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.
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.
I’ll start the week off with one of my favorite photos of Newspaper Rock. Here’s a nice overview of most of the panel that is well-known and found along Indian Creek on the way to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. There’s just so much to see on this panel. I have stopped here many times over the years and I always notice something new each time.
Yesterday evening I set out shortly before sunset to find some new petroglyphs not far from my home. I have been by this site many times before and never knew it was there! This photo just shows a section of the panel of petroglyphs pecked into a large boulder along the Gunnison River. Like many of the other petroglyphs in the area, these appear to be of Ute origin. So far, this is one of the better panels near my home, and thankfully they haven’t been too vandalized, either.
Here’s another photo I took on Sunday while exploring the Book Cliffs just over the border in Utah. These three shields, that I’m guessing might be of Ute origin, are found among many other pictographs and petroglyphs in the area. The bottom portion of these shield figures have not held up as well as the top, but I managed to bring out a little more detail in this photo.
