We’re in the home stretch now, finishing up our exploration of a large site on the Volcanic Tablelands. In this entry we’ll focus on an enormous panel, stretching across several separate boulders, and additional panels that seem like a continuation of the main panel.
This is the part of this site you’ll see most often in photographs – the largest panels, the most spectacular petroglyphs. While I love seeing these, the smaller elements often hold my interest – why here, on this rock face? Why this particular element? Who made it? How long ago? Questions we will never know the answers to.
Now, let’s have a look!
Some careful climbing will be required to take in this panel and not fall off the outcropping. Here’s a view of the whole panel. You can see how the motifs sometimes continue between panels. This is an elaborate, extensive piece of rock art. Also note how the elements have different colors ( indicating time passing between when they were made ) or even overlay each other. There is a lot of detail here. Let’s get going!For context, we had a look at the boulder to the left already, and we’re now going to look to the right. The panels are angled towards the sky, and therefore hard to photograph. It requires scrambling around on the formation, being very careful not to step on the petroglyphs or any potentially fragile parts of the boulders. It can be disorienting to be atop the formation, peering through a viewfinder, so you have to make sure to move deliberately. A misstep may result in a twisted ankle and a head first crash landing with the camera shattered on the next rock over.Right off the bat I find the first panel almost impossible to photograph. There is nowhere to stand where I can capture the whole panel AND not have that be the last thing I do! This shot captures the first part of it, where there are several interesting things – the double line that runs all along the formation in some form at the top, the bird print, and the intricate target-like element.Slightly different angle. There are several typical Great Basin designs here – dumbbells, yonis, grid, rakes … and bird prints. No wait, that last one is actually pretty uncommon and is one of the standout features that makes this site interesting!Scooting along a little more ( this was taken with a wide angle lens, too! It is hard to get everything in one shot! ) we see the double line motif continuing, and a rake element intruding on the top spar.Things get interesting … zig-zag lines, also what might be a hand glyph or may just be something that looks like a hand. See the double lines continue on across the panels?Here’s an overview of the panel we just saw in relation to the others. That double line still continues, and this panel has elements made at different times, as evidenced by the different coloring of the elements. In the lower left is a nice spiral design.A better view of the panel. There’s some more bird prints here, including a double set in the top center. Looks like another spiral design in the top right as well.In relation to the next panel over.Right next to that panel is yet another. This outcropping is pretty tall and you have to watch your step – don’t step on the panels with petroglyphs, don’t step on one of the cracks or you’ll fall in and break a leg. Don’t get vertigo from looking at everything through a camera’s viewfinder! Easy peasy.The really nice thing about the broken up terrain is that you can get dramatic shots like this one, showing the panel in vivid sunlight and the cracks in between in shadow. In the background you can see two of the previously shown panels.Some of the petroglyphs are pecked but a lot are deeply etched. This panel also has some really deep notches along its edge.Close up of the notches.The right hand side of the panel, where the bird prints show up again. Also note how the elements are definitely different in execution – deeply cut, lighter elements overlay the older, pecked elements in some places.Speaking of elements overlaying each other, here is another example of that. In this case there’s a pair of bird prints superimposed on older elements.In yet another place we see the bird prints superimposed. This is the edge of one of the panels we saw earlier, where a large pecked circular element with cross bars now sport a set of thinner, incised bird prints.Another case where a design leaps a crack and continues on the next panel over. Note the grinding area in the lower left of the right half, below the bird prints.A look back — all the way to a previous entry where we saw those large prints in the distance on a free standing boulder.Here’s a slightly different angle that shows those parallel lines that run across several panels again. In this case you can see it dips down into one of the cracks between the panels.There are a few more very interesting panels to look at here, close to the end of the outcropping. This view back shows how this entire outcropping is covered in petroglyphs. Amazing.A couple of panels with elements that are smaller than what we saw before, mostly circles and squiggle lines, and also a large set of grinding slicks to the right. If it looks like these slicks have obliterated some petroglyphs – they have. This is a pretty uncommon sight, but there are other petroglyph sites around the world with the same characteristic.Closer look at the panel. There’s a bird print top right, and several delicate elements still visible around the edges. Several large grinding slicks have rubbed out designs in the center of the panel.Also, here are the close by squiggle lines and circles up closer. The ladder element ( also incised and superimposed over older elements, like the bird prints was ) is not uncommon in this area, where some of the elements are several feet wide. This one is comparatively small.Note the line on the right of the panel, also super imposed over several elements. This site’s seen a long period of occupation, as evidenced by the housing rings and lithic scatter, so it is not surprising that the petroglyph panels themselves also tells a story of time.These outcroppings are all volcanic in nature, comprised of tufa. Sometimes you get really weird natural formations like this one.It was a great site to visit, full of surprises and interesting petroglyphs.The site from a little further away, with the White Mountains looming large as a backdrop.
Well, that puts a bow on it! I hope you enjoyed exploring this site with us.
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1 thought on ““Scenic Scenario” Petroglyphs”
Tony Giovannoni
Hi there, I recently ran across your site and I’m really enjoying your posts! I’ve spent the past couple of years visiting ruins and seeing as much rock art as I can…mostly in Utah/AZ…but I’ve recently become really enamored with the Great Basin/Volcanic Tablelands/Coso stuff.
My youngest son is currently living in Bishop and the last two times I’ve gone down and visited him we’ve gone out to the Tablelands and it’s amazing! It’s funny, since you have your own names for the sites (and my memory isn’t what it used to be) I sometimes have to go through my pictures and try to match images to see if I’ve been there or not.
I thought we’d seen most of the more extensive panels, but I think we missed this one. I’ll have to get my books out and see if I can figure out which one this is, it looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing and happy hunting!
Hi there, I recently ran across your site and I’m really enjoying your posts! I’ve spent the past couple of years visiting ruins and seeing as much rock art as I can…mostly in Utah/AZ…but I’ve recently become really enamored with the Great Basin/Volcanic Tablelands/Coso stuff.
My youngest son is currently living in Bishop and the last two times I’ve gone down and visited him we’ve gone out to the Tablelands and it’s amazing! It’s funny, since you have your own names for the sites (and my memory isn’t what it used to be) I sometimes have to go through my pictures and try to match images to see if I’ve been there or not.
I thought we’d seen most of the more extensive panels, but I think we missed this one. I’ll have to get my books out and see if I can figure out which one this is, it looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing and happy hunting!