Rock art located in Malheur County, Oregon is the focus of this study. The Owyhee uplands in the southeastern corner of Oregon are culturally affiliated with the Great Basin. The Owyhee uplands are located in a semiarid desert where sagebrush and perennial grasses are common vegetation. People have been living in the Owyhee uplands since the end of the last ice age. These people traveled around the region. The remains of their campsites, garbage and settlements make up archaeological sites. These sites can be examined to determine the settlement system of people who lived in the area. This study of rock art deals with petroglyph sites as archaeological sites, where all artifacts are important and petroglyphs are just one of the features.
The Owyhee uplands are a region maintained primarily by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Records from the BLM archaeologist with information on reported petroglyphs served as the primary method of locating these sites, few of which had been systematically documented. Not only were the petroglyphs recorded, but the associated archaeological features, like lithic scatters and rock walls, were recorded. Petroglyphs have often been examined based on their styles. This research takes a different approach, where the features associated with the petroglyphs are important. These enabled the researcher to categorize petroglyph sites, place petroglyph sites in the context of the settlement system, and determine some of the activities of people at sites where they made petroglyphs.
This study addresses multiple questions about the petroglyphs of the Owyhee uplands. What activities were associated with making petroglyphs? What was the duration of residence and size of population for use of petroglyph sites? In what approximate time period were petroglyphs made? Is the spatial distribution of petroglyph sites markedly different from camp and hunting sites in the settlement system, suggesting that petroglyph sites were special purpose sites? Do any of the interpretations proposed for understanding rock art apply to petroglyph sites in the Owyhee uplands?