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 second pictograph shelter in Indian Wells Canyon is located about a mile and a third westerly of the “Cradleboard” pictograph site. It sits on a steep hillside and is surrounded by some undergrowth, making it difficult to see until you draw close.
The view out of the shelter, showing the mortars ground into the large flat boulder.
The shelter itself is quite large, in excess of 20 feet across, and partially protected by a large, flattish boulder tucked under the overhang. There is enough room between the top of this boulder and the overhang ceiling to sit and enjoy an expansive overview of the valley below. Bedrock mortars atop this boulder attest to the fact that this was also considered a good idea many years ago.
This site is perched in a steep draw, close to good water sources. As such, there are plentiful signs of habitation scattered among the jumble of boulders in the vicinity.
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.
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