Rock Art Vandalism
Comments and Examples  v.8/4/2005
 

By 
Donald R. Austin

Rock Art Vandalism

I never fail to be flabbergasted each time I come upon a rock art panel that has been vandalized, and unfortunately I come upon this situation more and more often. I use the word flabbergasted because I simply cannot fathom a mental process that would allow a person to commit an act of such senseless destruction against an inanimate work of prehistoric importance. It is not an act of revenge by someone who has been wronged, nor is it territory marking by an emerging group, or religious nullification by a new culture; but it can be accurately described as an irrational act of violence against our collective past by persons having no respect for others or for themselves.  

Much rock art was made for religious, ceremonial or magical purposes, not very different from the icons of the religions we practice today. I believe in a spiritual power greater than myself and as a result, treat all rock art with reverence and respect. Personally, I would not want to subject myself to misfortune or bad karma arising from my own poor attitude and disrespect towards an image held sacred by those who came before me.

Rock art was once protected by its remoteness and inaccessibility. Today, as civilization draws nearer, the rock art that once stood undisturbed for thousands of years is falling victim  to 'progress'. Several of these victims are shown below.

Raw material convenience

This petroglyph was incorporated into the construction of a Homesteader's construction project about seventy years ago. The boulder was either used to add aesthetics to the project or was seen as just another convenient rock to use.

Deliberate defiance

These letters were placed in the desert pavement along a fenced off section of an ancient Indian trail near Blythe, California.

Thoughtless indifference

This rock art panel in Joshua Tree, CA, was used as background for a 1960's science fiction movie.  When the film crew thought the petroglyph images didn't stand out enough for filming, they painted them.

Disrespect

For some reason unknown by the rest of us, it must have been very important to stencil paint right across this pictograph deer in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah.

Ritualistic desecration

Some petroglyphs are believed to be used by witches to cast spells. This Basketmaker image from Utah was obliterated in the hopes of counteracting and removing the spell.

Intentional destruction

This Temple Mountain, Utah pictograph is exfoliating from the bottom due to natural causes. The top has become a target for firearms.

Unintentional destruction

An attempt to make a cast of this Inscription Canyon, CA, bighorn sheep has left mold residue all over the petroglyph. Most people don't know how to do a rubbing or make a mold and there is no reason to do either since cameras have now been invented. 

Ignorance

Letters were deliberately carved into this Chumash pictograph on the Carrizo Plain.

Disregard

An attempt to 'add' to this archaic panel in Willow Wash, CA (center top), has caused a second person to erase the scratching done by the first, resulting in a irreversible scar.

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