This pictograph site is perched on the eastern bank of a seasonal creek that runs southerly out of a stubby little valley. It is surrounded on three sides by steep peaks, and the site itself is nestled on the knee of the steep hillside above the creek bed. The boulder these pictographs are located on is larger than any others in the immediate vicinity.

This area was historically part of Tübatulabal territory. This particular site was dated back to between 1,200 B.C and 600 A.D based on found artifacts. To my knowledge the pictographs themselves have never been dated accurately, but it is possible that they correspond to the site’s age.

This site forms part of a larger complex, once the location of a Tübatulabal summer village. This boulder is on the southern edge of this complex. Some other elements include a smaller boulder with a single possible pictograph low on its southern face, a taller boulder with several shallow bedrock mortars on a convenient shelf,  and a grouping of boulders tucked onto the shoulder of a smaller seasonal runoff channel – two of those showing clear pictographs and a third overhang showing evidence of wood fires. There is also a boulder with bedrock mortars located directly adjacent to the larger of the pictograph sites.

The pictograph panel is made up of several elements, all in red. On the northern edge of the panel there is an abstract maze-like feature, followed by a star burst with a body composed of vertical tally-like marks. This line ends in an abbreviated burst that is hidden to the right of the lichen area. A long trailing line connects this second burst with a pie-shaped circle with eight regular segments that forms the southernmost portion of this panel.

Below this design, two intricate circular designs complete the panel’s main features.

There are also several faded elements in this panel – most visibly a long vertical line descending towards the panel just to the left of the star burst figure, widening into a hash marked line that continues below the star burst figure, right down to the edge of the overhang.

There is also a second, now practically invisible line composed of fine horizontal hash marks descending from the partial star burst that bisects the vertical line. This second line of tally marks runs down between the two circular designs.

These elements are exposed to weathering and parts of the design have become faded, but the northern portion of the horizontal line, the circular designs and the maze design motif are still readily visible to the naked eye.

A few things about this pictograph panel intrigues. The boulder has several accessible, smooth faces – to the southwest, the southeast, and also the north. The northern and southwestern faces are more protected from the elements. Pictographs are often found in sheltered locations and under overhangs, so it seems like those faces of the boulder would make more sense. What is special about the southeastern face?

It is that question, in conjunction with the apparent deliberate, tally-marked appearance of the design, that in 1977 gave rise to speculation that this site was intended to mark the winter and summer solstice by way of the circular designs.

This theory was put forth after observing that the sun can be seen rising through a notch in the skyline across the valley, or directly over a peak, on the respective solstices when standing in front of the appropriate circular design.

Examining the main design, this seems very probable. There are two burst designs. The northernmost one can also be interpreted as a sun symbol ( top three lines ) rising over a peak ( inverted V formed by the bottom two lines ). Under that interpretation, the two burst designs become consistent with each other. The northernmost one would represent the winter solstice rising directly over a nearby peak. The southern one lacks that peak. The two tally lines descending from these motifs, along with the tally line connecting them, could have been used to count units of time between these events.

To investigate this, I attended a sunrise at this site on the summer solstice, that being the most convenient solstice to the time I learned of this theory. According to what I read, when standing in front of one of the circular designs, I would observe the sun rising through a notch in the skyline.

Below is what I found.

I indeed observed the sun rising almost through a notch in the skyline. However, I could have observed this standing anywhere in the general area, including in front of other boulders. Without a fixed point casting a shadow on the boulder as the sun rose, there was nothing special about this very location. The sunrise rapidly illuminated the entire face of the boulder, south to north, with no distinguishing shadows cast anywhere on the design.

This is not surprising, given that the rock face is entirely open to the eastern horizon.

After witnessing a sunrise at the location, it is my opinion that the site may well have been a calendar or solstice marker for both solstices, but it is hard to see evidence of that with the site in its current state. The markings are deliberate in feel, but it seems as if, if any timekeeping was done, it must have happened in conjunction with a fixed feature that is no longer present, such as a tree or a man-made construct.

I have not visited this site on the winter solstice, which is the more significant of the two. There may well be something more interesting happening at that point. However, the Tübatulabal have recently revived their solstice observation ceremonies at this site. In respect of that I would not visit.

While waiting for the sunrise, I observed that a smaller boulder across the valley made a much better candidate for a solstice marker, since it alone was lit up in a narrow beam of sunlight reaching through a notch in the peak for a few minutes during sunrise. It receiving first light appears to be a phenomena that would only occur for a few days around the summer solstice. Perhaps that little boulder would make a worthy target for a future search!

It is possible that the winter solstice may cast a more intriguing shadow ( or light, as the case may be ) on this site, since it appears that that sunrise would occur straight over the peak, so possibly one may then see only part of the boulder face illuminated at sunrise, but it seems more likely that this site was used in conjunction with an assisting feature no longer present.

As a final note, a few scattered obsidian flakes remain on the ground below the pictograph panel. Not enough to suggest any extensive use as a knapping site, but the flakes are otherwise absent from the immediate surroundings.

This site was very worthwhile to investigate, and the deliberate tally marks suggest ceremonial use. The boulder’s scale lends atmosphere to the site – providing a grand canvas to an intricate design.

If you visit this site, please respect it. Do not touch the fading pictographs and do not alter them in any way: leave the site as you found it.

Below are detailed images, as well as their color-enhanced variants, of some of the elements.

The vertical tally lines are very hard to capture, having faded to almost invisibility over the years. The line below the northernmost star burst is still somewhat visible, but the line running between the two circular designs is mostly only visible by using DStretch, unless you look very closely, knowing that it can be found. Because of this, these images show the other elements, which can still be photographed readily.