ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE THREE MOUNTAIN THEME AT MESA VERDE:

 Mural 30, Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde,

Colorado. Public domain photograph,

National Park Service. 

On November 26, 2016, I posted a column titled Huerfano Butte, New Mexico, as the Model for Painted Mountains at Mesa Verde?. In this I posited that the theme of three mountains painted in a kiva at Eagle's Nest ruin on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, as well as the three mountain painting at Spruce Tree House were inspired by the small triple peaks of Huerfano Butte.

Munson describes these paintings (below) as landscape representations, although just a general "landscape", not the particular identifiable feature which I am suggesting, and Munson also recognized these triangles as "mountain shapes": "Pueblo III murals (1000-1325) from across Chaco and San Juan/Mesa Verde regions typically consist of a bicolor banded pattern or of "blended" designs (figure 4.3) combining bands with geometric designs derived from textiles and pottery (Ortman 2008). Several authors have argued that the banded designs represent landscapes, with a dark (usually red) lower register marking the horizon and a white upper register as the sky (Brody 1991:57-68; Cole 2006; Newsome and Hays-Gilpin in press). These landscapes are sometimes modified with triangular "mountain" shapes that jut up from the red band into the upper register, triangular "cracks" into the lower and, or lines of dots. The repetition in these patterns suggest that time was important in Pueblo III murals, with the various dots, triangles, and other marks possibly relating to astronomical observations  (Malville and Putnam 1993) or to leaders' responsibilities for scheduling rituals based on observations of the sun and sky. Newsome and Hays-Gilpin (in press) argued that the position of the observer was critical to the meaning of Pueblo III murals, for the configuration of the rooms in which they are found would have situated the viewer within the landscape and calendrical cycles  defined by the paintings. They also suggested that the murals might be an early reflection of the process of linking Ancestral Pueblo people to space in a meaningful way by establishing the Center Place." (Munson 2011:85-87)

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde, Colorado.

Photograph Peter Faris, May 1988.

Another example of this thee mountain theme at Mesa Verde is Mural 30, seen at Cliff Palace, in Mesa Verde. "Mural 30, on the third floor of a rectangular tower (more accurately a room block) at Cliff Palace, is painted red against a white wall. The mural includes geometric shapes that are thought to portray the landscape. This mural is similar to murals inside other cliff dwellings, including Spruce Tree House and Balcony House. Scholars have suggested that the red band at the bottom symbolizes the earth while the lighter portion of the wall symbolizes the sky. The top of the red band, then, forms a horizon line that separates the two. We recognize what look like triangular peaks, perhaps mountains on the horizon line. The rectangular element in the sky might relate to clouds, rain, or the sun and moon. The dotted lines might represent cracks in the earth." (Wikimedia Commons)

  

This many examples of this theme certainly suggest that it had importance to the Pueblo III people of Mesa Verde. It was used a number of times in different locations so it must have resonated to many of the inhabitants of the region. Was it actually a representation of the three peaks on Huerfano Butte, New Mexico? Any attempt to answer that would require a full survey of the fire beacon communication system linking Mesa Verde and the Chimney Rocks community to reveal its full extent, but it is an interesting possibility.

REFERENCE:

Munson, Marit K.

2011 The Archaeology of Art in the American Southwest, Altamira Press, New York.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mural_30,_Cliff_Palace,_Mesa_Verde.JPG

www.nps.org

NOT REALLY ROCK ART - TOOL GROOVES:

Tool sharpening grooves in a boulder.

Freezeout Canyon, Baca County,

Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris, 1996.

There are certain types of rock markings that really should not be called rock art. One of these is the tool sharpening groove. These are created by the act of sharpening a bone or antler-tine awl on the rock surface. As the tool is sharpened it also wears away the surface of the rock. As the point becomes sharper the groove it wears is also narrower, eventually becoming a “v-shaped” groove abraded into the rock.  Another type of tool mark on the surface of the rock is a wider, shallow smoothed area that is created by sharpening the edge of a stone tool such as an axe.  Many examples of these can be seen in the illustration of the site from the Picketwire Canyonlands. Another example often lumped in with rock art (or at least recorded with the rock art at a site) is the bedrock metate, a shallow hollow in a horizontal rock surface that was used for grinding plant materials with a hand held stone called a mano.

Tool sharpening grooves in cliff,

Picketwire Canyon, Bent County,

CO. Photo: Peter Faris, 1997.

Linea Sundstrom has pointed out that tool grooves can be helpful in roughly estimating dates. Tool sharpening grooves essentially ceased being made when trade with Anglos, whether European or American, began to trade goods for furs, because among early essential items for such trade were metal awls and needles. This suggests that any rock markings that can be identified as tool grooves were basically prehistoric. The presence of tool grooves also suggests either a habitation site or, at least, a site where preparations for domestic chores were conducted. I believe we got into the habit of including these indications of industrial practices in with rock art because when rock art is being recorded it is considered important to record all features on the surface of the rock, including tool grooves, axe sharpening hollows, and bedrock mutates.

Some examples can be found where tool-sharpening grooves have been incorporated into rock art images.  I have seen tool sharpening grooves that had been turned into lizards by the addition of four legs paired on both sides of the groove by pecking or abrasion.

If the tool groove is somehow incorporated into a rock art image as in the lizards mentioned above, then I would classify the modified tool groove as rock art. If the tool groove, however, is not modified, or demonstrably incorporated into rock art elements, I will have to classify it as another element of the rock surface that needs to be recorded, but not as rock art.