Petroglyphs at China Lake, CA
Petroglyphs, or pecked images in rock, of the Native Americans in CA
Petroglyphs are images pecked into large boulders by the use of rocks and hammer stones. These images were left by the shamans after their spiritual vision quests.
The Native Americans had several ways of communicating to one another, their ancestors, or the spirit world. One way of leaving evidence of a spiritual nature was to peck designs into rock. These pictures, or petroglyphs, were made by using a strong rock and a hammer stone. By chipping the larger boulder’s outer layer away, the lighter surface underneath was revealed, leaving the distinct impression of the design. While weathering generally erodes away some of the design and small particles of wind borne sand can collect onto the surface, this method is nonetheless very effective for the long term.
There are numerous locations throughout the United States where petroglyphs have been found, but one of the largest collections can be found at China Lake, California. China Lake is actually a naval base, but visitors can obtain permission for a tour. With the advent of new technologies, the petroglyphs have been estimated to be about 16,000 years old all the way up to several hundred years old. There were three main Indian tribes in the area; the Shoshone, Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute. In the China Lake or Coso Mountain area of eastern California, the Shoshones were more prevalent, but the other tribes had lived in the area off and on also.
Through records and accounts, it has been determined that the people most likely to have made the petroglyphs were the shamans, or the spiritual ‘medicine men’ of the tribe. These men would seek knowledge or advice by sequestering themselves and going into a self-induced trance or meditation. This was known as a vision quest. After the vision quest, they would leave a petroglyph of the spirit guide or their vision. In the Coso Mountains, there are a lot of petroglyphs of big horn sheep. The big horn sheep was a very important and highly thought of animal to the Native Americans. The sheep was believed to bring rain and was therefore a spirit guide to the rain-shaman.
It’s thought that shamans traveled to the China Lake region from as far away as Utah to go on their vision quest. From the sheer amount of petroglyphs in the Oso Mountains, it’s obvious that the area was favored for a long time. In addition to the big horn sheep, there are depictions of other objects that can be used to determine the approximate time they were drawn. For instance, the atlatl, or throwing platform, was used before the bow and arrow was introduced and horses were brought to North America about 1,500 years ago. Some of the pictures, although stylized, might be of extinct animals like the mammoth. This would date those petroglyphs to a time before the extinctions.
With care and protection, these wonderful examples of Native American art and spirituality can be preserved for years to come, and with research and study, their meanings might be clearer. Archaeologists may never be able to find the exact meanings of the depictions, but at least they can be enjoyed as works of art in the mean time.
