In Picture Canyon, in southeastern Colorado, are found hundreds of petroglyphs, among them this anthropomorphic figure with circles on the body. On February 6, 2021, I published a column titled “A Petroglyphic Age Notation” in which I broached the possibility that the circles representd the age of the figure based on a symbol in Garrick Mallery’s 10th annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. That symbol, a series of circles with short lines connecting them, was obtained from “The Dakotas”. The lines on the right side of the head of the figure I discussed as representing an ear and head of hair.
In his 2008 book Thunder and Herds, Lawrence Loendorf discussed that same petroglyph and identified the portion of lines on the right side of the head of that anthropomorph as a pain symbol, based upon a resemblance to similar symbols from the Battiste Good winter count that Good had used to represent pain.
“Renaud noted the presence of several anthropomorphs, which included the ‘realistic figure of a human body, the most striking petroglyph discovered this season, a woman with sign of smallpox over the body. The interpretation was made more certain after finding four similar drawings in ‘Battiste Good’s Winter Counts’ as given by Mallery in the 10th annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology.’” (Loendorf 2008:198)
Loendorf
wrote the following about the symbol on the right side of the figures head. “The anthropomorph that Renaud described as
a female figure with the ‘sign of smallpox over the body’ is over a meter high
and is shown in profile view. Its fleshed-out arms and legs and its round head,
eyes, and mouth make it appear more realistic than most rock art
representations of humans. Identification of the figure is based on a bulge on
its right side that some researchers believe represents a breast, although this
is not a convention for designating gender else-where on the High Plains. It is
the presence of 16 or 17 circles on the figure’s body that prompted Renaud’s
diagnosis of smallpox, which he based on similarities between the circles and
mnemonic icons in ‘Battiste Good’s Winter Count’ which are known to represent
smallpox.
Not all researchers accept the validity of Renaud’s comparison, supporting their rejection by citing circles that are not indicative of smallpox on similar figures at other rock art sites. Bill Buckles, for example, has pointed out that a similar petroglyph in the Galisteo Basin near Santa Fe, New Mexico, is identified by Pueblo Indians as a representation of Shulawitsi, the Fire God, and that another similarly spotted figure in a painting by George Catlin represents a Mandan spirit.” (Loendorf 2008:199)
It is true
that Mallery illustrated four drawings from Battiste Good’s winter count with a
symbol representing internal pain included. The symbol chosen by Good was a
representation of the stomach and intestines and in one of his illustrations he
shows it to be in the interior of a man’s figure. In the other instances it is
used externally. “Battiste Good had
developed a fascinating and unique symbol to represent pain. In the 1724-25
image showing “Blackens Himself died winter” he portrays the cause of death.
This was assumed to be an intestinal problem and Good shows it as the stomach
and intestines in front of Blackens Himself representing his bowels in violent
commotion, “going round and round”. Good used this symbol thereafter to
illustrate pain in a number of subsequent portrayals.” (Green and Thornton
2007:78)
Loendorf compared the lines at the right side of the head of the Picture Canyon anthropomorph to Battiste Good’s pain symbol and also a symbol used by the Aztecs to illustrate pain. (Personal communication 10/16/2021)
That particular Aztec symbol is used for breath and speech and could very easily be meant to illustrate pain. If used in conjunction with illness or a wound I would take it to represent a groan or a cry from the pain. But, does that particular portion of the figure with circles from Picture Canyon possess an adequate resemblance to Battiste Good’s pain symbol?
I find it fairly easy to disagree with Renaud’s interpretation, having found many errors in his illustrations and recording of rock art. Pretty much all the accepted representations of smallpox, and especially Battiste Good’s representations, show the small pox pustules as dots or blotches on the body, not as large circles. As I said above I suggested a very different interpretation for the circles on the body, an age count. Disagreeing with Larry Loendorf is a different matter altogether, and I would not do so lightly. His remarkable rock art recording projects set the bar exceedingly high for the rest of us, and he has done remarkable interpretations as well. I will just end by saying that I am uncomfortable with the differences between Battiste Good’s pain symbol and that portion of the Picture Canyon anthropomorph, and, if I doubt that the figure represents a case of smallpox, then it follows that I have to doubt that the figure is expressing pain.
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:
Faris, Peter, 2021, A Petroglyphic Age Notation, 6 February 2021, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com
Greene, Candace S., and Russell Thornton, 2007, The Year The Stars Fell: Lakota Winter Counts at the Smithsonian, Smithsonian National Museum, Washington.
Loendorf, Lawrence L., 2008, Thunder
and Herds, Rock Art of the High Plains, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek,
California.
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