Happy Labor Day! I thought it would be fitting to post a photo of The Birthing Scene petroglyphs found near Moab 😉 Even though this panel is commonly known as The Birthing Scene, it is believed that the main figure that appears to be giving birth might actually represent a woman with an enormous vulva which is found in proto-historic Ute rock art elsewhere.
Can you beleive that I have had this blog up for a few months now and I still haven’t posted a photo from the Great Gallery or of the Holy Ghost figure? The pictographs in Horseshoe Canyon along Barrier Creek are some of the most well-known in the world! Well, I’m about to fix that right now by posting this photo of the Holy Ghost with a couple of other anthropomorphic figures surrounding it. This is an outstanding panel and there is so much to see here. I have plans to head back there again this fall, and am looking forward to it!
The two anthropomorphs on the right side of the Perfect Panel with a two-toned snake to the right of them. These pictographs are in amazing condition and contain a lot of fine detail. This is certainly one of my favorite sites that I have had the pleasure of visiting. The figure on the left is a bit odd as it has two long but thin legs with feet, which are very uncommon in the Barrier Canyon Style. It also appears that those legs may have been partially pecked out at some point, too. Click on the photo to view a larger size over on Flickr if you want to examine the details.
Here’s a portion of the Procession Panel located high up on the edge of Comb Ridge that contains two large elk or possibly some deer. This is a very unique panel that was very interesting to visit. On my hike up to the panel it actually started to sleet and snow on me, but luckily, by the time I reached the top it had stopped. I’m actually hoping to get back to this one at some point before the end of the year.
An interesting figure found in the Book Cliffs of Utah that appears to be waving. This panel is located high up on the canyon wall and is on private property, so you cannot get up close without permission from the owners. This photo was taken from the road at 400mm and then cropped some more. I have seen this figure referred to as Barrier Canyon Style before, but I’m not so sure I would classify it as such? This section of the canyon contains many different styles of rock art in close proximity, including Ute and/or Paiute, Fremont and Barrier Canyon Style. It must have been an important place! Below the waving figure there is a band of horseback riders that were most likely painted by the Ute or Paiute. The figures in this panel were created by wetting chunks of red ochre and drawing directly on the canyon wall.
