Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons
Encyclopedia
Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons are two principal landforms within which are found major accumulations of Paleo-Indian and/or Native American
Petroglyphs, or rock art
, by the Coso People
located in the Coso Range
Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert
, and now within the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
, near the towns of China Lake and Ridgecrest, California
. Little Petroglyph Canyon contains 20,000 documented images, which surpasses in number for most other collections. Additionally, the archeological resources are remarkably undisturbed.
In addition to the extant petroglyph rock art, the Coso People carried out extensive working of obsidian
tools and other 'manufacturing.' There is considerable archaeological evidence substantiating trade of these products between the Coso People and other Indigenous peoples of the Americas
and Native American
tribes. For example, distant trade with the southern Californian Pacific coast Chumash People is confirmed by archaeological recovery from California sites in San Luis Obispo County, California
and other coastal indigenous peoples' sites.
Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons are situated on property of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station
. The two canyons are a designated U.S. National Historic Landmark
. In 2001, they were incorporated into a larger National Historic Landmark District, called the Coso Rock Art District
.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Petroglyphs, or rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
, by the Coso People
Coso People
The Coso people are an indigenous people of the Americas and Native American tribe associated with the Coso Range in the Mojave Desert of California in the southwestern U.S.. They are of the Uto-Aztecan language and spoke one of several Numic languages, related to that of the Northern Paiute.They...
located in the Coso Range
Coso Range
The Coso Range of eastern California is located immediately south of Owens Lake , east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and west of the Argus Range. The southern part of the range lies in the restricted Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake...
Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, and now within the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...
, near the towns of China Lake and Ridgecrest, California
Ridgecrest, California
Ridgecrest, formerly known as Crumville, was incorporated as a city in 1913. It is located in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, California, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake . Ridgecrest is the only incorporated city along US 395 in Kern County...
. Little Petroglyph Canyon contains 20,000 documented images, which surpasses in number for most other collections. Additionally, the archeological resources are remarkably undisturbed.
History
The Coso Petroglyphs have been subject to various interpretations as to their meaning and function. One perspective argues that the drawings are metaphoric images correlated with individual shamanic vision quests. Alternatively it has been argued that they are part of a hunting religion that included increase rites and were associated with a sheep cult ceremonial complex.In addition to the extant petroglyph rock art, the Coso People carried out extensive working of obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
tools and other 'manufacturing.' There is considerable archaeological evidence substantiating trade of these products between the Coso People and other Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes. For example, distant trade with the southern Californian Pacific coast Chumash People is confirmed by archaeological recovery from California sites in San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County, California
San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
and other coastal indigenous peoples' sites.
Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons are situated on property of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...
. The two canyons are a designated U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. In 2001, they were incorporated into a larger National Historic Landmark District, called the Coso Rock Art District
Coso Rock Art District
Coso Rock Art District, containing the Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons, is a rock art site containing over 20,000 of Paleo-Indian and/or Native American Petroglyphs The Coso Range is between the Sierra Nevada and the Argus Range. Indian Wells Valley lies to the south of this location...
.
See also
- Paleo-Indians
- MesoamericaMesoamericaMesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
- Native Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
- Population history of American indigenous peoplesPopulation history of American indigenous peoplesThe population figures for Indigenous peoples in the Americas before the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus have proven difficult to establish and rely on archaeological data and written records from European settlers...
Petroglyphs Tour Info
-
- Note: only U.S. citizens are allowed on the tours, and advance reservation is required.
- Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest, CA 93555; (760) 375-6900, http://www.maturango.org http://www.maturango.org.
- Naval Air Weapons Station, (760) 939-1683, NAWS China Lake - Petroglyph Tours
- Rock Art 101, rock art training seminars http://www.rockart101.com
- Note: only U.S. citizens are allowed on the tours, and advance reservation is required.
Resources
- Caroline Arnold and Richard Hewett. 1996. Stories in stone: rock art pictures by early Americans, 48 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 0395720923, 9780395720929
- C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Morro Creek, ed. by A. Burnham http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18502
- Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle and Hero Rensch. 2002. Historic spots in California, 661 pp, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0804744823, 9780804744829
- Alan P. Garfinkel. 2006. Paradigm Shifts, Rock Art Studies, and the 'Coso Sheep Cult' of Eastern California. North American Archaeologist 27(3):203-244. http://www.petroglyphs.us/article_coso_sheep_cult.htm
- Alan P. Garfinkel. 2007. Archaeology and Rock Art of the Eastern Sierra and Great Basin Frontier, Maturango Museum Publication 22, Ridgecrest, California.
- Alan P.Garfinkel,Donald R. Austin, David Earle, and Harold Williams. 2009. Myth, Ritual and Rock Art: Coso Decorated Animal-Humans and the Animal Master. Rock Art Research 26(2):179-197. The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) and of the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO). http://www.petroglyphs.us/article_myth_ritual_and_rock_art.htm
- Alan P. Garfinkel, David A. Young, and Robert M. Yohe, II. 2010. Bighorn Hunting, Resource Depression, and Rock Art in the Coso Range of Eastern California: A Computer Simulation Model. Journal of Archaeological Science 37:42-51. http://westinstenv.org/histwl/2009/12/15/bighorn-hunting-resource-depression-and-rock-art-in-the-coso-range-eastern-california-a-computer-simulation-model/
External links
- Official Maturango Museum website: Information + tours.
- Maturango Museum: photos
- Archeology Program: Coso Rock Art, at National Park Service
- Dating Coso Projectile Points
- Coso Rock Art and the Coso Bighorn Sheep Cult
- Visiting the Coso Petroglyphs at Naval Air Weapons Station China LakeNaval Air Weapons Station China Lake- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...