Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Petroglyph, originally uploaded by Mountain Stitchworks.
Aboriginal peoples sing at rock art sites, Ute elder Clifford Duncan chants as he ascends the trail to a series of petroglyph panels near Montrose, Colorado.
Up until recently the archaeologists working with rock art primarily interested themselves with compiling data and symbols. Unraveling the meaning of petroglyphs is a new frontier with archaeologists. And as with many new frontiers, I am very excited about it!
While Patterson is using scientifically compiled data to try and unravel the mystery; Duncan, one of the last Utes "raised in the old ways", looks within himself.
What I am looking for is a thinking pattern. What is hidden in that picture? Those drawings are depicting something that is still there - still faintly there today. They have a spirit that throws out a certain feeling if you are looking for it. It is just a matter of unlocking yourself from the inside to read it. -Clifford DuncanAs Duncan and Patterson and other duos continue to work together we can learn more about individual native cultures and the cohesion from tribe to tribe and generation to generation. I like that archaeologist are working with Native peoples, and that Native people are willing to work with archaeologists. Unraveling history and shedding light on the mystery of ancient human history can teach us about ourselves and remind us what lies within ourselves.
If you've ever spent time in the desert contemplating rock art you may be interested in picking up this months High Country News. On page 6 it has a very interesting article called Ancient Conversations, and there's a little tidbit on the High Country News website too. They show some symbols and their meaning!
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