These pictographs can be found in a remote valley, accessible only by either scrambling up a boulder-and-vegetation-choked gully and then dropping down into the one end of the valley, or by approaching the valley from its other end and scrambling up dry waterfalls.

Read more about the site here as well, where I show some new pictographs we found on a return visit.

On my trip, we approached this valley by braving the gully. I can recommend neither for it nor against it, since I haven’t attempted the approach from the other side yet. My recollection is of dropping down a couple of “I hope we can continue onwards because going back will be a real bit of trouble” dry waterfalls on the way out.

If you attempt to locate this site I would recommend shoes with Vibram soles and plenty of grip left on the thread. You’ll be depending on your footwear more than a handful of times, whether on the way out or the way back!

Also be sure to bring your cardiovascular fitness for the trip into the valley. We’re talking “the dirt is inches from my nose while I’m standing upright” terrain.

One other thing – there is a lot of “Now just you wait a bit” vegetation in the gully. Be sure to bring clothes that can survive some snagging, and backpacks that are not spun of butterfly wings! You will get stuck in a bush as you try to slither past a boulder, and at that point you’d rather have gear that can survive a yank or two.

Whether you wriggle up the gully or dare the dry waterfalls, your hard work will be rewarded. While proceeding along the bottom of the valley, you just might decide to check out this largish boulder … looks like there might be a bit of an overhang for shade …

Once you get closer, you’ll realize that this isn’t just an overhang – this is a hollow boulder! And as soon as your eyes adjust to the gloom, your heart may skip. The deep hollow is decorated with vivid, bold red lines as well as some small pictograph elements, all untouched by sunlight for whatever years may have passed between their creation and your gaze.

As you step deeper in the hollow, the temperature drops noticeably. It makes a very pleasant place.

Stepping deeper into the shelter, it becomes obvious that the overhanging ceiling’s contours were carefully traced by broad red strokes, and that the truly intricate pictograph elements are on the back wall of the shelter.

Here’s a closer look. There are two distinct styles to the pictographs – the thick, vibrant red lines, traced in a rich bright orange-y red, and then a set of thinner elements, traced in a red that is a little darker.

Also note that there is a little cave below the panel – barely visible around the rock to the left in the picture above, clearly visible in the picture below.

The below overview of the lower center of the panel shows how the lines to the left and the two small elements, a starburst and a little inverted U, are done in a different color of pigment than the rest of the design. Also note how the horizontal line is made up of four parallel strokes – maybe caused by drawing a pigment-coated hand over the rock.

And how about that opening below the panel? Does that go anywhere interesting?

It is actually a little tunnel, not a cave. You can peer through it right into a much smaller alcove on the other side of the boulder. This alcove has no decorations, though.

What about the history and meaning of these pictographs?

Well, as with many pictographs, it is impossible to guess at the age of these pictographs, and no studies have been done to try and date the pigment.

The timeline for Native American settlement in this region spans thousands of years ago through to historic times, and this panel could have been created at any point.

It is in a remote location, with no habitation sites nearby, and is not very easy to get to. There is no lithic scatter present in the vicinity, and it is not close to a water source.

This suggests private ceremonial use, perhaps by a shaman.

The presence of two styles of pictographs makes it appear as if this site was used more than once, perhaps by the same person at different times, or perhaps enhanced later by a different person.

None of the elements are known to be associated with fertility rituals or with puberty rituals, and while the host valley’s general orientation and the sunburst motive might suggest a solstice function, no sunlight ever enters this cave.

On the far left of the panel there is a somewhat fainter element that appears to be deliberately executed, but no recognizable shape springs to mind.

If one lets the imagination wander, it might be a prehistoric Vitruvian Man, arms and legs spread to the sides of his circle. Or perhaps it is a winged shape, crouching down.

Most likely, it is none of these. With the history and meaning of these pictograph panels largely lost to time, studying them always brings the risk of bringing confirmation bias into the conclusion. The best thing is probably to just observe and enjoy them, and have them serve as a reminder of how fleeting knowledge can be.

On the far right of this panel is a curious shape.

It does not seem to fit with the rest of the design, both because it is one of the elements done in the darker red, and because it is a startlingly modern shape to our eyes.

This “exclamation mark” with the colored lower dot is a good summary for this site – it is indeed a place worth exclaiming about.

This element, with its thin, scraggly lines compared to the boldness of the rest of the panel, almost appears as if it was drawn in with a red crayon, but it, too, is painted delicately onto the smooth surface of this boulder.

 

This site has many features – the bold red lines tracing the contours of the ceiling, forming an encircled cross shape before winding to the entrance of the cave to accentuate the contours there, the vivid lines on the back panel, one of them delicately picked out in geometric shapes, the darker red “arrow” pointing down to the passage with a soft round head and a hash marked body, the small sun burst and little u shape, so unlike the rest of the red ochre-colored elements which are big and bold in shape – all of it very well preserved by the shelter locale chosen.

If you happen across this site, enjoy the unspoiled nature of it, but please do your part to preserve it. Do not touch or any of the pictographs – your skin leaves behind a damaging oil residue.