How do I find sites? A question with many answers! Sometimes, we are simply out exploring and we stumble on a site we had no inkling of until we happened across it. Sometimes, it is a well-known site that we visit because we’ve heard of it. And sometimes, I hear a rumor and we set out to see what we can find.
This site was one of those “heard a rumor” sites. But even worse, it was one of those “multiple visits to the area and still nothing” sites! One warm spring morning, armed with newfound knowledge and determination, we set out to our target location to look at every boulder from every angle, because it had to be somewhere.
I led the way and we fought our way down a overgrown wash towards the pile of boulders we wanted to investigate. As I got side-tracked into a dead end my companion passed me and ducked in under a large boulder. This was the entrance to the boulder pile, a cave-like opening leading to more scrambling and wriggling deep in the pile. We were both resigned to a extended scramble, peering into every nook and cranny.
Barely had my companion gone out of sight than he shouted: “Found it!”
Found it?? What? Where? How?! I’ve been in that cave at least two times before when we poked around this area, maybe even three! Did he go around the back side of a boulder, maybe?
I squirmed my way through the vegetation and found him in the cave. “There it is!” he said.
I looked all about. “Where? Where?” I still didn’t see anything.
“Right there!” he said, pointing at the ground.
The ground right under a low-slung, well-hidden alcove, that is.
Well, gosh darnit, I had walked right past the site multiple times in the past! I sat down on the smooth bedrock forming the floor of the cave, staring at the pictograph. It is a pretty big pictograph, over two feet tall. Quite a thing for me to have missed so many times, though in my defense, it is pretty well-hidden!
Bafflement gave way to excitement and I shrugged out of my long-sleeved desert overshirt, worn as protection against the blazing sun. The boulder cave was still nice and cool, with a slight breeze as the pile of boulders acted like a chimney. A very inviting place.
We got the cameras out, and as I turned the first camera on ( I always carry two camera bodies and multiple lenses ) I laid back on the smooth bedrock, looking up at the sky through the gaps between the boulders overhead. What a time to be alive and walking in the desert. I was grateful for everything – the opportunity to be in the desert, the lightening strike ( so it seemed to me ) of finding this elusive pictograph in literally the first place we looked today, the fact that my companion is more observant than I am!
After taking a picture or two of the view straight overhead I flipped on my side, ready to get down low and photograph the site. It was still early in the day and this felt like a good omen. We were also planning on further exploring another remote area today – an area where we had put in many miles on foot a few weeks before and came away with absolutely nothing to show – and it felt like maybe today was the day the desert would freely share its secrets with us two wanderers.
The view of the boulders straight overhead.
I often take these kind of pictures, though I don’t often show them … they’re just a reminder of how quiet and peaceful and eternal the desert is, going about its glacial business while we humans scurry around busily. But whenever I look around and see strands of cobwebs like this I’m reminded that the earth hosts a whole bunch of life that cares nothing about what humans do.
From a distance the overhang looks inviting, but the site itself is pretty well-hidden.
You have a chance to see it when you’re just ducking in under the rock, but you’re probably looking deeper into the cave, not right by your feet.
Do you see it yet?
There it is! I had to lay down and scoot in under the overhang a bit to get this shot. The pictographs are all in black, and the upper portions are very worn, which makes it hard to see from a distance. The large anthropomorph ( or maybe zoomorph ) on the right is still pretty visible, though.
I had to squirm around a little more to get a nice square on shot. Apart from the large black figure, there are also some smaller, faded figures on the left. I wonder what this pictograph depicts.
With DStretch the hidden details pop out. The figure has five digits on each appendage. There is something vaguely bear-like about it … if this is a bear, it could be here as a spirit animal, guide, or as a part of a creation story. ( Bears feature in the creation stories of more than one tribe. ) To the left of the big figure a few smaller figures crowd around close to it. There is a black burst element by the figure’s foot, and the other elements look like more rudimentary anthropomorphs. The vibrance of this panel makes me wonder if this depicts a creation myth?
A different view of the panel. The symbol just above and to the left of the burst looks like a circle with a squiggle tail – similar to the mapping symbol for a spring.
These figures are very faded. This is a close look at the smaller anthropomorphic figure. The pigment was probably made from charcoal for the black color, bound with a binding agent like fat, blood, or plant sap. Sometimes, water was used, which would probably mean the pigment wore off faster.
With DStretch it appears that both feet are digitate / bifurcated ( a word I never get to use in everyday conversation ). The upper anthropomorph almost look like it is flying upward. It does look like that other element is indeed a circle and a squiggle line.
On the bedrock there is this one very small indentation. Cupule? Beginning of a tiny mortar hole? Hard to say. It doesn’t look natural, but its sides are also quite rough. Usually grinding holes are smoother.
One last took back at the site. What a nice find this was.
If you find this site steer clear of the fading pictographs. They are very faint now but they can still be seen clearly with DStretch, so respect them and leave them be for others to find and enjoy.