Petroglyph Canyon

Last updated
Petroglyph Canyon
Petroglpyh Canyon Montana 4.jpg
USA Montana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationSouthern half of Section 35, Township 9 South, Range 26 East [1] :4
Nearest city Warren, Montana
Coordinates 45°0′20″N108°30′14″W / 45.00556°N 108.50389°W / 45.00556; -108.50389 Coordinates: 45°0′20″N108°30′14″W / 45.00556°N 108.50389°W / 45.00556; -108.50389
Area160 acres (65 ha)
NRHP reference No. 75001079 [2]
Added to NRHPNovember 20, 1975

Petroglyph Canyon (24CB601) is an archaeologically significant canyon in the northwestern United States. Located on both sides of the border between Montana and Wyoming, the canyon has long been obscure due to its small size. However, it gained substantial attention in the late 20th century because of its numerous prehistoric petroglyphs, and much of it was named a historic site in the 1970s.

Contents

Geology

Petroglyph Canyon's most significant portion is located in the southern half of Section 35, Township 9 South, Range 26 East, within far southern Carbon County, Montana. [1] :5 The entire canyon runs in a northwest-southeast direction for approximately 4 miles (6.4 km), [3] :1 beginning 1 mile north of the most significant area and extending approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) into Big Horn County, Wyoming. [3] The walls and boulders in the canyon are primarily sandstone, having been weathered to a dark brown color, although under the surface the stone is a lighter tan color. [1] :2

Petroglyphs

A portion of the canyon measuring approximately 800 feet (240 m) long features numerous prehistoric petroglyphs, both on the canyon walls and on boulders. At least eighteen different groups of carvings are known, in addition to features such as hearths and small pieces of stone resulting from the manufacturing process for stone tools. Most of the petroglyphs were created by "pecking" tiny holes, although one group is formed of lines that were clearly engraved into the rock. [1] :2 The majority of designs at Petroglyph Canyon feature humans or large game animals such as bison and bighorn sheep. Some carvings clearly feature men or women, many of which appear with sexual imagery such as phallic symbols or external female genitalia respectively. [1] :3 Some of the carvings are old enough that they have begun to weather to the dark color of the surrounding stone, but most show little sign of erosion. A few designs at the site, such as personal names, have obviously been added much more recently by vandals, but such carvings are rare and were typically placed near older designs instead of on top of them. [1] :2

Recognition

Petroglyph Canyon received its present name in 1967, when an archaeological survey discovered the carvings; [3] :1 it had appeared on numerous maps published since 1859, but no map published before 1967 provided a name for the canyon. [3] :2 The first "official" use of the current name was made in 1975, when the canyon was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it appears on the National Register as "Petroglyph Canyon". Since that time, the name has commonly been used by agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, as well as by local residents. [3] :1 In 1992, the Board on Geographic Names officially gave the canyon its current name. [4]

The canyon was listed on the National Register as an important archaeological site, [2] as modern vandalism — whether carvings or occasional digging into the canyon's stone-tool manufacturing sites — had been unable to diminish its unparalleled quality. [1] :2 Petroglyph sites have been found throughout Montana, but "pecked" sites are far rarer than in states such as Wyoming or Utah, and Petroglyph Canyon features a broader range of artwork with less deterioration than almost any other Montana rock art site. When the site was listed, Bureau of Land Management archaeologists hoped to conduct future work at the site to compare it with other rock art sites in the region. [1] :3 Because the site's styles more closely resemble what has been found at distant sites than they do other nearby sites, it is hoped that such comparisons will reveal the migration patterns of the peoples who created sites such as Petroglyph Canyon. [1] :4

Related Research Articles

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area National recreation area in the United States

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is a national recreation area established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, following the construction of the Yellowtail Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation. It straddles the border between Wyoming and Montana. The dam, named after the famous Crow leader Robert Yellowtail, harnesses the waters of the Bighorn River by turning that variable watercourse into Bighorn Lake. The lake extends 71 miles (114 km) through Wyoming and Montana, 55 miles (89 km) of which lie within the national recreation area. About one third of the park unit is located on the Crow Indian Reservation. Nearly one-quarter of the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range lies within the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument is a Utah state monument featuring a rock panel carved with one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs. It is located in San Juan County, Utah, along Utah State Route 211, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Monticello and 53 miles (85 km) south of Moab.

Petroglyph Images carved on a rock surface as a form of rock art

A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek prefix petro-, from πέτρα petra meaning "stone", and γλύφω glýphō meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as pétroglyphe.

Little Bighorn River River in Montana and Wyoming, United States

The Little Bighorn River is a 138-mile-long (222 km) tributary of the Bighorn River in the United States in the states of Montana and Wyoming. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was fought on its banks on June 25–26, 1876, as well as the Battle of Crow Agency in 1887.

Rock art Human-made markings on natural stone

In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also may be called cave art or parietal art. A global phenomenon, rock art is found in many culturally diverse regions of the world. It has been produced in many contexts throughout human history. In terms of technique, the main groups are: petroglyphs, which are carved or scratched into the rock surface, cave paintings, and sculpted rock reliefs. Another technique creates geoglyphs that are formed on the ground. The oldest known rock art dates from the Upper Palaeolithic period, having been found in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. Anthropologists studying these artworks believe that they likely had magico-religious significance.

Washington State Park

Washington State Park is a public recreation area covering 2,147 acres (869 ha) in Washington County in the central eastern part of the state of Missouri. It is located on Highway 21 about 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Potosi or 7 miles (11 km) southwest of DeSoto on the eastern edge of the Ozarks. The state park is noted for its Native American rock carvings and for its finely crafted stonework from the 1930s.

Writing Rock State Historical Site, located twelve miles (19 km) northeast of Grenora, North Dakota in Divide County near the Montana border, is the site of two large granite boulders, carved with petroglyphs featuring thunderbirds, mythological creatures that are of importance in the culture of Plains Indian tribes.

Coso Rock Art District United States historic place

Coso Rock Art District is a rock art site containing over 100,000 Petroglyphs by Paleo-Indians and/or Native Americans. The district is located near the towns of China Lake and Ridgecrest, California. Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. In 2001, they were incorporated into this larger National Historic Landmark District. There are several other distinct canyons in the Coso Rock Art District besides the Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons. Also known as Little Petroglyph Canyon and Sand Tanks, Renegade Canyon is but one of several major canyons in the Coso Range, each hosting thousands of petroglyphs. The majority of the Coso Range images fall into one of six categories: bighorn sheep, entopic images, anthropomorphic or human-like figures, other animals, weapons & tools, and "medicine bag" images.

Greaser Petroglyph Site United States historic place

The Greaser Petroglyph Site is located on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in eastern Lake County, Oregon. The designs were scraped into a basalt boulder by Native Americans perhaps 12,000 years ago. No one knows the meaning of the designs. Because of its unique archaeological and cultural significance, the Greaser Petroglyph Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site United States historic place

The Painted Rock Petroglyph Site is a collection of hundreds of ancient petroglyphs near the town of Theba, Arizona, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The site is operated and maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and includes an improved campground as well as an informative walking trail showcasing the petroglyphs.

Barnesville Petroglyph United States historic place

The Barnesville Petroglyph petroglyph site in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of the village of Barnesville in Belmont County, the petroglyphs have been known both by archaeologists and the general public since the 1850s or earlier. Although the site was significantly damaged during the twentieth century, it is still a significant archaeological site, and has been named a historic site.

Indian God Rock United States historic place

Indian God Rock is a large boulder in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the unincorporated community of Brandon, it lies along the Allegheny River in Venango County's Rockland Township. It is significant for the large petroglyph on one of its sides. Because of the petroglyph, the rock has been an explorers' landmark, a tourist attraction, and an object of scholarly investigation.

Francis Farm Petroglyphs United States historic place

The Francis Farm Petroglyphs are a group of petroglyphs in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located on a boulder in Jefferson Township in the northwestern portion of Fayette County, it has been known to archaeologists since at least the middle of the nineteenth century. Despite damage in the 1930s, it remains an important archaeological site, and accordingly, it has been designated a historic site.

Sugar Grove Petroglyphs United States historic place

The Sugar Grove Petroglyphs are a group of petroglyphs in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located on an outcrop of sandstone in Monongahela Township near the eastern edge of Greene County, the petroglyphs have been known since at least the 1930s. Due to their value as an archaeological site, the petroglyphs have been named a historic site.

Cañon Pintado United States historic place

Cañon Pintado, meaning painted canyon, is an archaeological site of Native American rock art located in the East Four Mile Draw, 10.5 miles (16.9 km) south of Rangely in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Led by Ute guides, the Domínguez–Escalante expedition, Spanish missionaries in search of a route to California in 1776, passed through this region as they moved north and then west into Utah. The first Europeans to the area, they named it Cañon Pintado, meaning "painted canyon".

Judaculla Rock United States historic place

Judaculla Rock is the name of an archeological site that features a curvilinear-shaped outcrop of soapstone known for its ancient carvings and petroglyphs. It is located on a 0.85-acre rectangular-shaped property, now owned by Jackson County. It is approximately 60 meters east of Caney Fork Creek, a major branch of the northwestward-trending Tuckasegee River, in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Bad Pass Trail United States historic place

The Bad Pass Trail, also known as the Sioux Trail, was established by Native Americans on the border of present-day Montana and Wyoming as a means of access from the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming to Bison-hunting grounds in the Grapevine Creek area of Montana. Marked by stone cairns, the trail led across Bad Pass and was established in pre-Columbian times. After Europeans arrived in the area it was frequented by fur trappers and mountain men, beginning in 1824. Trappers assembled pack trains at the junction of the Shoshone River and the Bighorn River, using the Bad Pass Trail to avoid Bighorn Canyon. The trail ended at the mouth of Grapevine Creek on the Bighorn, from which the pack train could float down the Bighorn on rafts to the Yellowstone River and then to the Missouri and on to St. Louis.

Picture Rock Pass Petroglyphs Site United States historic place

The Picture Rock Pass Petroglyphs Site is in northern Lake County, Oregon, United States. The site is located near the summit of Picture Rock Pass on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The designs were scraped into a basalt boulder by ancient Native Americans, probably between 7,500 and 12,000 years ago. No one knows the meaning of the petroglyph designs. Because of its unique archaeological and cultural significance, the Picture Rock Pass Petroglyph Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve United States historic place in Maricopa County, Arizona

The Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, formerly known as the Deer Valley Rock Art Center, is a 47-acre nature preserve featuring over 1500 Hohokam, Patayan, and Archaic petroglyphs visible on 500 basalt boulders in the Deer Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. In 1980, the US Army Corps of Engineers contracted Simon J. Bruder to conduct an archaeological investigation prior to the construction of the Adobe Dam at the Hedgpeth Hills. The petroglyphs are between 500 and 5,000 years old. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and it was also listed with the Phoenix Points of Pride. The preserve and museum are operated by the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences's School of Human Evolution and Social Change.

East Lake Abert Archeological District United States historic place

The East Lake Abert Archeological District is an area in Lake County, Oregon, United States, that features numerous prehistoric camp sites and petroglyphs. It is located along the eastern shore of Lake Abert on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Department of Transportation. The site includes stone-walled house pits and prehistoric rock art made by ancient Native Americans who occupied the site for approximately 11,000 years. Because of its unique archaeological and cultural significance, the East Lake Abert Archaeological District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Vincent, William B. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Petroglyph Canyon . National Park Service, 1974-09-04.
  2. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Sinafoos, Charles, and John Taylor. "Domestic Geographic Name Report: Petroglyph Canyon". Board on Geographic Names, 1991-10-01. Accessed 2013-06-16.
  4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Petroglyph Canyon

Further reading