This pictograph site, in Kawaiisu territory, is one I’ve had my eye on for a while. Finally, we had a good opportunity to stop by, so we examined maps, punched some coordinates into the GPS, and set off.
After leaving the pavement we proceeded down some fairly good dirt roads and then bounced our way down an increasingly sketchy track until we drew close to the area we wanted to look around in. At that point we were suddenly thwarted by a barbed wire fence! It seems that the satellite view of the area was rather old, and the road had fallen into disrepair since the shots were taken.
No problem. I knew the site was on public land, so we loaded up a backpack, donned hiking boots, and flopped under the fence. Nothing like getting some miles in on a fine spring day in the desert. The old road towards the site was still easily walkable, but very sandy. Adding to the sportiness, the canyon we were in was quite the wind tunnel. There were some spring showers happening over towards the coast and the lee side of the mountains got a roaring wind and no precipitation. We slogged towards our goal, enjoying the landscape while leaning sidewise into the wind. This is the high desert, and Joshua Trees abounded. With the good rains there were some nice cactus flowers to be seen as well.
We followed the old roadway up to a vibrant patch of greenery, surrounded by tall boulders. Along the way I kept a sharp eye out for lithic scatter, always a good sign that one is on the right track. The flecks of obsidian hinted that we were, and I pushed on eagerly, even though the deep sand meant one step forward, half a step back.
And we found what we were looking for … and more.
Flecks of obsidian. Time to get excited!
The excitement for the site is immediately followed by massive disappointment. There is graffiti right over the top of the pictographs.
Graffiti right over the top of the pictographs.
A very interesting set of twin hash marks, along with what looks like a circular symbol with interior hashmarks. There is also some pigment below that.
I duck down to look more closely at the lower element. It is indistinct. We’ll need some DStretch!
Not a very visible element. I’m not sure what shape it used to have.
I keep examining the rock face, hoping to find something, anything, that wasn’t vandalized. I have to peer really closely, but eventually I spot something. Do you see it in the middle of this DStretch photo?
A very nice little element. These tally mark lines are ubiquitous in pictographs in this area. This element is pretty small. I’ve never seen the lines take on half diamond shapes like this.
After taking my time staring at the front of the boulder I move around the side. My companion had long since wandered off, and had made a discovery around the back. On the way there I find this single mortar tucked in by the boulder.
The back of the boulder. There’s some pigment on the lower section of the rock, close to the tip on the right.
Here we go. It is not much at first glance, but at least it is not vandalized.
This panel is really difficult to examine properly. I’ll show two different DStretch pictures of it. Now we can see that the element at the top right is a small zoomorph. This kind of element – upright, spindly – appears frequently in Kawaiisu pictographs. More exciting to see are a couple of very faded sun burst elements! Do you see them? There’s one in the lower center of the picture, with a small inner circle, and another one in the upper center of the lower rock face.
Here is a slightly different DStretch algorithm. Note that there are some additional, very faded elements. There is another spindly figure towards the lower left, and above that there might be another figure, along with some possible figures below the upper burst element. Note how both burst elements are carefully nestled inside depressions in the rock. You may need to compare the DStretch photos with the original color where you can see the shadows better to see this.
Here is a little treat. Do you even see anything in this picture? We had to stare at the rock face long and hard, and also use an iPad with DStretch loaded on it, to find the treasures on this extremely faded panel.
Here, now you can see it clearly. This is actually a really nice, dynamic figure. It appears to be dancing with a wide stride, holding objects above its head in both hands.
Another stretch of rock that doesn’t look like anything until you’ve stared for a while and noticed a slightly discolored patch of pigment.
How nice! Another little sun element. This was the element that led to this site’s nickname. My companion discovered it with the DStretch app on the iPad and was so delighted that he exclaimed. I move in, peer closely, and take a picture to DStretch at home later. There is also a zoomorph right next to this element. This whole panel feels like it is telling a story – burst elements, dancing figures, a zoomorph ( coyote? ) next to the sun. There are some stories that tell of coyote eating the sun.
Here’s the center part of this rock face.
The elements are fairly small and spread out over it. Over on the way right you can see two of the sunburst elements, then in the top center the third sun and its companion, and over towards the left, the dancing figure.
After making these discoveries, we examine the rest of the rock face closely. Over on the far left of the boulder I think I see something more. We use the iPad’s DStretch app on it, but it is inconclusive. In the bright sunlight the screen can be a bit difficult to see. Still, I take a picture or two of the area.
And there you go! Another trove of pictograph elements. There are two other sunburst elements here, but the name for this entry stands because we didn’t notice this while at the site! In addition to these elements – one in the center of the picture, the other in the lower left – we have a small zoomorph above the lower element, a little spiral element next to that, two inverted L elements between the spiral and the second sunburst, and finally two anthropomorphs without upper appendages next to that. Wow! It really feels like there is a story here. I’m reminded of the Chemehuevi legend of the Lone Woman of the Cave, who gave Tavapëtsi, the sun, twin sons. Maybe a similar legend was told among the Kawaiisu too.
While my companion examined the larger panel I noticed this little overhang to the right of the main panel. I peered in and saw some pigment close to the ground under the boulder to the left.
I spotted the pigment on the triangular rock face first, but it is the panel above that that is really interesting. This picture is taken from low down on the ground, looking up. The upper panel faces down.
Isn’t that a fantastic panel? I’ll show a square on view of it next.
I’m glad that there’s no sneaky cactus spines around as I lay flat on my back in the dirt and work the camera to get a picture.
What a busy little panel! I especially love the little squiggle lines.
What a turnaround visiting this site was! We went from crushing disappointment at finding the tally marks vandalized to a slimmer of hope when I found the other little element on the front of the boulder. And then we walked around the back and noticed a few more flecks of pigment … from there on out it was a delight as we found the faded images and recalled the story of this boulder from time. So much more to it than a casual examination suggested.
I hope you enjoyed looking at this site as much as we did!
Always love your write ups.
This is the site that keeps on giving. Halfway from here and the star location, is a low shelter that is smoke blackened. It contains IIRC, sheep figures in white.
This is the site that keeps on giving! As to the low shelter … watch this space!