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HomeAbout Rock ArtBoard of DirectorsLectures
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By Darla Garey-Sage, PhD The southeastern region of Nevada hosts a large number of rock art sites as well as great diversity in motifs, both features that make the region remarkable. Distinctive rock art with higher than average numbers of anthropomorphs and bighorn sheep, more realistically and elaborately portrayed than elsewhere in the state, also characterize this area. Basin and Range Tradition Rock art for the region falls predominantly within the Basin and Range tradition, a primarily abstract expression. The Basin and Range tradition of rock art is defined by large areas of open space, repetition of relatively simple geometric shape and a lack of borders and is strongly associated with the Archaic hunter gatherer cultures (approximately 12,000 - 2000 BP) but also has a continued presence in rock art made by later horticultural and Numic cultures. Painted images using similar motifs are also part of the abstract style. Curvilinear and rectilinear abstract designs are most common and are increasingly considered by researchers as components of the Basin and Range Tradition. Previously considered as distinct styles, rectilinear and curvilinear elements have a wide distribution in time and space that extends far outside the Great Basin culture area. Rectilinear and curvilinear designs appear to have been made for as long as rock art was made in the Great Basin and are strongly associated with rock art made by Archaic hunter-gatherer cultures. However, these abstract design elements are also present in styles associated with Fremont and Puebloan groups, though are not as prominent. Curvilinear design elements include circular forms, such as circles, concentric circles, connected circles, curvilinear meanders, wavy lines, sinuous lines (or “snakes”) and star figures. This style expresses some sense of a ‘canvas’ in that the shapes tend to fill the area defined by the outline of a single boulder. Rectilinear styles are characterized by linear motifs and elements organized in linear fashion, such as rows of dots, grids, rectangles, cross-hatching, etc. The curvilinear and rectilinear styles co-occur frequently at sites, do not seem to have discrete chronologies of production, and thus are not separate stylistic groups. The other major stylistic component of Great Basin rock art is the Scratched style, made by a sharp stone tool to incise lines into stone. It is characterized by dense crosshatching, squares, rectangles, and circles with lines radiating from them. These elements are widely distributed throughout the Great Basin but are rarely the predominant style. Some authors have suggested the association of the Scratched Style with the spread of Numic cultures, which began approximately two thousand years ago. In general, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic representations for the region are characterized by stick-figure type humans and naturalistic animals. These representational figures share the same distribution as abstract styles and are perhaps best seen as a highly localized treatment of the universal portrayal of people and animals in rock art. The southeastern region also features the highest number of rock art sites with historic imagery, such as cowboys and horses. These design elements usually co-occur with Basin and Range tradition rectilinear and curvilinear elements, providing evidence of the long duration of rock art production in the region. Regional Styles Distinctive representational styles in southern and southeastern Nevada and western Utah are marked by motifs associated with the Fremont and Puebloan cultures in the region. Birds, hand and foot prints, and most notably stylized trapezoidal and triangular figures often shown with elaborate headgear, horns, or jewelry are highly distinctive motifs in the region, as well as solidly pecked, square-shaped bighorn sheep. The Pahranagat Style in southeastern Nevada is known for its unusual, stylized anthropomorphic figures identified from the Pahranagat Lake site and sites in the Mount Irish Archaeological District, and found only in the Pahranagat area. This style comprises two anthropomorph types. One is a rectangular figure filled with lines of dots or simple geometric designs and sometimes holding atlatls. The second is a solid-pecked figure, oval or rectangular in shape, with large eyes, and a line protruding from the head; this variant has been suggested to represent disguised hunters. In addition to the distinctive ‘hunters,’ the Pahranagat style includes representations of mountain sheep and other game in association with ticked lines, which might suggest a game drive. The Grapevine Canyon style is another distinctive style in the region, and is associated with the Patayan Culture found in the eastern Mojave and concentrated along the drainage of the Colorado River. Abstract elements include rectilinear, symmetrical and geometric forms, and distinctive ‘shield’ designs (rectangular forms with internal designs). Representational forms include stick-figure anthropomorphs that have fingers and/or toes indicated, and lizard figures. Anthropomorphs with distinct fingers and toes are not restricted to the Grapevine Canyon style, and are found within and beyond the Great Basin. Painted images fall within the same stylistic categories as pecked images, but have a less frequent expression in the region. Petroglyphs are found on sandstone outcrops, white cliff faces, shelters, and boulders, suggesting both private and public expressions of the art whereas pictographs are found primarily in shelters. Meanings and Functions The meanings and functions of southern Nevada rock art have provoked much discussion. The most popular explanations include the idea that rock art was made as a form of hunting magic to ensure success in the hunt or increase numbers of game animals and other critical resources; that it was made by shamans to record significant trance experiences; and that rock art was a public symbolic resource that expressed important cultural knowledge. For more on this subject see Overview of Rock Art Interpretation. Suggested Reading Fowler, Catherine and Don Fowler (editors), 2008, The Great Basin: People and Place in Ancient Times. SAR Press, Santa Fe. Heizer, Robert and Martin Baumhoff, 1962, Prehistoric Rock Art of Nevada and Eastern California. University of California Press, Berkeley. Quinlan, Angus R., 2009, Rock Art Styles and Sites in the Great Basin, in Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia-- Vol. 4, Southwest and Great Basin/Plateau. Edited by Francis P. McManamon, pp. 256-261. Greenwood Press, Westport. Schaafsma, Polly, 1986, Rock Art, in Handbook of American Indians: Vol. 11, Great Basin. Edited by Warren D’Azevedo, pp. 215-226. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. |
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