This column revisits the subject of parhelia or sun dogs in rock art, prompted by a photograph by Robbie Seibel, taken 22 March 2022 over Lake Dillon, Colorado. This beautiful photograph shows a sun just on the horizon with a 22° halo and parhelia or ‘sun dogs.’ “Sun dogs (parhelia) are a particular type of ice halo which produces a colored patch to the left and right of the sun, 22 degrees or more distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun itself. Best seen and most conspicuous when the sun is low, they are not rainbows. The Blackfeet knew them as ‘when the sun paints his cheeks’”. (Faris 2009)
“On October 21, 2009, I posted a column which I entitled The Sun Paints His Cheeks – Sun Dogs. In that posting I wrote that ‘Parhelia would be expected to be portrayed in rock art as a sun sign with two or more spots added outside the perimeter of the sun sign. This example, which can be found at the Three Rivers petroglyph site in New Mexico, consists of the normal southwestern concentric circle sun symbol surrounded by a ring of 16 dots which may represent multiple parhelia (with a little exaggeration thrown in). In his book Rare Halos, Mirages, and Anomalous Rainbows and Related Electromagnetic Phenomena, William Corliss presents examples of multiple sun dogs with examples of up to eight cited. I would expect that a rock artist who had observed such an example of multiple parhelia could be motivated to reproduce it as a sun symbol surrounded by many dots, as in this example.’(Faris 2009) These optical effects are caused by light from the sun refracting through ice crystals in the atmosphere, and depending upon the conditions, the display can be quite complicated.” (Faris 2014)
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“Sun dogs (parhelia) are a particular type of ice halo which produces a colored patch to the left and right of the sun, 22 degrees or more distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun itself. Best seen and most conspicuous when the sun is low, they are not rainbows. The Blackfeet knew them as ‘when the sun paints his cheeks’”. (Faris 2009)
In rock art of the American Southwest there are numerous examples of the concentric circle sun sign with dots or spots encircling it. These are especially prevalent at the great Three Rivers Petroglyph Site in Otero County, New Mexico, with a number of variants present. As I stated above, if I were a First Peoples resident of the American Southwest and saw the atmospheric optical phenomenon in the photograph I expect that I would be tempted to recreate it on the rock for posterity, and this is what I assume happened at Three Rivers.
NOTE: The image of the atmospheric phenomena in this posting was copied from an entry placed on my Facebook page. I assume, therefore, that it was placed there with an intention to share it publicly. If this image was not intended to be public domain, I apologize. For further information on these reports you should read the originals at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Corliss, William R., 1984, Rare Halos, Mirages, Anomalous Rainbows and Related Electromagnetic Phenomena: A Catalog of Geophysical Anomalies, Sourcebook, Glen Arm, Maryland.
Faris, Peter, 2014, Parhelia Revisited – More On Sun Dogs In Rock Art, 31 May 2014, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com
Faris, Peter, 2013, A Weather Symbol In Rock Art, 28 September 2013, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com
Faris, Peter, 2009, The Sun Paints His Cheeks – Sun Dogs, 21 October 2009, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com
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