Petroglyphs and pictographs capture our imagination as history, communication, culture, and art are interwoven in captivating and mysterious images. These images can be striking or subdued, they tell stories and life-lessons to be passed from one generation to the other, and they hold strong symbolism and spiritualism values that are still significant today.
We were on our way from Yellowstone to Denver passing through Wyoming, and as always, we were on the lookout for interesting places to see along the way. The sign pointing to White Mountain Petroglyphs peaked our interest, so off we went. And by off, I mean off-road…
The road leading up to the site is what they call in Wyoming ‘an improved dirt road’. It was a bit rough, but passable. The Sweetwater County’s website indicated:
“This is a true “off the grid experience” cell service is limited! Make sure you have extra water, and a high-clearance, 4 wheel-drive vehicle with thick tires (and a spare tire) to traverse the dirt roads. Let someone know where you are headed and when you plan to return.”
There seems to be a shortcut that you can take from Rock Spring, but we went the long way as we didn’t know about it at the time. It does look a bit steep.
The site is on BLM land in the Red Desert in an area of mixed ownership as depicted by a checkered BLM map. We haven’t seen a soul the whole time we were there and it felt like we were miles away from civilization. There were no campers to be seen and we are not sure whether boondocking is possible.
It looked like we were lost, but we kept on driving and bumping along the dirt road until we arrived at a designated parking lot. The land feature is only a short walk from there.
We were not prepared for the richness of this site: about a dozen rock-face plates, crevices, and a single intriguing, standalone rock besides the cliff, all depicting dozens of highly visible and well-preserved carvings. It was both humbling and lifting and we spent some time wondering from one image to the other pondering about their meaning.
Petroglyph sites are highly spiritual and sacred to Native Americans and Native Canadian cultures, and this place is no different. It is sacred to the local Shoshone, Ute and Arapaho tribes who may still hold ceremonies in this place.
Some petroglyph sites are protected behind a barricade of some sort, or within a structure; protection needed both from the elements and modern tourists, but this site showed no visible damage from either one! We hesitated to share it on our blog, but we believe that our readers will be respectful to others’ heritage and beliefs.
These incised petroglyphs were carved into the sandstone by the ancestors of present Plains and Great Basin Native American People and archaeologists date them from about 200 years ago to about 1000 years ago.
Native American spiritual leaders believe these drawings were created for religious purposes and visitors are asked to view the petroglyphs with respect for their spiritual significance as they would when visiting a church.
One of the most compelling features on the site is the stand-alone rock that has mysterious grooves all around it.
These grooves are placed all around the rock.
They are etched deep into the sandstone and placed at different heights.
They seem to be the result of many generations placing their hands in these very spots and there is an immediate connection to the past once you place your hand on the grooves. We thought of those who placed their hands there before us and wondered about the function of these grooves…
We later found out that this is believed to be a birthing stone. The grooves may be the result of many women in labour holding on to the rock for support. Is this where the term “her rock” come from, we wondered?
Many of the carvings show animals within animals, which may reinforce the notion that this site was used for fertility and birthing rituals.
We will leave you with a few more of these panels. They depict animals such as elk, horse, and bison, some during s hunt. Yet other features such as teepees and human figures, some riding horses with full headdress on in what seem to be a battlefield.
You can click on the images for a larger view.
Each one tells a story. What do you see in these images?
BY THE NUMBERS:
- petroglyphs date: approximately 200-1000 years ago
- number of petroglyphs: 100s
- should have had: a 4X4
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That really is off the grid. And what a fascinating story behind the birthing stone!
It’s a fascinating place. I would really like to go back there and stay for a few days to explore it more!
What a special place! The sandstone is beautiful. Its remoteness obviously influences the number of people who go there. I’m impressed by how well preserved the petroglyphs and pictographs are. My compliments on the writing of this piece. Your first paragraph is especially well-expressed.
Aww, thank you so much! It is sometimes very useful to look at earlier writing to see if something may have been lost along the way…and, yes, this place is one of the most intriguing and interesting places we’ve been to! This early post had very few eyes on it and I love that I found an opportunity to share it with more people!
Ancient petroglyphs are also found in many parts of Australia. As are “Birthing” sites. There are many similarities between the aboriginal inhabitants of dispersed peoples. Is it just coincidence or are we just not aware of our early histories? I wonder!
Many “modern” societies chose to erase ancient practices for the sake of progress, or simply by cultural adaptation of new practices. At the same time, many cultural practices and technologies appeared in different parts of the world simultaneously and without any apparent contact between the two cultures. Of course, if you look back even deeper we all had the same origin. It’s amazing to me that some of these sites are so well preserved and were not erased completely.
We have recently had a case of a mining company blowing up a cave full of ancient writings. They see a lost his job and the share price has dropped
That’s such a shame. Australia seemed to be leading in protection of archaeological sites, but I guess some companies go out of their way to make a buck.