anthropology/native american studies GREAT Q U I N BASIN L A Praise for N , G R E AT B A S I N R O C K A R T e ROCK ART d . Angus R. Quinlanholds a Ph.D. in the Rock art is one of humankind’s most archaeology of religion from the Univer- “This book deals with new research directions in rock art studies. The es- ancient forms of artistic expression, and G sity of Southampton, England. He is cur- says are diverse and present views that are at the forefront of rock art re- R one of its most enigmatic. For centuries, rently deputy director of the Nevada Rock search in western North America and elsewhere. Overall, the book is a E A R C H A E O L O G I C A L scholars and other observers have strug- Art Foundation, where he supervises the significant and relevant contribution to rock art literature.” A P E R S P E C T I V E S gled to interpret the meaning of the myste- T archaeological documentation of rock art —Colleen M. Beck, Desert Research Institute rious figures incised or painted on natural B sites in Nevada. He is also the editor for A rocks and to understand their role in the Summit Envirosolutions, a cultural re- “The essays in this book share a common theme of exploring the archae- S lives of their creators. The Great Basin of A N G U S R . Q U I N L A N, I sources management company. ological and landscape context in understanding and interpreting rock N the American West is especially rich in art as opposed to relying primarily on a consideration of imagery. The R Editor rock art, but until recently North American different approaches used by the authors return to a recurring conclu- O archaeologists have largely ignored these sion, that it is a mistake to start with the assumption that rock art is re- C most visible monuments left by early Na- ligious art. This book moves rock art research forward from its current K tive Americans and have given little atten- stalled state arguing about shamanic theory and rock art interpretation.” A tion to the terrain surrounding them. R —William D. Hyder, University of California, Santa Cruz In Great Basin Rock Art,twelve well- T established rock art researchers examine a number of significant sites from the dual perspectives of settlement archaeology and UNIVERSITY OF contemporary Native American interpreta- NEVADA PRESS tions of the role of rock art in their cul- tural past. The authors demonstrate how modern archaeological methodology and interpretations are providing a rich physi- cal and cultural context for these ancient and hitherto puzzling artifacts. They also offer exciting new insights into the lives of North America’s first inhabitants. This is essential reading for anyone interested in Jacket Illustration: the petroglyphs of the American West and Background texture © 2005 JupiterImages. Foreground in the history of the Great Basin and its texture, line drawing of south portion (Panel A) of buried panel, Long Lake, Oregon. Drawing by M. Ricks. original peoples. NEVADA Great Basin Rock Art Great Basin Rock Art Archaeological Perspectives angus r. quinlan edited by university of nevada press reno & las vegas University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada 89557 usa New material copyright © 2007 by University of Nevada Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Great Basin rock art : archaeological perspectives / edited by Angus R. Quinlan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-3: 978-0-8747-696-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) . Indians of North America—Great Basin—Antiquities. 2. Rock paintings—Great Basin. 3. Petroglyphs—Great Basin. 4. Great Basin—Antiquities. I. Quinlan, Angus R., 968– e78.g67g74 2006 979'.0—dc22 2006023848 The paper used in this book is a recycled stock made from 50 percent post-consumer waste materials and meets the requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48–984. Binding materials were selected for sgtrength and durability. First Printing 5 4 3 2  0 09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2  “The Study of a Rock Art Site in Southeastern Oregon” by Keo Boreson is a heavily revised version of a report compiled under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi 1 I ntegrating Rock Art with Archaeology: Symbolic Culture as Archaeology 1 angus r. quinlan part i. ethnographic perspectives 2 S tories as Old as the Rocks: Rock Art and Myth  melvin brown and alanah woody 3 T he Mountain Maidu Homeland: Native and Anthropological Interpretations of Cultural Identity 20 helen valborg and farrell cunningham part ii. rock art’s social contexts past and present 4 T oward a Gender-Inclusive View of Rock Art in the Northern Great Basin 37 william j. cannon and alanah woody 5 G rinding Stone and Pecking Rock: Rock Art of the High Basins, Spanish Springs, Nevada 52 signa w. pendegraft 6 A Regional Settlement System Approach to Petroglyphs: Application to the Owyhee Uplands, Southeastern Oregon 69 myrtle p. shock 7 T he Study of a Rock Art Site in Southeastern Oregon 92 keo boreson 8 C ontexts in the Analysis of Rock Art: Settlement and Rock Art in the Warner Valley Area, Oregon 07 william j. cannon and mary f. ricks 9 P etroglyph Dating on the Massacre Bench 26 eric w. ritter, alanah woody, and alan watchman 10 R ock Art as an Artifact of Religion and Ritual: The Archaeological Construction of Rock Art’s Past and Present Social Contexts 40 angus r. quinlan References 5 Contributors 79 Index 8 vi contents Illustrations figures Figure .. Map of the Northern Great Basin and Adjacent Areas Showing Tribal Territories and Places Mentioned in the Text 6 Figure 2.. The Agai-Pah Pictograph Site, Nevada, April 2005 2 Figure 2.2. The Agai-Pah Pictographs, Nevada 4 Figure 4.. Milling Stones Recovered from Excavations at the Long Lake Site, Oregon 47 Figure 4.2. Bedrock Milling Stone and Rock Art in Direct Association, Long Lake, Oregon 48 Figure 5.. Rock Art, Rock Rings, and Ground Stone at the Crow’s Nest, High Basins, Nevada 60 Figure 5.2. Rock Art Incorporated in a Large Rock Ring, High Basins, Nevada 62 Figure 5.3. Rock Art Incorporated in a Rock Ring with Ground Stone in the Foreground, High Basins, Nevada 64 Figure 6.. Relationship Between Rock Art, Other Archaeological Sites, and Perennial Water in the Owyhee Uplands, Oregon 80 Figure 6.2. Landscape Context of Site 35ml044, Owyhee Uplands, Oregon 84 Figure 6.3. Diagrammatic Profile of an Owyhee Uplands Mesa Top Petroglyph Site Type 87 Figure 6.4. Characteristic Abstract Imagery in the Basin and Range Tradition, Owyhee Uplands, Oregon 88 Figure 6.5. Anthropomorph, Owyhee Uplands, Oregon 88 Figure 7.. View of a Portion of the Study Area Showing Owyhee River Channel, Looking West, May 5, 2002 96 Figure 7.2. View of Slope in Study Area with Boulders 23–32, Looking North-Northeast 97 Figure 7.3. Comparison of Intersected Elements at Site 35ml09, Southeastern Oregon 99 Figure 7.4. Use of Curvilinear Elements in Rock Art Panel Compositions at Site 35ml09, Southeastern Oregon 00 Figure 7.5 Anthropomorph Forms at Site 35ml09, Southeastern Oregon 02 Figure 8.. South Portion (Panel A) of Buried Rock Art Panel, Long Lake, Oregon 5 Figure 8.2. Line Drawing of South Portion (Panel A) of Buried Panel, Long Lake, Oregon 6 Figure 8.3. Line Drawing of North Portion (Panel B) of Buried Panel, Long Lake, Oregon 7 tables Table 4.. Associated Materials at Rock Art Sites in the Warner Valley Area 43 Table 5.. Rock Art Sites and Associated Archaeology in the High Basins, Nevada 59 Table 6.. Rock Art Sites and Associated Archaeology, Owyhee Uplands 82 Table 6.2. Types of Rock Art Styles Present at Owyhee Uplands Rock Art Sites 86 Table 6.3. Designs per Rock Face in Owyhee Uplands Rock Art Sites 90 Table 7.. Frequency of Stylistic Attributes in the Owyhee Reservoir Study Area 98 Table 8.. Warner Valley Rock Art Styles 4 Table 9.. Summary of Sample Sizes, Locations, ams4c Measurements, and Calibrated Age Estimates for Organic Material at the Base of Varnish Coatings on and near Panel 6, Massacre Lake Site (26wa78) 36 viii illustrations Preface This book is a collection of essays by twelve scholars that explores Great Basin rock art from an archaeological perspective. The goal of the vol- ume is to show how archaeology has helped us understand the meaning and purpose of rock art in the daily lives of the Great Basin’s indigenous peoples. In the past decade, the archaeological examination of the physi- cal environment and cultural associations of rock art has provided some important insights into the social context of this enigmatic art form. In addition, rock art has a contemporary cultural resonance to Native Ameri- can peoples (its traditional custodians) and is of considerable interest to the general public. These contemporary contexts of rock art’s use-life are also explored in this volume and illustrate how interpretation, heritage conservation, and professional research are intertwined. The essays were inspired by a session presented at the 2002 Biennial Great Basin Anthropological Conference in Elko, Nevada. The session, which was organized by Alanah Woody and sponsored by the Nevada Rock Art Foundation and the Nevada State Museum, explored archaeology’s role in constructing rock art’s contemporary heritage value, as well as the kinds of interpretations popularly presented to the public. The Nevada Rock Art Foundation and the Nevada State Museum are committed to the preserva- tion of Nevada’s (and more generally the Great Basin’s) archaeological her- itage. They sponsor programs of public and professional interpretation to raise awareness of heritage issues (thereby building community capacity), as well as fostering professional debate to develop archaeological research. It is a pleasure to acknowledge their role in providing the original venue for the research and ideas expressed in this book. Angus R. Quinlan Minden, 2005