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PETROGLYPHS.US |
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Petroglyphs in the
north end of Death Valley |
| Petroglyph photographs in the Eastern Panamint Mountains, Death Valley, California. Click on any photo to enlarge. |
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This site was discovered by my friend, Dave Edgar, and I in December of 1985. We located the site by accident while searching for another nearby site. This extensive site was completely unknown to the Park Service at the time we reported it. There are few naturalistic or representational elements at this site. Almost all of the elements here are abstract in content, indicating that this site is probably very old. Most of the petroglyphs are designs familiar to the deserts of California, however; a few are worthy of additional comment. Next 11 photographs. Text and photographs by Geron Marcom. |
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| Petroglyph boulders on the western slope of the site. | This is a very unusual element. Very "bug-like" in design, it is unique. We have never seen another rock art element anywhere that looks like it. | ||
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| The above photos were taken of the same rock from different angles. I was reading The Rocks Begin to Speak by LeVan Martineau when we discovered this site and his book influenced my interpretation of the elements on this rock. We had discovered a large field of petroglyph boulders, and as I looked at this rock I was reminded of Martineau's theories about some rocks being maps. The shape and orientation of this rock was somewhat similar to the landscape surrounding us. If the centerline of this boulder was a ridge, we would be standing on the left slope. Since there were a lot of elements on the "right slope" of this boulder I figured there might be more rock art across the ridge. When we walked over we were happy to discover another field of petroglyphs boulders scattered down the right (western) slope. Whether it was dumb luck or proof of Martineau's theory we'll never know, but it was a great find! | |||
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| This rock ring includes three petroglyph boulders. | Bighorn sheep petroglyphs are rare at this site. Upper left, rotated clockwise 90°, feet towards the edge of the boulder. | ||
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| The petroglyphs on these two rocks are typical of petroglyphs found on boulders in the California Desert section of the Great Basin. Lines of connected circles, meandering lines, net like designs, joined parallel lines, and amorphic shapes make interpretation of these images difficult. | |||
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| Petroglyph with radiating straight lines, some of which fork near the end. | A heavily petroglyphed boulder at the site.. | ||
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©2005 All rights reserved. Reproduction, distribution or other use of images or text without permission from the artist is prohibited. |
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