Multiple interpretations have been proposed for the context in which rock art is made around the world. These interpretations include shamanism, hunting magic, documenting important events, astronomy, doodling and areas of aggregation. Petroglyph sites in the Owyhee uplands have been examined, but would they fit any of these interpretations?
There is very little evidence that petroglyphs in the Owyhee uplands were related to shamanistic activities. Shamanistic activities tend to occur at special locations, some of which are isolated or relatively inaccessible. Petroglyphs in the Owyhee Uplands are not in isolated or less accessible locations. Rather, the petroglyph sites show use similar to other settlement and resource procurement sites. This makes the practice of shamanism at petroglyph sites unlikely in the Owyhee upland. However, if shamanism occurred at all three types of site locations in the course of regular activities it is a possibility.
As part of the settlement system in the Owyhee Uplands, the mesa top petroglyph sites are found at locations which could be used for hunting, but this does not imply that the petroglyphs were made as hunting magic. It would be expected that hunting magic would involve depiction of the animals to be hunted. The depictions might be of live animals, dead animals or the hunter. However in the Owyhee Uplands relatively few of the petroglyphs represent animals or humans. It is unlikely that petroglyphs were specifically related to hunting magic.
The interpretation of rock art, which says it can document important events, is based upon a panel of rock art telling a story. Where event documentation has been recorded, there are repeated symbols that individuals other than the artist could understand. In the Owyhee uplands there is little repetition of identical symbols in the petroglyphs.
In the Owyhee uplands, another interpretation that does not fly is astronomy. While people could have depicted heavenly occurrences in rock art, there are no examples from the region that have been linked to astronomy.
The interpretation that rock art was a form of doodling, designs made for no specific purpose, could apply to the Owyhee uplands. Petroglyph sites in the Owyhee uplands are part of the settlement system and petroglyph making is one activity at multi-activity sites. Since petroglyphs were not the one and only reason that people were at the sites where petroglyphs were made, petroglyphs could have been an activity that occupied extra time.
While Conkey (1980) suggests that areas of aggregation would have resulted in more social and ritual activities that could result in petroglyphs, an important aspect for areas of aggregation is the economic resources for sustaining the population. In the Owyhee uplands, an aggregated population might only be sustained long term by fishing on the Owyhee River. Riverside petroglyph sites could have been areas of aggregation. Only four of the eleven sites are currently known to be residential sites as well as locations with petroglyphs. This interpretation would not apply to petroglyph sites on the mesa top or at water tubs.
Rock art can also be interpreted as a component of a settlement system. This method of interpretation addresses site based questions. In the Owyhee uplands, approaching rock art as part of the settlement system was successful. Petroglyphs were one artifact feature type at sites with multiple feature types. From the multiple features at Owyhee upland petroglyph sites, three different site locations where identified and the activities occurring at each were found to be different.
In sum, petroglyph sites in the Owyhee uplands were not made as hunting magic, to document important events, or to record astronomical occurrences. There is a strong possibility that riverside petroglyph sites were aggregation sites. While shamanism can not be completely ruled out, if it is the interpretation of Owyhee upland petroglyphs, shamanism was occurring at multiple types of sites in the context of procuring multiple resources. Doodling, creating petroglyphs as a form of leisure activity, could be the reason for all of the petroglyphs at the sites, but this is hard to support.
The approach of this study was to examine the landscape and settlement system in which petroglyph sites occur. This approach has advantages over an art historical approach because it integrates the multiple activities which occur at rock art sites. An art historical approach to petroglyphs or other rock art is substantially different in scope because it concentrates on the artistic or stylistic attributes of the rock art. Especially with rock art which is largely abstract in nature, examining the artistic or stylistic attributes cannot always explain the context in which rock art was made.
Instead of looking at petroglyphs as art, the integration of petroglyph research into the settlement system allows for examination of the activity of petroglyph making. The activity of petroglyph making is related to the other activities which are parts of a settlement system. Petroglyph making is one activity at multi-activity sites. It can occur in conjunction with lithic scatters, rock features, caves and water sources. The multiple activities which occur alongside petroglyphs provide important clues to understanding the activity of making petroglyphs.
The regional approach has the benefit of answering questions about site density in the area around rock art sites, rock art site size and resources near rock art sites. This information is important for determining if rock art sites support the aggregation hypothesis or any other interpretation of rock art. An aggregation site, for example, would be large, in an area with many resources and have many associated artifact feature types. In contrast a vision quest site would be small, away from areas with high site density, and not need to be in an area with resources. These questions also would allow a researcher to determine if rock art appears in a consistent context or if they are dealing with two or more contexts. A distinct advantage to the regional approach is that it can be used even without ethnographic documentation for a region, because it is dependent upon archaeology. The regional approach to rock art sites can provide evidence which determines the interpretation of the rock art on a regional scale using only archaeological data; it does not require subjective interpretation of rock art images.
With additional analysis of the existing data on Owyhee upland petroglyph sites, two questions could be explored. The first is how different are the petroglyphs at different sites? This could be approached by examining the diversity of designs at the sites. Another question is where a concentration of designs occurs within petroglyph sites. This could be examined in a three dimensional space using the location of panels and the counts of petroglyphs for each. While these could be approached using existing data, many of the questions raised by this research project would require additional work in the field.
Were the petroglyphs made as a form of doodling? The mesa top sites offer some protection from the heat of the afternoon sun. Is there a concentration of designs in locations where the maker would be shaded in the afternoon?
Were riverside petroglyph sites also habitation locations as is suggested by four of the eleven known sites? Return visits to all of these sites could be made with this question in mind. It is possible that habitation occurred on a flat open part of the terrace, slightly away from the petroglyphs. If habitation sites are found, excavations could determine the periods of occupation and whether or not these were fishing locations . Fish bones could provide an indication of the seasons of use and the age of the sites. A preliminary search for habitation sites would need to include shovel test pits, because terraces along the river have been subject to soil accumulation and loss. If riverside petroglyph sites turn out to be large habitation sites, they would likely be associated with aggregation, while smaller habitation sites might be temporary camps.
Mesa sites might reveal more about their age and the food source of the inhabitants by careful investigation of possible sheltered dwelling sites. Some sheltered areas at the base of the rim rock have deep soils which may have accumulated over time, so there is the possibility of finding hearth features with remains of burnt food. Excavation of these areas could provide better dates as well as verify their use by small groups of people gathering and hunting but returning to the same location multiple times.
Near some of the petroglyph sites, there are low mounds of dirt with more vigorous vegetation growing on them. Shovel test pits might identify these areas as middens. Excavation of these middens might provide access to artifacts which could be dated.
Two other avenues to dating these sites remain open. One would be to aggressively collect and date projectile points from the sites with petroglyphs. Another interesting avenue would be the initiation of intensive geological studies of the part of Jordan Craters directly below 35ML1045. An alternate approach to dating the lava flow would be to follow the drainage of Cow Creek before the lava flow. Any archaeological sites discovered along the old creek bed between the western edge of Jordan Craters and the Owyhee River would most likely date to before the lava flow changed the drainage patterns. Collection and dating of projectile points from archaeological sites in what used to be the Cow Creek drainage might provide a date for the lava flow and also for site 35ML1045.
Not all archaeological sites with petroglyphs have been found or documented. Petroglyph sites should be found on the plateau and along the upper reaches of the Owyhee River and its tributaries. These sites will probably be within 1.5 kilometers of a perennial water source on basalt outcroppings. Another set of locations to examine would be the areas surrounding water holes on intermittent streams.
Investigation of additional river, mesa, and tub sites in the Owyhee Uplands could reinforce the observations and hypotheses put forward here. As the sites reported here were documented, the author became aware of additional sites for which time and resources were unavailable.