Here’s another view of the site. This angle makes it obvious how well-sheltered the panel is. The overhang is deeper and steeper than it appears in the more common pictures of the site which highlights the panel but is taken by standing below it and looking up to it, which makes the overhang seem shallow.

I cannot take any credit for this gorgeous photograph – it was taken by my companion! I am kinda claustrophobic so I do not clamber into tiny fissures in the rock just to see what might be there ( I do clamber, up to a point, when I know there is a reward! ). Good thing then that I have a great companion who is willing to squeeze into rock formations for me. In this case he had wriggled into a shelter to look for pictographs and took this photo before he handed the camera back to me. I think it is an absolutely gorgeous shot.

This picture, taken from the top of the outcropping, shows the two low bedrocks with their mortars that sits in front of the site. One of these is partially buried in sand. There are probably several more mortars under the sand, but excavation of any sort is illegal at archeological sites, so we make no attempt to find out.

Here’s another look at the larger of the mortar rock outcroppings. There are some very deep mortars and many, many shallow depressions. There’s also a curious double mortar in the left center of the picture. The many shallow depressions make me think – especially given that the ethnographic record ties it to birth ceremonies – that there might have been ceremonies at the site that called for a new mortar hole to be started.

The “bear” feature of the site is visible from this angle, too. Also note how the panel cuts off cleanly on the left – I think right on the border of where rainwater would run down the rock face. I don’t know if the panel was placed this way by design. It may well have been because DStretch shows no trace of pigment beyond that line, and it can often bring back traces of pigment that can’t be seen with the naked eye. In any case it would have been futile to try to paint pictographs past that boundary – rain would quickly wash them away.

Here is a second wide-angle overview of the main panel at the site. The central figures are bold and dynamic. Red is the predominant color but there is also white pigment in use. A lot of the black in this picture is natural discoloration on the rock face but there appears to be some black used in the upper right part of the main panel. Also of great interest is what appears to be a yellow figure, possibly even with green pigment, in the center left of the panel. We’ll return to that figure later – it may be hard to see in this overview shot.

This element in the lower right of the panel may be an anthropomorph, but it is party obscured. It almost looks like it was erased on purpose. This effect is particularly noticeable with DStretch, so let’s take a look.

See how the figure becomes very smudged at the top? It has nice clear, crisp lines until the area where the shoulders and head would have been, where it is smudged. Maybe this was done deliberately as the figure was created, perhaps in order to tell a story or add symbolic meaning, or maybe the figure was made and then partially erased later. The figure appears superimposed on a hastily drawn circle.

The right side of the main pictograph panel has a few elements that are stylistically different than the main panel, yet still fits perfectly. The figure we just looked at is one of these. Here is another. Notice how it is an outline with open hands and feet, and a simple curved head? These figures are very widely found in the western foothills of the Sierras, where they are referred to as “pelt” figures. I have visited sites featuring them before, such as Ayers Rock and “What Lies Beneath“. It is interesting to find them here too. These figures are widely accepted to have ritual meaning. We don’t know the exact meaning, but they may represent shamans and thus be tied to vision quests.

This is the smaller of the two “pelt” figures, in the upper right part of the panel. It is less detailed than its companion. In this closeup we can also see the white and black pigment in use in the detailed figure next to it. Let’s take a closer look at these two figures.

This closer view of the two dominant figures at the site clearly shows that white pigment was used to outline the red pigment. It is difficult to tell which of the black areas in these pictures are natural discoloration of the rock and which are additional black pigment. It looks as if the natural color was carefully incorporated into the main figures for the most part, but portions of it were also added later. In particular, look at the lower right part of the photo, just above and to the left of the partially erased anthropomorph we saw earlier. The wavy black outline looks like it is not pigment but a pattern of algae growth. This kind of discoloration can be commonly seen on granite boulders in dry climates. It seems like it was carefully incorporated into the main design.

DStretch detail of the previous picture. Note the very faded element in the lower center of the picture: a circle with a line pointing downwards. This general motif of a circle with a line coming out of it also appears in the area we focused on in the previous picture: this time with solid circles and mirroring each other – one pointing up, one pointing down. These elements are also quite faded.

This DStretch picture is from a slightly different angle than the others and uses an algorithm heavily geared towards popping out red pigment, because I want to point out the proliferation of smudged hashmarks in the top part of the panel, just left of center. It is hard to even tell what is going on with all those superimposed hashmarks! Also note that there might be a very faint, very basic zoomorph or anthropomorph at the very top left of the panel, above the “lip” of the rock on the cheek of the bear feature. There is also a couple of very tall red lines coming down the rock face above the panel, one much more faded than the other. These two lines are reminiscent of the lines at the Golden Hills Pictograph site, or the “Shooting Star” site, northeast of here in Tübatulabal territory.

Now, let’s get back to that yellow pictograph I pointed out earlier! Do you see it in this picture? Look at the circular object with the cross shape in it in the far upper left of the pictograph panel and then follow the horizontal tally line coming off of its point to the right, and soon you’ll notice this line go right through the “neck” of a strange yellow pictograph. It has a round, circular body, a long neck, and two digitate feet and arms. Quite the surprise to find hidden in this panel! If you’re having trouble finding him, I did at first, too! Let’s use some DStretch. By the way, the creator of DStretch also noticed this element. Take a look at his pictures of it.

There he is! This particular algorithm turns yellow to brown, which is why the figure looks like negative space in the panel. You can see the digitate feet and the arms, as well as the cross-shaped “head” clearly. Also note something else that is odd – there may be a “ladder” style element painted in this same yellow pigment in the picture. To find it, look at the leftmost of the two “main” figures with the circular heads, the one that has several lines trailing out from under it. It looks like there is a ladder element overlaying the rightmost “ray” or “tendril” descending from the figure – one vertical line with horizontal cross-hatches.

This DStretch photo shows the element in a hue closer to its natural yellow. It is also good for highlighting the red on this panel. Notice something else that’s interesting: a figure vaguely reminiscent of the famous thunderbird of the Northwest visible in the lower half of the panel. To find it, follow the line of hash marks on the left edge of the picture. Where they start to taper out, look to the right and you’ll see a figure with curved “wings” of hashmarks and a bifurcated tail, just to the left of the exfoliated patch in the picture.

This stronger DStretch shows the red pigment in the picture clearly. It is worth taking some time just to follow all the lines and appreciate how strong and uniform they are. This is a very well-made panel. It is also easier to see the thunderbird-like element in this picture. This picture also speaks to the dynamic nature of this panel: it feels as if the elements are exploding upwards and outwards from the lower part of the rock, flowing across the rock face towards the sky.

This element, which is found in the lower left of the panel, was visible in several other pictures but I want to pay special attention to it now because it is an amazingly detailed pictograph. Note how it is comprised of many red segments, painstakingly painted so the negative space between them becomes part of the design.

Here’s a DStretch version of this element, showing its intricate design.

The site also boasts this small but interesting panel. The tally marks are easily visible in the center of the picture, as is the dot of pigment, but there is also a nice little sunburst motif on the rim of the overhang. I’ll pull up some DStretch next to show that in more detail.

There we go! Not the greatest angle to show it off, but you can clearly see the curved line and the rays coming off of it. This is located on the generally easterly side of the rock formation.