+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| ## COSO ROCK ART                  | ## Ar                             |
|                                   | cheology and Ethnography Program  |
| ## \<[http://www.cr.nps.gov/      |                                   |
| archeology/rockArt/](http://www.c | ## National Park Service          |
| r.nps.gov/archeology/rockArt/ )\> |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

**Coso Rock Art**

**coso rock art**

**ABOUT THIS SITE**

The Coso Rock Art District, a National Historic Landmark deep in the
U.S. Navy\'s testing station at China Lake, contains one of America\'s
most impressive petroglyph and archeology complexes. Coso rock art has
become famous for its stylized representational symbolic system, a
system that has intrigued---and baffled---archeologists and other
observers for decades.

The 20,000 images already documented surpass in number most other
concentrations, and the archeological resources are remarkably
undisturbed.

Recent research at this California desert District has begun to
illuminate the long history of the people here and the meanings they
inscribed in stone. These investigations underscore the value of
America\'s endangered cultural resources. [explore
\>\>](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cscene1.htm)

**setting the scene\
THE LANDSCAPE**

The Coso Rock Art District occupies a landscape of stark beauty. Formed
by titanic forces of colliding continental plates and upwelling molten
rock, and carved by rushing waters of glacial melt and eons of endless
rain, today\'s desert conditions seem almost preternaturally silent.

This is California\'s high desert where the northernmost stretches of
the Mojave meet the Great Basin. It is surrounded by the Coso Mountains
to the north, the Panamint Mountains to the east and the Sierra Nevada
to the west. The District itself sits at the southern edge of the Coso
range, among the foothills and tableland that step down a series of
basalt terraces southwest towards the dry bed of China Lake.

Canyons cut through the basalt formations give evidence of the wet
conditions that once prevailed here. As glaciers from the last ice age
retreated into the high Sierras, meltwater and constant rain blasted
through the volcanic rock to form streams, canyons, and river valleys.
Cut off from the ocean, inland lakes formed between the mountain ranges
and created a lush environment perfect for large mammals.

Broad savannas with willow and cottonwood-lined streams stretched away
from the marshy lakeshores. Oak and pine woodlands rose from the China
Lake basin up into the Sierras. This habitat supported horses, camels,
bison, sloth, and the carnivores that hunted them---saber-toothed tigers
and jackal-like dogs. more\>\>

In this mild climate, food was plentiful. The earliest people lived in
small villages along the lakes, taking game and collecting plant foods
with relative ease.

But the climate became progressively hotter and drier, forcing life to
adapt. Between 9,000 to 7,000 years ago, rapid drying led to the
extinction of most large mammals. Others, like pronghorn antelope and
desert longhorn sheep, endured until recent times.

Inyo mule deer still roam here, along with smaller mammals like rabbits,
coyote, and fox. Desert rodents, lizards, insects, and snakes survive in
abundance.

As the climate became more arid, desert plants or barren soils replaced
temperate vegetation. The landscape finally became among the driest in
the nation with an annual rainfall of only 4.5 inches. No permanent
water sources now exist in the District.

Today, the Coso District supports only desert and Great Basin plant
communities. No trees grow here, leaving only topographic diversity to
create the vast and dramatic vistas for which this area is known.

################################ Coso volcanism

Coso\'s volcanic nature is evident in such features as this [cinder
cone](javascript:void(0);), formed when ash and small bits of rock were
blasted from a vent in a fountain-like jet. Tephra, as the material is
known, piles up around the vent as it falls to the ground, leaving a
steep-sloped cone. Some cones at Coso are thought to be less than 500
years old.

The most active sign of the area\'s volcanism is the [Coso hot
springs](javascript:void(0);). Underground water is heated by molten
rock near the surface, producing wells of bubbling mud. Today, the Navy
uses this geothermal energy to produce electricity; however, it also
respects the traditions of local peoples and allows them to use the
springs for healing purposes.

################################ Fire mountains

The Coso (*Fire*) Range was formed of volcanic rock spewed from the
earth as shifting continental plates pulled apart the intermountain
landscape. This basaltic [lava flow](javascript:void(0);) is typical of
the process that created the stepped terraces of Coso as it flowed
across the landscape, producing a more or less flat surface eroding to a
sheer front. The resulting [rimrock walls](javascript:void(0);) give the
Coso Mountains their distinct appearance.

Other volcanic activity produced large deposits and scattered
outcroppings of high-quality [volcanic glass](javascript:void(0);).
Coso\'s obsidian was traded throughout California, and is found
archeologically as far away as the Pacific coast.

################################ Niche ecosystems

Despite the generally dry conditions in the Coso Mountains, the
terraces, canyons, and other landforms create a variety of niche
ecosystems, some of which collect water and become rich with life. These
niches help support a larger variety of seed-producing plants than on
the featureless desert floor. As the seasons progress, different plants
come to seed one after another, according to local conditions and
altitude.

**setting the scene\
THE PEOPLE**

No one really knows how or when people first came to Coso. Archeologists
believe people came across the Bering Straight during the last ice age.
Coso\'s Paiute Indians say they emerged from the very mud of the Coso
Hot Springs. In a manner of speaking, they may both be right. The
earliest Americans *were* likely related to ancient peoples of western
Asia. On the other hand, the basic factors that make the Coso Indians
who they are---their language, beliefs, arts, technologies, and
practices---formed partly in response to the demands of the unforgiving
Coso landscape.

Little is known about Coso\'s first inhabitants. When they came here is
not entirely clear, but tests show that some of Coso\'s rock art is at
least 12,000 years old. While archeologists remain skeptical that these
ancient artists were directly related to contemporary Indians, the
particular set of symbols and styles at Coso suggests a very long-lived
and continuous cultural connection.

Coso\'s paleoindians were few in number and moved constantly across what
was then a lush landscape in search of large game animals. Over time,
their population increased slightly, though never much beyond a small
number of family bands. With the decline in large game animals, people
began to rely less on hunting and gathered more plant foods. [more
\>\>](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cscene2.htm#%23) 

As a hunter-gatherer society, Coso\'s people never developed true
agriculture, nor did they ever adopt a true staple food source. Over
time, they learned to take full advantage of the scant resources
available. In fact, Coso Indians adopted unique practices involving food
sources that required significant extra work to be made edible. Some
archeologists describe Coso\'s people as being
hunter/gatherer-*processors*.

This reliance on processing marks Coso Indians as part of the widespread
Numic linguistic and cultural continuum. Numics, who spread out from
eastern California through Nevada and Utah and beyond, also shared a
distinct rock art tradition. In historical times, the local Indians
included the Coso or Panamint Shoshones and the Owens Lake Paiutes.
Other Numic peoples journeyed from the north and east to the Coso Rock
Art District to gather rainmaking power and to find relief in the
curative Coso Hot Springs.

When gold and other minerals were discovered in California, a handful of
Euro-Americans arrived to stake claims or start ranches. Occasional
skirmishes with Coso peoples led the U.S. Army to remove with force
nearly 900 Indians from the area in 1863. Many people never left, but
simply moved to local towns or took work on outlying ranches.
Descendents of the Coso Indians still live in the region today.

################################ Family life

Family was the central institution of Numic culture. This young family,
resting in a traditional frame-and-branch windbreak, was probably nearly
self-sufficient. They traveled lightly, carrying little more than
baskets, tools, and rabbit-fur cloaks. Because they ranged over long
distances in small groups, Numics rarely developed social hierarchies
beyond the extended family.

################################ Elders

Old people were especially valued by Numics. They possessed extensive
practical knowledge and social wisdom, and anchored village life.
Grandparents often functioned as primary caregivers and educators for
small children while parents and older siblings made seasonal working
expeditions.

Numic people put such great value on their elders that they sometimes
carried them for hundreds of miles to be cured of illness---and
occasionally buried---at the Coso Hot Springs.

################################ Working life

Shoshonean (or Numic) people held a distinct division between women\'s
and men\'s work. Here, boys practice shooting game while girls
demonstrate the use of mud-sealed, woven basket water jugs.

Men\'s work included hunting, trading, and tool making. Much of the
plant-related, processing-intensive work was done by women.

################################ The basket makers

Shoshonean women are famous for their beautiful baskets. In the past, a
variety of baskets were made for collecting, processing, and storing
food. They were even worn as hats against the fierce desert sun. Weaving
techniques were also used for fish traps and other useful items.
Originally a technology of supreme importance, Shoshone baskets later
became highly desired collectables. Decoration was a way of enhancing
and honoring the basket\'s spiritual attributes, an aesthetic applied to
all manufactured items.

################################ Community life

For Coso Indians, the pinyon-pine nut harvest was a busy, but joyful,
time of the year. Families and friends gathered from all over the area
to work and play together, sharing the burden of collecting and
processing this important food source. Since people rarely had time to
meet in large groups, the pine nut festival was an opportunity to visit
and exchange news. Women used the time to negotiate the elaborate
intricacies of arranging marriages.

[Men](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cscene2.htm#%23)
from neighboring groups traded, settled disputes, decided issues of
justice, and made plans for large-scaled, organized hunts. In lean
years, such councils often cleared the way to share territory for
harvesting and hunts.

**setting the scene\
ROCK ART**

Coso rock art is extraordinary for many reasons, but what first strikes
the eye is the number and concentration of images. In an otherwise
barren area only ten miles long by five to seven miles wide, thousands
of individual carvings lie atop and beside one another, covering entire
canyon walls and the surfaces of large outcroppings. The overall effect
underscores the incredible longevity of the local cultures.

A closer look reveals another remarkable fact: about half the carvings
depict bighorn sheep.

Once fairly common throughout the surrounding mountains, bighorn
populations crashed shortly after the adoption of the bow and arrow, a
probable casualty of climate-related stress and the efficiency of new
hunting techniques. Obviously, these increasingly rare beasts left a
durable impression in the minds of local peoples as that inscribed on
the rock.

Bighorns are not the only frequent feature of Coso rock art. Also
prevalent are anthropomorphic figures, some wildly dressed in elaborate
patterns and strange headgear, while others seem to be hunting or
dancing.

Sometimes entire panels are inscribed with elaborate geometric patterns.
Often, variations on the patterns occur within circular \"shields\" or
fringed \"medicine bags." More rarely, bighorns are decorated with
geometric shapes. more\>\>

Other animals represented on rock include rattlesnakes, lizards,
centipedes, dogs, mountain lions, and coyotes. Comb- or rake-shaped rain
symbols also figure prominently.

Almost all examples of Coso rock art are petroglyphs---figures and
designs pecked into the blackish desert varnish that accumulates on the
surface of volcanic rock. This was usually done using stone tools used
hammer-and-chisel style. Other types of petroglyphs at Coso include
small bowl or cup shapes ground into rock surfaces mortar-and-pestle
style, and grids or lines scratched lightly into the rock with a
handheld stone.

Archeologists only rarely find Coso pictographs, or designs painted onto
stone surfaces with natural pigments and fixatives. One such example is
Ayers Rock, which lies outside the District, and is thought to have been
made by Bob Rabbit, the last known Coso Shoshone rain shaman.

Likewise, only one example of a Coso geoglyph is known to exist. It was
fashioned by scraping clean the desert surface to the shape desired, and
then edging it with contrasting stone. The Coso geoglyph forms a large
shooting star.

################################ Is it art?

Undeniably, a rock art panel like this one demonstrates a sophisticated
visual aesthetic. To an artist, this panel could be a case study in the
principles of design. In fact, its craftsmanship is such that it could
easily fit into a contemporary piece of graphic art---like this Web
page!

But is it art?

Many Indians reject the term "art" and prefer to use "image" instead.
They recognize that to many westerners, "art" is a value-laden word that
has been misused to disparage these images. In the past, anthropologists
and other writers have described these works as being "child-like" or
"primitive," clearly offensive terms that are not only inaccurate, but
in fact miss the point of the images entirely.

Unlike some western art, rock art was not made for decoration, but for
both practical and religious purposes. Local Indians applied various
symbols to baskets, bows, and other manufactured items to acknowledge
and enhance spiritual aspects of the objects. In many cases, the beauty
and craftsmanship of these objects are apparent to anyone.

It is not unusual to find examples of rock art that are visually
stunning, while others seem less so. Differences may be the result of
various levels of ability and skill.

At any rate, rock art probably was never intended to be viewed as
exhibitions of artistic skill, but as records of spiritual events. The
fact that they do evoke a sense of the \"artistic\" in western viewers
says as much about Native American spiritual aesthetics as it does about
the cultural values we bring as viewers.

################################ Anthropomorphs

Second in prominence only to bighorn sheep, anthropomorphic creatures
cover Coso\'s basalt walls. Hovering high above the canyon floors or
slipping stealthily from cracks in the stone, the eerie beings seem to
beckon---or do they warn?

Scientists say that no two Coso anthropomorphs are alike. Adorned in
swirling or jagged patterns and elaborate headdresses, their variety and
numbers are staggering.

################################ Abstract designs

Rock art panels often feature abstract elements as individual designs or
as components of representative drawings. Abstract petroglyphs generally
fall into one of two types, [rectilinear](javascript:void(0);) or
[curvilinear](javascript:void(0);).

Other petroglyphs seem abstract, but because they recur and demonstrate
regularity of design, it becomes apparent that they actually represent
objects in the real world. [Rake-shaped designs](javascript:void(0);),
for example, eventually were recognized as a glyph for rain.

################################ Representational designs

Coso\'s petroglyph makers share with other Numics a unique
representational style, which, while not entirely realistic, depicts
animals and people in a recognizable form. Bighorn sheep are only the
most prominent example, but other animals abound. These include
[centipedes](javascript:void(0);), [lizards](javascript:void(0);),
[snakes](javascript:void(0);), [tortoises](javascript:void(0);), and
[coyotes](javascript:void(0);).

Rock artists also engraved pictures of people engaged in such activities
as group dances and hunts. Hunting scenes often feature [men with
dogs](javascript:void(0);).

################################ Non-petroglyph art

Coso\'s people also made painted pictographs. Few survive, since their
pigments weather quickly. One remaining example is [Ayers
Rock](javascript:void(0);). Even more rare are geoglyphs, or images made
by scraping clean the desert floor and bordering the design with
contrasting stone. This [shooting star](javascript:void(0);) is the only
know geoglyph in the District.

**Archeology\
SURVEYING SITES**

One thing that makes the Coso archeological complex special is that it
is exceptionally well-preserved. This is partly due to the remoteness of
the place and the dry, stable climate, but it is also the result of the
U.S. Navy\'s efforts to meet its obligations as a federal land
management agency.

All federal land-holding agencies are charged with protecting the
cultural resources under their care. As the protector of a National
Historic Landmark, the Navy faces the additional requirement that they
not allow their normal functions to affect the Coso petroglyphs in an
adverse way. Archeological discovery and analysis allows the Navy to
know just where the petroglyphs are and, consequently, how to plan their
exercises around them.

Since the early 1960s, archeologists have studied Coso with the aim of
determining the District\'s borders. One three-season survey in the late
1960s was thorough enough to identify the essential range of petroglyph
concentrations, resulting in preliminary borders for the District.

Archeologists walked along the bases of the volcanic terraces or down
through the canyons, locating and recording rock art. They also found
numerous intact village, camp, and work sites, each containing important
information about the lives and beliefs of the ancient Numic people.

Further surveys fleshed out the variety of petroglyph types, styles, and
locations. Likewise, newly-discovered work and occupation sites provided
fresh insights into how Coso culture changed---and remained
stable---over time. [more
\>\>](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Carch1.htm#%23)

 In the early 1990s, the Navy contracted a study that would help set
final borders for the Coso Rock Art District. Members of the
archeological team reviewed the earlier studies and were struck by the
prevalence of rock art sites on the volcanic areas of the landscape.
This insight led them to theorize that Coso people specifically sought
out volcanic \"canvas\" for their images.

To test their theory, they came up with a plan to verify sites from
previous studies, to find and examine new sites for a more complete
archeological picture, and to study the surrounding granitic landscape
to see how---or if---Coso\'s people put it to use.

The study confirmed that Coso Indians had an extraordinary interest in
local volcanic landforms; indeed, the granitic alluvial landscapes
seemed all but unused by comparison.

The newly-examined volcanic lands produced 17 new sites, each
representative of the various uses typical of Numic and pre-Numic
culture. Five were associated with petroglyphs.

Then archeologists looked at the surrounding granitic landforms, and
found significantly fewer new sites. Those they did find suggested
little more than occasional, short-term hunting and tool-making camps.
None were associated with petroglyphs. more\>\>

The results were so clear that very reasonable boundaries for the
District were drawn. The borders simply traced the intersection of
volcanic and granitic landforms.

The new archeology also showed that use of the southern Coso Range
intensified during the last couple thousand years, indicating that
people began to travel less *across* the landscape and more *up and
down* its vertical axis. Coso\'s people had so refined their botanical
knowledge that they could simply move from one altitude to another
depending on what resource was ready for harvesting.

The particular refinements apparent in these newer patterns are
consistent with those that archeologists cite as the hallmarks of the
so-called Numic Spread into the Great Basin.

Because signs of Numic development occur at Coso before or very early in
the Spread, some conclude that Numic culture formed here first and
expanded shortly thereafter. If further study supports this assessment,
it would be reasonable to think of the Coso area as the birthplace of
one of America\'s most long-lived indigenous cultures.

################################ Basalt vs granite

Archeologists have found that Coso\'s petroglyphs and occupation sites
are located almost exclusively in the volcanic basalt of the Coso
Mountains, rather than in the surrounding granitic landscape. But why?
According to Bob Higgins, NPS Chief Geologist:

Basaltic and granitic rocks look very different and presented clearly
distinct surfaces to prehistoric artists. The basaltic rocks are dark in
color (black and dark brown) and appear fine grained with a tough
surface. [Granite](javascript:void(0);) is generally lighter in color,
appearing gray or pinkish tan, and has a coarser textured surface.

Granite and basalt age or weather differently as well. Granite tends to
disintegrate over time by breaking apart into small pebbles or large
boulders while [basalt](javascript:void(0);) tends to wear away
smoothly. Perhaps ancient artisans were aware of this tendency and
therefore chose to leave their marks in places where they would remain
the longest.

Some have theorized that creators of rock art around the world prefer to
use rocks that produce a sharp contrast in color when chipped. Basalt,
unlike granite, has a desert patina that provides striking contrast when
scratched.

All of these ideas about the influence of rock characteristics are
conjectural and yet could have influenced the choice of canvas for Coso
rock art. An alternate and probable reason for the majority of images
being on basalt is simply that much more basalt is exposed at the
surface. Perhaps ancient artisans chose to work with the material that
was most readily available.

################################ Hunting sites

Most of Coso\'s petroglyphs are found near hunting sites. Here, an
archeologist works inside a hunting blind, a small, ring-shaped stone
wall big enough for a bowman to squat in as he waited for game to be
driven by. Coso hunters and their dogs flushed large game such as
bighorn sheep towards canyons or other narrow places where bowmen waited
in ambush.

Another prominent hunting feature also played a part in the ambush:
stone cairns built along the top of a ridge looked to panicked bighorns
like a line of humans. These so-called "dummy hunters" helped channel
quarry away from the heights, where the steep terrain slowed men and
dogs, but allowed the sure-footed sheep to escape.

################################ Stone rings

Stone rings mark the remains of stick-and-tule houses. These homes were
built with large branches as a framework for a covering of reed mats or
brush. Rocks secured the base of the house.

This ring sits on a playa floor, a place where brackish water
occasionally pooled. Any remaining runoff channels would have provided
access to much-needed seasonal water sources for people---and for
animals. A village site like this one may have been chosen for its
water, the useful plants that would grow nearby, and the birds and
mammals that would come to drink.

################################ Pinyon caches

Rock-filled stone rings are believed to be collapsed pinyon-pine cone
caches. Usually located near upland villages, pinyon caches stored
mounds of ripening cones for later processing.

Archeologists consider pinyon caches evidence for the development of a
foraging style marked by the intensive use of nearly every available
food source. For example, while other people may have gathered ripened
pinyon nuts that had fallen to the ground, Coso\'s Numics extended their
reach by using long hooks to pull greener cones from the tops of trees.

They also turned the pinyon nut harvest into a festival, with whole
villages gathering at upland sites. Everyone participated in the
activities, including kids, who climbed the lower limbs and picked cones
while adults hooked those up top. In ways like these Numic gathering
methods were more thorough, albeit more labor intensive.

################################ Milling slicks

Coso\'s people used stone manos and metates to grind hard seeds or to
pound fibrous roots into flour. Though foods such as small, hard seeds
required more work to gather and process, they also allowed for larger
populations, less travel, and more secure provision. Some archeologists
believe this gave Numic peoples an advantage over other hunters and
gatherers, and even over agriculturalists, as they moved into the Great
Basin.

**Archeology\
DATING ROCK ART**

*Hiking through the isolated canyon, its walls covered with bighorn
sheep, swirling patterns and otherworldly human figures, the
archeologist can\'t escape the sense that the images are speaking to
her. But what are they saying?*

This is a special problem for the archeology of rock art: understanding
images that cry out in a language no one remembers.

It is clearly a language, a system of communication. These are not
merely random images, nor is it certain that they record anything so
straightforward as actual events. Somehow, this select set of symbols is
infused with meanings so important that people for thousands of years
dedicated time and effort to their production.

Archeologists who worked on the 1960s surveys developed the chronology
of both the production of rock art as well as the order in which
different symbols were created. By associating symbols with sites that
could be dated, archeologists believed that most Coso rock art was
produced during the last few thousand years with a marked flurry of
production about one thousand years ago.

Over time, artists seemed to turn away from the production of curving
and rectangular abstracts and focused on representational forms. Men,
dogs, and particularly sheep, proliferated. more\>\>

Early images sometimes depicted men with bows and arrows, dogs, and
sheep in obvious hunting scenes. Over time, however, both the sheep and
the humans were pictured less often in \"scenes\" and became more and
more abstract and stylized. At the same time, production exploded.

Understanding the time frame for the production of Coso\'s rock art is
essential to understanding what it was that people were trying to
express. After years of analysis using a variety of techniques,
archeologists have proposed two theories to explain the phenomenon. One
centers on ecological change and the threat of dwindling resources. The
other probes into the Numic belief system and sees petroglyph production
as a broader expression of how Shoshonean peoples lived in the world.

Perhaps the two theories are not mutually exclusive: it is possible that
through time one set of meanings may have evolved into something
completely new.

################################ Lichenometry

Lichenometry looks at the growth of lichens to determine a minimum age.
Because each species of lichen grows at a specific rate, the relative
development of a lichen can indicate its age, and thus, the most recent
possible age for the petroglyph on which it is growing.

################################ Relative weathering

The degree of weathering one design exhibits compared to that of another
suggests a difference in age. Here, weathering has caused re-patination
of the large, complex anthropomorph, while the smaller, simpler ones
seem vivid and new.

To accurately correlate weathered images, however, they must have been
subjected to similar conditions. A panel protected by an overhang, for
instance, may show much less weathering than one made at the same time
but exposed to the sun and rain.

################################ Stylistic analysis

Stylistic analysis is used to determine the development of particular
styles of rock art. In the case of Coso bighorns, archeologists have
determined that so-called \"simple\" bighorns predate the more famous
boat-shaped sheep. Here, the simple sheep shows only hints of the
stylization of the boat-shaped sheep below.

################################ Superimposition analysis

Archeologists have found that certain patterns often overlay other
types. If one type is consistently superimposed upon another, the
underlying type would likely be older than the upper type.

Superimposition analysis can be complicated by factors such as the
artist\'s ideology: does the sheep cover the medicine bag simply because
of chronology and limited space, or might there have been a specific
reason to juxtapose the two patterns in this way?

################################ Historical analysis

Historical analysis looks for images of objects or events that occur at
well-known points in the past. A hunter with a bow, for instance, could
only have been drawn within the past 1,500 years, since that is when the
bow and arrow were adopted in California.

This type of analysis is complicated by the fact that older objects or
events may still be depicted for centuries afterwards. For instance,
images of atlatls could well post-date the introduction of the bow and
arrow, because that of the newer device might not have easily superceded
the richness of its symbolism.

################################ Inter-site patterning

Archeologists sometimes find that particular styles of rock art are
associated with sites of a certain age range, but never with sites of
any other. Such inter-site patterning is notable in the case of
scratched styles. Scratched rock art is almost exclusively found in
association with recent upland sites. In fact, other relative dating
results have led some archeologists to conclude that scratched art is
the most recent type.

################################ Geochemistry

Bob Higgins, NPS Chief Geologist

Geochemists have been instrumental in identifying what desert varnish
is, how rocks weather, how ancient artists\' paints have been preserved,
and how best to preserve rock art. Yet perhaps geologists' biggest
contribution to the study of rock art involves solving the mystery of
how old the images are.

While most archeologists have focused on the relative ages of the
artwork, geologists have worked to develop \"absolute\" age dating
methods. Absolute or chronometric age dating methods are based on the
principle that when a petroglyph is created it disturbs the rock surface
and a natural clock begins to tick. These dating techniques reveal the
time that has elapsed since the artwork was created. Absolute methods
produce a quantifiable date range during which the images were created.

All absolute methods of dating petroglyphs are highly complex, requiring
sophisticated laboratories and precise sampling techniques. As such they
are all considered experimental.

**finding meaning\
THE SHEEP CULT**

When archeologists came to Coso in the 1960s, they had little hope of
deciphering the meaning of the thousands of petroglyphs here. Stung by
outlandish claims of amateur rock art aficionados and faced with the
difficulty of teasing meaning from these mysterious symbols,
archeologists focused on discovering the extent of the main rock art
areas. They also found numerous well preserved work and habitation
sites.

Nonetheless, these astonishing petroglyphs intrigued archeologists, who
eventually began to debate possible interpretations.

Standard archeological theory held that rock art, a hallmark of hunting
and gathering societies the world over, was a form of sympathetic magic
meant to ease the capture of the hunted. Coso\'s
petroglyphs---especially those featuring bighorns and hunters---are
often situated close by hunting stations and stone corrals, supporting
the hunting magic theory.

The earliest hunting scenes predate the bow and arrow, and show hunters
with atlatls and spears. Later scenes depict men with the newer
technologies, and hunting dogs, too. Archeologists speculated that the
efficiency of the new techniques, combined with the increasingly drier
climate and the possible impact of grass-seed exploitation, may have
stressed the bighorn populations, resulting in their decline.

Faced with the decreasing supply of game, Coso\'s people tried hard to
rebuild sheep populations with magical practices associated with rock
art. Despite their best efforts, the sheep only dwindled further.

Fortunately, Coso\'s people found food supplies to survive. Their
increasing reliance on hard seeds and other processing-intensive
resources made the hunting of large game animals less and less
essential. Nevertheless, they continued to chip hunting scenes---and
bighorns---into the stone around them. With the effort to influence
sheep populations proving futile, the question becomes, why continue
making petroglyphs?

################################ More sheep than you can shake an atlatl at

More than half the petroglyphs at Coso depict bighorn sheep.
Archeologists have identified a number of different types of sheep
images that seem to have evolved to become more stylized and more
skillfully executed over time.

So-called \"[simple](javascript:void(0);)\" sheep generally appear in
groups, are relatively small, and may be the oldest of the sheep types.

\"[Segmented](javascript:void(0);)\" sheep begin to show the stylization
that becomes the hallmark of Coso bighorns. Interestingly, some
anthropomorphic petroglyphs are drawn with similarly segmented bodies.

Classic [boat-shaped bighorns](javascript:void(0);) are highly stylized
and often beautifully drawn. In a notable departure from earlier styles,
the heads of boat-shaped sheep are almost always turned toward the
viewer.

Some [boat-shaped](javascript:void(0);) sheep show further stylistic
refinement, including more accurate proportions, gracefully curving
lines, and a sense of activity that suggests dancing or flying.

[Giant bighorns](javascript:void(0);) can be much larger than life-size,
and are thought to be the most recently made. They often overlie such
designs as curvilinear and rectilinear abstracts, medicine bags,
shields, and even anthropomorphs.

Finally, many sheep exhibit such [mysterious
traits](javascript:void(0);) as protruding atlatl darts and human
features, in this case, human feet. These traits, along with more common
ones like exaggerated, erect tails, have led archeologists to suspect
that Shoshonean artists were actually depicting \"symbolic\" sheep,
rather than literal sheep.

################################ Hunting scenes

Hunting scenes were the primary evidence for the sheep cult theory. But
given the scarcity of sheep remains in archeological sites, it seems
that hunting sheep was less productive than might be expected. What was
behind the obsession?

Perhaps it was that sheep are notoriously difficult game to take. They
spend much of the year in very high, steep, and rocky areas that are
inhospitable to humans. Their sure-footedness allows them to easily
escape hunters. They have astonishingly acute eyesight, which helps them
to see and flee from predators long before the hunters see them.
Naturally, then, a hunter who takes a sheep with an atlatl and dart is
one with exceptional skill and luck.

Or maybe the hunting scenes were less literal than symbolic.

For example, the sheep at the center of this panel is remarkably
oversized and uncharacteristically turned to face his attackers. A
hunting dog is poised next to the hunter who shares sheep
characteristics---big horns. Numic hunters could not have worn such
heavy, cumbersome headgear while chasing their quarry.

On the other hand, Coso shamans could: shamans were known to wear
headdresses made of sheepskin and horns as they symbolically hunted
their spiritual prey.

**finding meaning\
THE SHAMAN'S ART**

The archeology of the 1960s raised awareness and interest in the
resources of the Coso Complex, leading to several more projects during
the following decades. By the 1990s, new evidence raised questions about
the 1960s\' \"bighorn cult\" theory.

For instance, one key piece of evidence archeologists expected to find
most prevalently was the remains of butchered bighorn sheep at
occupational sites and villages. They found the remains of other
ungulates---hoofed mammals---as well as those of smaller mammals and
birds. Such few sheep remains called into question their importance as a
major food resource. Clearly, something else was behind their symbolic
significance.

Other questions were raised by the unexplained prevalence of the
bizarrely arrayed anthropomorphic figures. Who were these creatures, and
in what way were they significant enough to appear in numbers second
only to bighorns? [more
\>\>](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cmean2.htm#%23)

During these decades, archeological theory also underwent significant
refinement. One important discovery was that petroglyphs worldwide
shared similar motifs, and were apparently visual records of shamanic
trances. Similar designs appeared at Coso, leading researchers to
theorize a similar purpose.

Researchers also recognized that Coso\'s petroglyphic symbols were the
same as those found throughout the Great Basin wherever Numic culture
thrived. By comparing the archeological, historical, and ethnographic
record at Coso with knowledge about other Numic peoples, a sharper image
of how Coso Indians lived---and what they believed---came into focus.

Coso\'s people, and the larger Numic culture, share a belief in a world
in which people, animals, and objects are alive and coexist with spirit
beings. In Numic thought, the lives of people in this world are
inextricably intertwined with the lives of "supernatural" spirits, and
people rely on the help of spirit powers to survive. In Numic belief, a
person cannot be fully human without having obtained spirit \"helpers\"
that guide, protect, and lend skills to a person throughout their lives.

Some people show a special ability to approach and acquire power from
spirits, accumulating numerous beings as helpers. Those with this power
usually became shamans, or people who go into the spirit world to find
ritual solutions to the problems of the day. Some shamans specialized in
curing disease, some acquired special hunting guidance, and others
sought to affect natural forces.

The spirit world is usually thought of as being underground, or
separated from our world by the barrier of the Earth\'s crust. Coso, in
this system, is an especially powerful place: the rawness of the
volcanic landscape seemed closer to creation; the \"thinness\" of the
crustal barrier meant that spirits passed between worlds with ease.
People lived near Coso with an attitude of awe, gratitude, and perhaps a
little fear: they lived and walked on very sacred ground.

################################ Coso shamanism

Coso shamanism was a very private ritual with very public results. Coso
shamans often lived alone at the periphery of their villages, and were
viewed with some fear by their group members, since their power could be
used for good and, potentially, for evil.

The ritual usually began with some stress-inducing activity, such as
several days of hunger, extreme exertion, or time in a sweat lodge. The
weakened shaman would retire with his apprentices to his medicine cache,
often a rock shelter or cave. There, he smoked or ate a powerful local
tobacco which rendered him unconscious and induced his trance, or
\"dream.\"

The \"dream\" generally began with the shaman encountering a spirit
animal who helped him enter the spirit world by finding a door-like
\"opening\" in the rock. Entering the door, he would find himself in a
tunnel, with a light at the end marking the entrance to the helper
spirit\'s chamber.

Once inside, [the shaman](javascript:void(0);) was invited to feast, and
then taken to another room filled with riches, symbolizing the powers
that could be given to him. After convincing the spirit to help him, he
and the spirit would \"merge," in effect [becoming
one](javascript:void(0);) with each other to share the power sought.
Most often, this involved securing the help of bighorn sheep spirits to
bring rain.

Regaining consciousness, the shaman was required to create a record of
the encounter; failure to record the dream accurately could ruin the
hoped-for magic. Rock art may be the result: a [tableau of
images](javascript:void(0);) recording centuries of shamans\' dreams,
each an expression of the desperate need for water in this
extraordinarily dry place.

################################ Reading rock art

What Coso Indians thought of in metaphysical terms, scientists seek to
explain in physical terms. The dream state bears a remarkable likeness
to properties of hallucinatory experiences. Coso rock art reads almost
like a textbook on the physical and mental sensations of hallucination.

In the earliest stages of hallucination, people experience rapidly
flashing, pulsating, and rotating lights, often described as grids,
dots, circles, loops, zigzags, and other geometric
[forms](javascript:void(0);). Scientists call these \"entoptics,\"
because they occur in the eye and optic system itself.

Next, the brain tries to make sense of the images by shaping them into
iconic forms. For example, a series of dots, lines, and grids may begin
to look like a [medicine pouch](javascript:void(0);). While the initial
entoptic images are the result of the eye\'s design, and thus, are
experienced the same by any person, the iconic images are the result of
culture. A person begins to see iconic forms that are important in his
own world: where one may see a medicine bag, another may see a
chessboard.

In the final stages, iconic imagery takes on a more \"real\" aspect: as
the brain struggles to interpret the imagery, the viewer senses that
what he sees is not \"like\" the object from life, but is the [actual
object](javascript:void(0);). Images often overlay entoptics, split into
component parts, join together in various ways, or become numerous
[copies](javascript:void(0);) of the same object.

################################ Anatomy of a shaman

Shamanic petroglyphs combine aspects of the ritual dream to demonstrate
the ability to enter the spirit world, merge and become one with the
spirits and objects that bring power, and return with those powers at
the shaman\'s service.

Images of shamans underscore the central idea that the shaman, his power
objects, the spirit helpers, and the ritual itself merge to become
inseparable.

Shamans wore headdresses made of bighorn sheep skin with horns and ears
intact, or made with the topknot feather from a quail (pictured here).
Petroglyphs also show shamans wearing \"arrow\" headdresses, though
these may have been symbolic of death, rather than drawings of actual
headdresses.

The hallucinatory experience is often described as a feeling of being
caught up in a whirlwind. This whirling effect is equated with flying, a
metaphor for leaving the everyday world for the spirit world. The result
is shaman imagery featuring a \"whirlwind\" head of swirling circles.

Shamans are often shown with a hunting device: a bow and arrow, or an
atlatl and dart, in this case. The shamanic trance was seen as a ritual
death, a dying to the everyday world. Likewise, the hunting and killing
of a bighorn was a metaphor for the \"merging\" of the shaman with the
sheep spirit, and his \"borrowing\" of the sheep spirit\'s power to
bring rain.

A medicine bag body is symbolic of the merging of the shaman and his
ritual objects. Through the shaman\'s trance, he becomes or contains the
power transferred to him by his spirit helper through the ritual
objects.

Bird feet are another symbol for the flying feeling that occurs during
the trance, marking the ability to leave the everyday world and enter
into the spirit world.

Other common symbols for transformation include hands and feet with
extra digits.

################################ Animal images

Coso petroglyph makers used a number of animals into their rock art.
Most were common, but not necessarily those that were most materially
important to people. For instance, archeologists have discovered
numerous sites with remains of butchered rabbits - a major food source -
but rabbits are not depicted in petroglyphs.

Instead, archeologists find images of such animals as snakes, lizards,
and centipedes. These animals make their homes in rocky places, and have
the uncanny ability to appear and disappear into and out of the rock.
For people who hold the rock sacred, and view it as the membrane between
our world and that of the spirits, it is natural to think of these
animals as potential messengers between worlds.

Likewise, each of these animals holds some perceived power of their
own---the power to inflict poisonous bites, replace lost limbs, or to
sting. This combination of power and elusiveness makes them potent
symbols for shamanic rituals, as well as a subtle reminder of the
shaman's power.

################################ Why bighorns?

The tens of thousands of sheep images at Coso indicate that people
viewed them as being supremely important to their lives and well-being.
Archeologists have found that sheep were never a major food source, but
were associated with rain. While the importance of rain to people living
on scant desert vegetation is self-evident, what is not clear is what
bighorn sheep have to do with it. There is no widely accepted theory
concerning the hunting of sheep and their association with rain, but
certain facts provide food for thought.

Bighorns exhibit many of the attributes associated with other animals
prominent in petroglyphs: they are clearly creatures of the rock; they
climb cliff-like slopes with amazing speed and sure-footedness; they can
leap dozens of feet from one ledge to another as small as two inches
wide. Their incredible agility seems positively magical, almost as
though they can fly.

The bighorns' brownish-gray coat blends perfectly into the rocky
background rendering them almost invisible. In fact, they are most
easily seen as they stand scanning for danger atop a ridgeline,
silhouetted against the sky. Bighorn sheep leave their high, rocky
environments for lower, more protected zones in the autumn. As they
gather in valleys and meadows, they form groups and begin the rut.

Males, of course, are famous for their extended, violent head-butting
contests; the loud report thundering off the rocky slopes can be heard
for miles. This is the season when people head up to similar heights to
gather pine nuts for the coming winter.

It is also the time of the year when the parching heat eases, and the
winter rains are not far behind. The seasonal association between sheep
and the essential rain may have added to the significance of the
bighorns.

**Protection\
U.S. NAVY'S CHINA LAKE**

With Navy jets soaring overhead and armed guards on patrol, security
measures at Coso give pause to those who would loot or deface these
invaluable petroglyphs. Unfortunately, other land management agencies
have neither the resources nor the staff power to provide such security,
especially for widespread, backcountry sites. Yet, it is the mission of
many of these agencies---including National Park Service---to provide
public access to cultural resources.

Petroglyphs and pictographs are part of our nation\'s cultural heritage
that cannot be removed to a museum or gallery. Viewing these images
where they were first created allows the viewer to appreciate them in
the best possible context. At the same time, it puts them at greater
risk for vandalism---the single most destructive force facing these
irreplaceable images.

Spray-painting graffiti, carving initials, and removal for collection or
sale robs everyone of an invaluable part of our country\'s rich cultural
heritage. Moreover, each of these acts is punishable by law, and some
vandals have received both hefty fines and prison sentences for the
wanton removal and/or destruction of these images. While we cannot
always prevent the deterioration caused by the forces of nature, we can
prevent the damage caused by human hands. [more
\>\>](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect1.htm#%23)

In an effort to protect the petroglyphs and archeological sites within
the Coso Rock Art District, the Navy carefully controls access. However,
one may see some of the wonders of China Lake by taking a tour that is
available through the Maturango Museum.

Along with other museums, the Bureau of Land Management, the California
Office of Historic Preservation, and the California Native American
Heritage Commission, the Maturango Museum participates in the California
Archaeological Site Stewardship Program. Local volunteers receive
training through this program so they can assist archeologists to
educate the public, discourage vandalism and looting, and preserve
sites. more\>\>

One of the most important things a volunteer does as a program
participant is provide a presence at a site. This seems to be a critical
factor in discouraging illicit activities that destroy sites. Volunteers
regularly monitor sites and then report on their condition to the field
archeologist in charge. They may also assist in other activities related
to the preservation, protection, and public enjoyment of archeological
sites, such as site stabilization or trail maintenance.

Site Steward Programs are considered one of the most effective tools for
helping archeologists manage rock art sites and other archeological
resources. As a result, these programs have taken off in a number of
states.

################################ Eyes in the sky

Archeologists working at Coso have found an invaluable partner in the
U.S. Navy. During the recent 1990s studies, the Navy provided
researchers, expertise, and equipment to help archeologists test their
theory that rock art was concentrated in basaltic areas.

Flying in Navy helicopters, Navy geologists helped archeologists trace
the granite-basalt frontier. As they worked, archeologists noticed that
some petroglyphs were clearly visible from the air, leading them to find
numerous new petroglyph panels unnoticed from the ground.

The flights and the expertise helped make the survey process much more
efficient, leading to more thorough coverage and revealing entirely new
features. One discovery was the shooting star geoglyph, which had never
been recorded until a helicopter overflight.

################################ Public outreach

The Navy makes security a top priority, and the result is extraordinary
protection for Coso\'s petroglyphs. But it is also part of the Navy\'s
mission to provide regulated public access to these cultural resources.

To meet the challenge, the Navy has formed a partnership with the local
Maturango Museum to train petroglyph interpreters who lead daylong
excursions to Little Petroglyph Canyon, one of Coso\'s most remarkable
concentrations of rock art. Here, a group of visitors rest and look for
petroglyphs before their return hike back up the canyon.

################################ Traditional users

Local Indians were forcefully removed from the area over a century ago,
but many still live nearby. Because the Navy has an obligation to them
as traditional users of the area, they periodically make arrangements
with local Indians who seek access to the Coso Hot Springs for healing
purposes.

Pictured here are the remains of a wooden sweat lodge used by local
Paiutes for curing rituals.

**Protection\
PETROGLYPH NATIONAL MONUMENT**

Sometimes public involvement becomes the only source of protection for
archeological and other cultural resources. Take, for instance, the case
of New Mexico's Petroglyph National Monument.

Petroglyph NM was created in 1990 to preserve both urban greenspace and
an invaluable collection of Puebloan rock images. Today, the park faces
the threat of increased pollution and easier access for vandals and
looters resulting from two highways that are planned to be routed
through it.

Alarmed at the prospect of heavy construction blasting through a canyon
covered with irreplaceable petroglyphs sacred to some twenty tribes,
park employees and local Native groups raised objections to the plan.
Citizen groups organized resistance to the project, with some success.

Nevertheless, the issue is far from settled. And like Albuquerque, other
cities and towns face the same sorts of pressures: managing growth and
transportation needs that may be at odds with the protection of natural
and cultural resources.

Federal land management agencies remain committed to---and challenged
by---the need to preserve the nation\'s cultural resources. Ultimately,
however, it is up to all of us to preserve and protect our shared past. 

################################ Public space, sacred place

For some, Petroglyph NM is a world-class tourist destination, for
others; it is a neighborhood park. Some come to study its resources; for
some it is an obstacle to development. For still others, it is a sacred
place and a living monument to their history.

Like the Coso Rock Art District, Petroglyph NM sits on a stunning
[volcanic landscape](javascript:void(0);) with a [steep
escarpment](javascript:void(0);) covered by thousands of petroglyphs.
Some images seem strangely familiar, and not completely unlike those at
Coso. Others are unique to this place and convey a sense of its own
history.

Click the links to view some of Petroglyph NM\'s images.

-   [speared
    deer](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [birds, rodents, human
    hands](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [bird with
    antlers](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [hummingbird and
    axe](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [macaw](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [mysterious
    quadruped](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [snake and
    bird](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [spanish
    brands](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

-   [spiral](../../../../../../../../F:%5CPROGRAMS%5CRIM%5CWWW%5CAEP-WEB%5Credesign3%5CrockArt%5Cprotect2.htm#%23)

################################  Recording the past

Just as area residents have rallied to safeguard the integrity of
Petroglyph NM, so have they volunteered to help the park manage its
spectacular cultural resources. The first step in this effort was to
find and record the petroglyphs.

Armed with cameras, global positioning systems, and drawing supplies, a
dozen or so members of the Volunteer Petroglyph Inventory Crew worked
for the last decade to locate, map, and record the individual images and
their condition. With an average age of 70, the volunteers brought a
host of experience, skills, and insight to the project, eventually
recording nearly 30,000 images. Their labor of love gives the Park
Service invaluable information to help protect and preserve the park's
petroglyphs.

################################ Spirit and stone

For Albuquerque\'s Native population, Petroglyph NM is a revered and
sacred place. Protection of the site is their paramount concern.

Puebloan spokespersons help frame the issue by pointing out that
Petroglyph is akin to a large and ancient cathedral. They ask simply
that their religious places be given the same consideration accorded
those of other faiths.

Likewise, local Indians advise park personnel on how to interpret and
treat the images respectfully. The Park Service, in turn, uses their
insights to educate the broader public.

Places like Petroglyph National Monument and the Coso Rock Art District
are valuable not only because they help us understand particular
chapters in human history, but because they speak to broader themes that
connect us all, written here in spirit and stone.

**GLOSSARY**

Absolute dating -- a technique for pinpointing the date of a site as by
day, year, century or millennia

Anthropomorph -- a figure with humanlike characteristics

Atlatl -- a spear throwing device

Desert patina -- a coating of manganese or iron oxides that develops
over time on rock due to weather and microbial action

Desert varnish -- the coating on rock that accumulates over time and
into which the Coso peoples inscribe their glyphs

Geoglyph -- drawing using geological formations

National Historical Landmark -- nationally significant place designated
for special protection by the Secretary of the Interior

Numic - North American language group that includes Shoshone and Paiute
peoples in Nevada, Utah, and portions of California, Oregon, Idaho,
Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma

Paleoindian -- a term applied to the earliest Native American peoples of
North America, who arrived on the continent at least 14,000 years ago

Petroglyph -- a carving or inscription on a rock face

Pictograph -- a drawing or painting on a rock face

Relative dating -- a technique for establishing the age of a site and
its features in relation to other sites or features

Shaman -- a human spiritual guide to a cultural group

Shoshone -- a Native American tribe consisting of several bands who
lived throughout the western continent, particularly California, Utah,
Oregon and Wyoming

Shoshonean - a term that refers to Numic culture. Shoshones, Paiutes,
and related Numic peoples share numerous distinct cultural attributes

**ADDITIONAL READING**

**Primary Sources**

Gilreath, Amy J.

1997 *Cultural Resources Inventory in Support of the Coso Rock Art
District/Landmark Boundary Study, Vols. I and II.* Far Western
Anthropological Research Group, Inc. Submitted to Engineering Field
Activity, West Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

Gilreath, Amy J.\
1998 *Coso Rock Art District National Historic Landmark Nomination.* On
file. National Park Service, National Center for Cultural Resources,
National Historic Landmark Program, Washington, DC.

Whitley, David S.\
2000 *The Art of the Shaman: Rock Art of California*. The University of
Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

**Kids\
\
**Arnold, Caroline\
1996 *Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans*. Clarion
Books, New York.

Focuses on rock art found in California's Coso Mountains. Offers basic
explanations of rock art terms and methods. Grades 4-7.

Dewey, Jennifer Owens\
1996 *Stories on Stone: Rock Art, Images from the Ancient Ones, Vol. 1*.
Little Brown, Boston.

A book on rock art for young readers. Ages 6-10.

**General**

Austin, Mary\
1903 *The Land of Little Rain*. Illustrated by E. Boyd Smith. Houghton,
Mifflin and Company, Boston.\
[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/AusRain.html]{.underline}

Beckman, Tad\
1996 *Indians of the Great Basin*. Harvey Mudd College, Claremont,
California.\
<http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/basin/gb-title.htm>

Bettinger, Robert L.\
2002 Cultural, Human, and Historical Ecology in the Great Basin: Fifty
Years of Ideas About Ten Thousand Years of Prehistory. In *Advances in
Historical Ecology,* Edited by William L. Balée. Columbia University
Press.\
<http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:RTTdzZj4OPsJ:www.earthscape.org/r3/ES14449/balee_ch8.pdf+numic+prenumic&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>

Bettinger, Robert L.\
2002 *Why Corn Never Came to California.* Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe,
New Mexico.\
<http://www.santafe.edu/files/gems/coevolutionV/bettinger.pdf>

Bureau of Land Management, California State Office\
2000 *Rock Art of Native California: A Guide to Rock Art Sites on Bureau
of Land Management Lands in California: A Visitor's Guide*. Sacramento,
California.

Key, John W.\
1979 *The Owens Valley Indian War 1861-1865*. Submitted to the Faculty
of U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas\
<http://www.militarymuseum.org/OwensValley.html>

Carr, Suzanne\
1995 *Exquisitely Simple or Incredibly Complex: The Theory of Entoptic
Phenomena*. M.A. Dissertation, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.\
<http://www.oubliette.org.uk/dissind.html>

Mojave Desert National Preserve\
1998 *Relationships of Native American Cultures to the Death Valley
Area*. Draft Environmental Impact Statement and General Management Plan.
Mojave Desert National Preserve, National Park Service.\
<http://www.nps.gov/moja/devaplan/affntv.htm>

O'Brien, Karen and Robin White\
1997 *Petroglyph National Monument Teacher's Guide*. Southwest Parks and
Monuments Association, Tucson, Arizona.

Schaafsma, Polly\
1992 *Rock Art in New Mexico*. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, New
Mexico.

Van Tilburg, Jo Anne (Editor)\
1992 *Ancient Images on Stone: Rock Art of the Californians*. Rock Art
Archive, Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los
Angeles.

Whitley, David S.\
1996 *Guide to Rock Art Sites: Southern California and Southern Nevada*.
Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana.

Whitley, David S. (Editor)\
2001 *Handbook of Rock Art Research*. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek,
California.