Plains Indian Rock Art (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book)
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: August 2001
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 332
ISBN-13: 9780295980942
Subjects: American history: pre-Columbian period, BCE to c 1500; Art of indigenous peoples; History of art: BCE to c 500 CE, ancient & classical world; History of art: pre-history; North American archaeology; Native American Archaeology; Native American Art; Art; Art & Art Instruction; Sociology; USA; American - Native American; History - Prehistoric & Primitive; United States - State & Local - General; Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies; Fine Arts; Antiquities; Great Plains; Indians of North America; Petroglyphs; Rock paintings
First sentence: For thousands of years, Northwestern Plains Indians carved and painted images on cliffs, rock outcrops, and boulders throughout the region-images with which Native people recorded their visions and chronicled their history.
Description: The region stretching from northern Colorado to southern Alberta and from the Rockies to the western Dakotas is the land of the Cheyenne and the Blackfeet, the Crow and the Sioux. Its grasslands and river valleys have nurtured human cultures for thousands of years. On cave walls, glacial boulders, and riverside cliffs, Native people recorded their ceremonies, vision quests, battles, and daily activities in the petroglyphs and pictographs they created on stone surfaces. Some sites were clearly intended for communal use; others clearly mark the occurrence of a private spiritual encounter. Elders often used rock art, such as complex depictions of hunting, to teach traditional knowledge and skills. Other sites document the medicine powers and brave deeds of famous warriors.