These pictographs survive serendipitously on a now protected sliver of land in Tübatulabal territory, tucked onto the toes of a hill not all that far out of reach of the high water line of the reservoir that occupies the valley they are found in – and not too far away either from a roadway that plowed straight through at least one occupation site in the nearby vicinity. They could easily have fallen prey to encroaching build-up as well.
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.
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