrates that a well-known historic petroglyph at Writing-On-Stone was carved by this Plains Warrior as part of the Biographic rock art tradition.” (Klassen et al. 2000:189)
Bird Rattle's panel, Writing-On-Stone, Alberta, Canada. Photograph Peter Faris, June 25, 2016.
Bird Rattle and Willcomb had met in 1923 in the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Willcomb had come to the West as an engineer and in the summer of 1923 joined the Montana Highway Commission, overseeing the building of roads on the reservation from 1923 to 1925. After meeting Bird Rattle a close friendship developed between Willcomb and him which lasted until the death of Bird Rattle in October 1937. (Klassen et al. 2000:191-2)
Bird Rattle's panel, Writing-On-Stone, Alberta, Canada. Figure 7, page 196, Klassen et al., 2000.
“Within a year of their meeting, Willcomb had arranged to take Bird Rattle on a visit to Writing-On-Stone. Apparently, he had been told of this ‘place of mystery, where the ghosts live’ and he wished to experience it himself. Their journey to Writing-On-Stone was documented by Willcomb with a series of photographs, and he later audio recorded a narrative of the journey, apparently based on his original notes and letters. On the morning of September 13, 1924, Willcomb and Bird Rattle, accompanied by a second Piegan elder, Split Ears, and Jack Wagner, who acted as interpreter, left Browning in Willcomb’s car. The party drove north to the Canadian border. There they were joined by two of Willcomb’s friends from Great Falls.” (Klassen et al. 2000:192-3)
The example in the panel from the Coso Range in California by Paul and Joy Foster is another candidate for such attempts at interpretation. Although some of the elements are a little hard to make out what I see in it is; a large anthropomorph holding what might be an atlatl in his right hand with a projectile point superimposed over the end of it. Five more, carefully delineated projectile points are seen on the right side of the panel for a total of six. Additionally, six zoomorphs are illustrated, one overlapping the anthropomorph and five more on the left side of the panel. If this is not a “mighty hunter” bragging I don’t know what would be. I have been around hunters and fishermen enough to know their bragging when I hear it, or in this case see it. “Six animals with six shots.”
Of course, such interpretation is not acceptable in Archeology, but it is fairly common in Art History, so I reserve the right to indulge in it periodically.
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Klassen, Michael A., James D. Keyser, and Lawrence L. Loendorf, 2000, Bird Rattle’s Petroglyphs at Writing-On-Stone: Continuity in the Biographic Rock Art Tradition, Plains Anthropologist, Vol. 45, No. 172, pp. 189-201.
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