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.
Looking closer, the soot deposits are more visible – and there is red pigment on the ceiling.
The alcove at the back is divided into two areas by a vertical slab of rock. One area faces south and the other faces east.
In the south-facing area is a single red ochre pictograph on the ceiling. This is the only pictograph element at the site.
This pictograph is well worth visiting, though, being an intricate rendering of a bighorn sheep.
It is likely that use of the shelter for fire predates the painting of the sheep, since soot deposits would have otherwise damaged it.
The alcove in which the sheep is found is very small. In order to photograph it, I had to crawl in under the overhang on my elbows, and hold my camera blindly in front of me with the lens pointed towards the ceiling.
This makes the care and delicacy with which it was painted all the more remarkable, given the difficulties the painter would have faced in getting to this area and then painting a design with only a few inches of clearance between head and rock.
The red shape is a beautifully rendered zoomorph, a bighorn sheep in profile. The image is upside down to the viewer when viewed in situ, as can be seen here.
The image, rotated. It is clearly a bighorn sheep in profile, with a tail, four legs, curved horns, and a head.
This pictograph is also reminiscent of the Cosos style, but it shows the bighorn in a side profile instead of facing the viewer, as is typical of the Cosos style. The sheep also doesn’t have the typical boat-shaped body associated with the Cosos style.
Like the “Ghost Dance” site, this site is not in bighorn habitat. It is therefore likely that this sheep was painted during the Ghost Dance movement.
A patch of ochre color … is that a pictograph, or natural pigment?
DStretch makes it appear as if there could be something … or maybe not.
On the boulder forming the overhang, there is an indistinct — yet intriguingly intricate — patch of reddish pigment. These boulders often have natural reddish coloration, formed by oxidation or natural pigments, so it is common to peer at a patch and wonder whether it is a faded pictograph, or just natural color.
The standard operating procedure in such a case is to pull out the camera and snap a picture “for later”. Almost always, DStretch will show that the coloration is natural.
In this case, the DStretch manipulations are just vague enough to leave me wavering. My inclination is to say that this patch of pigment is not a pictograph element, but I cannot be absolutely sure. It does look sort of deliberate … right? Such is the uncertainties of pictographs!
A small arrow point found close by this site.
There is lithic scatter as well as several bedrock mortars present in the general vicinity, which lies along a corridor historically used to access the higher terrain in the area from winter villages in the lower regions.
While traveling to this site, I came upon a small, delicate obsidian point.
Arrow points can be hard to find at prehistoric sites, since they are often plundered for souvenirs or selling. Finding one “in the wild” is a thrill. Remember that removing any archeological artifact from public land is unlawful. Leave your discoveries behind so others can also enjoy the thrill of a discovery.
Also please resist the temptation to touch the pictograph if you find it. The oils from your skin can damage the pigment and the friction of your touch can lift the pigment. Take only photos, and leave it as you found it for others to discover and enjoy.