Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel on the San Rafael Swell Those of you who have been following the Ancient Art Archive's work are familiar with our efforts to document Barrier Canyon Style (BCS) artworks. BCS is one of North America's most enigmatic and evocative styles. It is known, primarily from the San Rafael Swell of Central Utah. In general conservation news has been bad in Utah for the past few years. Both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monuments were significantly reduced. However, last month a mammoth public lands bill passed both the House and Senate that will increase protections on many National Lands. Among many other things the bill adds 660,000 acres of wilderness designation to Emery County Utah, home of much of the San Rafael Swell. You can read more here. The Rochester Rock Art Panel in Emery County Utah
The Procession Panel, San Juan County Utah The Ancient Art Archive is in Utah all week scouting locations to record in the Bears Ears. For those that don't know, the Bears Ears is one of the United States newest National Monuments. Its 1.3 million acres represent some of the most inaccessible landscape in the lower 48 states. It is also a cultural treasure. There are over 100,000 archeological sites in the Monument and tens of thousands of pictographs and petroglyphs. It's a remarkable place. Thanks to everyone who has helped us get into the field this spring. Your support is vital.
Rochester Rock Art Panel Panel, Utah by Ancient Art Archive on Sketchfab Located on a prominent spit of land above Muddy Creek and a side canyon, the Rochester Rock art panel is an extremely complex site. It incorporates images from the Fremont culture to historic times so the art varies in age from 2,000 years old to modern. The panel sees a lot of visitation and hence there has been a lot of damage over the years.
A horned anthropomorphic petroglyph with rainbows enhanced with D-Stretch. Barrier Canyon Style Pictographs, Emery County Utah Within this faded group of Barrier Canyon Style pictograph is the Double Rainbow man. The figure is somewhat faded so I have run D-Stretch to bring it then recombined it with the original image to make the figure above. (more…)
A detailed view of the High Gallery of Horseshoe Canyon, Wayne County Utah. High Gallery of Horseshoe Canyon, Wayne County, Utah Recorded August 2016 This is the first gallery in The Horseshoe (Barrier) Canyon section of Canyonlands National Park. It is on the East wall of the canyon far above the canyon floor. It has well-preserved anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures in classic Barrier Canyon Style. Besides the pictographs there are also a number of petroglyphs faintly visible within the panel. BCS style art is thought to be about 4,000 years BP. There is a longer discussion of the age of the art on the NPS Horseshoe canyon page (here). To see the panel in greater context of the canyon look at this image
