Petroglyph Point Archeological Site

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Petroglyph Point Archeological Site
Petroglyph Point 9 - Lava Beds NM California.jpg
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Location Siskiyou County, California, USA
Nearest city Tule Lake
Coordinates 41°50′42″N121°23′28″W / 41.845073°N 121.390979°W / 41.845073; -121.390979 Coordinates: 41°50′42″N121°23′28″W / 41.845073°N 121.390979°W / 41.845073; -121.390979
Area1,600
EstablishedMay 29, 1975 (1975-May-29)
Governing body National Park Service
Designated1975
Reference no.75000178 [1]

The Petroglyph Point is an archaeological site within the Lava Beds National Monument, located southeast of Tulelake, California. Petroglyph Point contains one of the largest panels of Native American rock art in the United States. The petroglyphs are carved along the face of a former island of ancient Tule Lake, in a region historically of the Modoc people territory. The Petroglyph Point Archeological Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, while the Lava Beds National Monument Archeological District was listed in March 1991. [1] [2]

Contents

Because of the number of times the petroglyphs may have been inundated in water as Tule Lake rose and fell around the cliff face, the age of the individual petroglyphs is complicated to calculate based on weathering. [3] Most estimates date these carvings back between 2000 and 6000 years ago.

Unlike rock art in other areas of the West, many of the images seem to be mostly geometric patterns instead of depictions of people and animals. Because of the tribal fracturing produced during the Modoc War and most of the Native Americans from the region having long since moved into other areas, no ethnographic study was ever done with Modoc peoples to record the probable meaning of the petroglyphs. [3]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captain Jack's Stronghold</span> Archaeological site in California, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petroglyph</span> Images carved on a rock surface as a form of rock art

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of the Stronghold</span>

The Second Battle of the Stronghold was a battle during the Modoc War between a band of the Native American Modoc tribe and the Army of the United States, in northeastern California. The battle began on April 15, 1873, and ended on April 17, 1873. The Army succeeded in forcing the Modoc to abandon their fortified position at Captain Jack's Stronghold in the Lava Beds, but failed to capture the band.

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Buildings, sites, districts, and objects in California listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coso Rock Art District</span> Historic district in California, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons</span> Archaeological site in California, United States

Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons are two principal landforms within which are found major accumulations of Paleo-Indian and/or Native American Petroglyphs, or rock art, by the Coso People located in the Coso Range Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert, and now within the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, near the towns of China Lake and Ridgecrest, California. Little Petroglyph Canyon contains 20,000 documented images, which surpasses in number for most other collections. Additionally, the archeological resources are remarkably undisturbed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnesville Petroglyph</span> Archaeological site in Ohio, United States

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.

Tule is a plant of the sedge family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fern Cave Archeological Site</span> United States historic place

The Fern Cave Archeological Site, in Lava Beds National Monument near Tule Lake, California, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. CALIFORNIA - Modoc County National Register of Historic Places
  3. 1 2 National Park Service. Rock Art at Lava Beds. Last Updated: February 04, 2008