Picture Canyon (Colorado)
Encyclopedia
Picture Canyon, located in the Comanche National Grassland
in southeastern Colorado
, just north of the Oklahoma
border, was named for its prehistoric rock art
. There is evidence of prehistoric inhabitation of sites in Picture Canyon by Paleo-Indian, Archaic and Post-Archaic cultures, from about 12,000 years ago to 400 years ago. In addition to rock art, there are also carvings in walls that are used to identify the entry into winter and spring equinox
.
s have been found in Picture Canyon and other nearby locations by hunter-gatherer
s from the Plains Archaic Period, from 250 B.C. to A.D. 500. Most of the shelters were near sources of water and faced south, which would have been warmed by the sun in the winter. Material goods found in the shelters include metate
s and manos, stitching awl
s, abraders, hammerstones, knives, and scrapers. Some of the rock shelters contained rock art
.
s used for bow and arrow hunting and cord-marked Woodland grit-tempered pottery.
lived on the canyon rim and farmed on the canyon floor. Their homes, built on the lowest portion of a mesa
or above the creek flood plains, provided great visibility in three directions and easy access to the farmland. The dwellings were round or oval structures, 15 to 21 ft (4.6 to 6.4 m) in diameter, were built in groupings of 3 to 4 buildings. They were covered by wooden poles, brush and possibly animal hides and contained hearths up to 19 feet (5.8 m) wide for cooking and warmth. Material goods included metate
s and manos for processing acorn
and maize
, and tools made of imported chert
, obsidian
and petrified wood
. The Apishapa lived in the dwellings during spring planting and fall harvesting.
s in the area about A.D. 1350, during what is called the "Tipi ring period" with sites of up to 44 tipi rings and circular arrangement of stones. The sites were located along canyon rims and at canyon heads for short periods of time, likely only for several days to several weeks. The limited material goods found include beads made of imported turquoise
, cord marked pottery, imported San Lazaro Glaze Polychrome pottery made during the Ancient Pueblo People Pueblo IV Era
and, in one site, Taos Pueblo
or Picuris Pueblo mica tempered pottery made after A.D. 1500.
, red and black pictographs and human and animal petroglyph
s, that were likely made by Plains Indians in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Horizontal lines of writing were found there, similar to 50 sites in Oklahoma
and southeastern Colorado, which have been translated to include solar, planting and travel related information.
Markings in the walls of Crack Cave were made more than 1,000 years ago which are illuminated by rays of the sun during the spring and autumn equinox
. Free tours are conducted by the National Forest Service on equinox dates in March and September.
Comanche National Grassland
Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, each operated by a local ranger district, one of which...
in southeastern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, just north of the Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
border, was named for its prehistoric rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
. There is evidence of prehistoric inhabitation of sites in Picture Canyon by Paleo-Indian, Archaic and Post-Archaic cultures, from about 12,000 years ago to 400 years ago. In addition to rock art, there are also carvings in walls that are used to identify the entry into winter and spring equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
.
Recreation area
It is a small canyon with easy slopes, springs, picnic tables, and a loop hiking trail 4 miles (6.4 km) long. Natural attractions include rock formations, such as Balanced Rock, and Crack Cave.Paleo-Indian
Projectile points found in the Comanche National Grasslands are estimated to be 12,000 years old, evidence of Paleo-Indian hunters.Plains Archaic Period
Rock shelterRock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s have been found in Picture Canyon and other nearby locations by hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s from the Plains Archaic Period, from 250 B.C. to A.D. 500. Most of the shelters were near sources of water and faced south, which would have been warmed by the sun in the winter. Material goods found in the shelters include metate
Metate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s and manos, stitching awl
Stitching awl
A stitching awl is a simple tool with which holes can be punctured in a variety of materials, or existing holes can be enlarged. It is also used for sewing heavy materials, such as leather or canvas. It is a thin, tapered metal shaft, coming to a sharp point, either straight or slightly bent....
s, abraders, hammerstones, knives, and scrapers. Some of the rock shelters contained rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
.
Plains Woodland Period
While there is some evidence of rock shelter inhabitation by the Plains Woodland culture, the primary evidence is found in open-air sites. Dwellings were simple structures made of stone slaps or brush. Some sites show evidence of farming. Material goods found include corner-notched projectile pointProjectile point
In archaeological terms, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a projectile, such as a spear, dart, or arrow, or perhaps used as a knife....
s used for bow and arrow hunting and cord-marked Woodland grit-tempered pottery.
Apishapa culture
The ApishapaApishapa culture
The Apishapa culture, or Apishapa Phase, a prehistoric culture from A.D. 1000-1400, was named based upon an archaeological site in the Lower Apishapa canyon in Colorado. The Apishapa River, a tributary of the Arkansas River, formed the Apishapa canyon...
lived on the canyon rim and farmed on the canyon floor. Their homes, built on the lowest portion of a mesa
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
or above the creek flood plains, provided great visibility in three directions and easy access to the farmland. The dwellings were round or oval structures, 15 to 21 ft (4.6 to 6.4 m) in diameter, were built in groupings of 3 to 4 buildings. They were covered by wooden poles, brush and possibly animal hides and contained hearths up to 19 feet (5.8 m) wide for cooking and warmth. Material goods included metate
Metate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s and manos for processing acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
and maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, and tools made of imported chert
Chert
Chert is a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color , but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements...
, obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
and petrified wood
Petrified wood
Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization...
. The Apishapa lived in the dwellings during spring planting and fall harvesting.
Tipi ring period
The Apache built tipiTipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
s in the area about A.D. 1350, during what is called the "Tipi ring period" with sites of up to 44 tipi rings and circular arrangement of stones. The sites were located along canyon rims and at canyon heads for short periods of time, likely only for several days to several weeks. The limited material goods found include beads made of imported turquoise
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
, cord marked pottery, imported San Lazaro Glaze Polychrome pottery made during the Ancient Pueblo People Pueblo IV Era
Pueblo IV Era
The Pueblo IV Era, was the fourth period of ancient pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III Era, Anasazi living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements and migrated south to the Little Colorado River and Rio Grande River valleys...
and, in one site, Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA...
or Picuris Pueblo mica tempered pottery made after A.D. 1500.
Rock art and solar markings
The south canyon walls of Picture Canyon contain rock artRock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
, red and black pictographs and human and animal petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s, that were likely made by Plains Indians in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Horizontal lines of writing were found there, similar to 50 sites in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and southeastern Colorado, which have been translated to include solar, planting and travel related information.
Markings in the walls of Crack Cave were made more than 1,000 years ago which are illuminated by rays of the sun during the spring and autumn equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
. Free tours are conducted by the National Forest Service on equinox dates in March and September.
External links
- Picture Canyon, National Forest Service