Way back, when I first became interested in pictographs and petroglyphs, I picked up some information about a little site tucked away close to my corner of the world. I had a single reference to it, which gave me a single clue about how to find it: it was actually visible from a nearby road, if you knew to look for it. Continue reading
This site is located next to a small creek in historical Tübatulabal territory.
These pictographs are found in a rather large rock shelter, further protected by smaller boulders in front of the pictograph area.
The ceiling of this tall shelter shows substantial soot accumulation, suggesting extensive use. However I found only a single, rather shallow mortar grind hole nearby. It is located on a small boulder in the far northeast part of the shelter, well clear of the pictograph area.
This site is about 300 or so yards east from the “Ghost Dance” pictograph site, at a somewhat higher elevation.
Unlike the “Ghost Dance” site, which is isolated, this site is on the edge of a prehistoric Tübatulabal habitation site, as shown by extensive lithic scatter and bedrock mortars.
A view of the small opening at the back of the shallow shelter that hosts the pictograph. Note the soot streaks on the ceiling of the shelter.
The pictograph is located in a small shelter at the upper edge of the habitation site. The shelter shows extensive soot deposits from fire. The ceiling of the area with soot deposits is not very tall, and the lip of the shelter extending beyond the soot affected area is probably too shallow to have made it a good habitation area.
This site was quite a challenge to find, being out of the way and located on a single boulder in an area with many, many boulders.
The pictographs are under the overhang on the boulder to the right.
After first finding it on an overcast day, I then had the painful experience of being stuck with photos that didn’t really come out, so I had to trek back one last time.
The site sits above a small ephemeral drainage that in turn feeds into an east-west running seasonal creek.
The presence of rake-like elements in pictographs is said to refer to rain. Another interesting observation is that the rake-like pattern was one of the more frequently described images from a study of the effects of hallucinogenic substances on the mind.
The pictograph boulder has three overhangs, to the north, southeast, and southwest. The northern overhang is to the left in this picture.
With that in mind, let’s examine these pictographs. Continue reading
These pictographs are found along a creek running in a southwesterly direction from its origin point in a meadow. Some creek-hopping and – if you pick the wrong side of the creek – mild scrambling is required to reach the shelter hosting the pictographs. Continue reading
The large, slanted boulder in front of the pictograph shelter, showing one of the mortar holes on the shelf.
This site sits on the southern bank of a small ephemeral drainage that leads into the creek running below the “Shooting Star” pictograph site, and forms part of the same Tübatulabal summer settlement.
A large, sloped boulder leans towards the south, and on a natural shelf at workable height, several fairly shallow mortar holes are present.
Mortar holes are often a hint that interesting discoveries may be just around the corner. They do not disappoint in this case: turning westerly after examining these mortars to take a look at the sloped overhang of a larger boulder reveals a wonderful pictograph panel tucked away under the sloped surface. Continue reading
This site is located in Tübatulabal territory, on the western slope of one of a network of contributing ephemeral drainages draining southerly into a more permanent creek. What makes this site attractive as a habitation site is the presence of a small spring, leading to some lush vegetation in the drainage. Continue reading
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. Continue reading