Happy Fall Everyone!The cooler temps (and snow in Colorado's high country), mean it is time for us humans to get out in the canyons in search of Rock Art, while the bears are busy snacking on food to last them through the winter. One of my favorite past times is exploring the varnished canyon walls for signs that our ancestors left behind.
If you have never heard of Rock Art, I have a lot of information to share with you. Since I have been spending most of my free time working on the Colorado Rock Art Association (CRAA) Fall newsletter and volunteering as the President, I found it would be easier to blog about Rock Art than Antarctica tonight, so this is a stalling tactic to keep you all interested!
[9 Mile Canyon Bear Paw - Copyright 2007 Jan Gorski]
Petroglyphs (rock engravings) can be defined as pecked or incised images on rock, whereas pictographs (rock or cave paintings) are images painted (with natural pigments) on rock. There are numerous styles of rock art defined in publications based on the specific area in which they are located. Many avocational archaeologists, academians and authors have attempted to interpret what these images might describe, but all information is left up to the reader's curiosity to "believe" or "challenge" since we have little written knowledge on the subject. Search Amazon.com or your favorite library catalog for the plethora of books on rock art around the world.
Colorado has a number of interesting rock art sites throughout the state and you can find more out about CO rock art by visiting www.coloradorockart.org. Be sure to check out the September newsletter and let me know what you think. The annual CRAA meeting will be in LaJunta, CO. next May and promises to be a great time to learn more about our endangered treasures.
Utah, our neighbor to the West has a plentiful collection of rock art sites - many that are open to the public, such as Nine Mile Canyon near Price, UT. It is an outstanding gallery of the best artists from our past, and is in danger of being lost due to oil and gas drilling, that continues to increase in the canyon. The 9 Mile Canyon Coalition is a team of concerned enthusiasts trying to save the gems in this area and they have spent a great deal of effort getting 9 Mile Canyon on America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list.The Utah Rock Art Research Association is holding their annual symposium in Moab, UT. October 5-8th. The symposium is a great place to learn about the latest research in petroglyphs and pictographs, attend a workshop, or participate in field trips that visit these stories on stone. See www.utahrockart.org for more information.
I have written an article with more detail about Rock Art Resources which can be found on pages 7-11 of the URARA February 2007 newsletter.
[9 Mile Canyon Owl - Copyright 2007 Jan Gorski]
Happy Trails!
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4 comments:
Very cool blog --- I can't even begin to imagine how much time it took to put all that on there.
Keep it up.
Wow, Jan! This is an incredible blog!! Thanks for letting us know about it! We look forward to spending many hours enjoying your site. Great Job!!
Thanks everyone for the encouraging words. What a great way to share the world with my friends and people around the world I've never even met!
CJ
Jan,
You have done a nice job in creating your blog, and I look forward to following our travels. Thanks for being so considerate and sharing with your friends.
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