For more than 10,000 years, people have lived in the Eastern Sierras but the faint traces of their lives left upon the land, leave many questions unanswered.
During a recent multi day trip to Bishop California, I was on a quest to gain further knowledge on the group of native Americans that inhabited this land. Our trip would take us to some of the most amazing examples of prestine, undamaged petroglyph panels ive ever seen. The breathtaking landscape that surrounded us during our trek, was also one of the most fascinating places we have visited in a long time. With that being said, I will give you a bit of history before presenting the pictures we took!
The town of Bishop, one of Owens Valley first settlements sits on the northern end of the valley. The Paiute natives found a magical land here with fantastic hunting grounds along its creeks and waterways. The natives had plenty of fish, deer, rabbits, pheasants and quail. One of the few items the Paiute people had to travel for were piñon pine nuts, which could be stored for an extended period of time.
The Paiute people were constantly trading with neighboring groups. Some of the items commonly traded were salt, piñon nuts, obsidian, rabbits for blankets and basket materials. Today, obsidian is the most prevalent artifact found in owens valley.
Many decedents of the Paiute or “Numa” as they self identify, still reside in and around the area of Bishop. Although the days of writing on rocks has long passed, many archeological petroglyph sites can be found in the volcanic Tablelands that date back thousands of years. The sites are are very fragile and sacred, due to the this, the BLM does not disclose the location of all the sites. If you visit the local Bishop Visitor Center, you could request a map of the petroglyph loop, which contains 3 sites that are public knowledge and are located on Fish Slough Road. We will cover these site in one post and cover the other sites separately.
After our jaw dropping visit of the petroglyph sites, we took time to visit the Paiute-Shoshone Indian Cultural Center located near the center of Bishop. The young lady working the museum that day gave us a bit of information that caught our attention. She stated that the Numa people (Paiute) did not migrate to this land. The Numa people were born in the Owens Valley area and according to their belief, the Numa people came from woman and coyote. There are many variations to this legend but the belief is that a coyote and women created the first people of the Paiute Tribe.
In 1863, the military forcibly removed approximately 1,000 Paiutes to Fort Tejon in the mountains south of Bakersfield. According to the lady at the museum, the Numa people experienced their own version of the Trail of Tears as they were forced to Fort Tejon.
Our visit to the petroglyphs took us to the following sites:
- Fish Slough Petroglyphs
- Chidago Canyon Petroglyphs
- Red Canyon Petroglyphs
- Chalfant Petroglyphs
- Sky Rock Petroglyphs
- 13 Moons Petroglyphs
- The Wise Men Petroglphs
- Rosetta Stone Petroglyphs
Like a book, who’s pages are written in stone, these petroglyphs tell a story of an ancient past. When visiting these sites, please remember, you’re in a spot that helped people connect spirituality. It’s a spot where prayers were said, where families gathered and where traditions were passed down to future generations.
The young lady at the cultural center said “these sites are equivalent to your church. To us, they represent a sacred spiritual place. Many of these sites document a boys journey to becoming a man.”
With that being said, when visiting these sites, please follow the proper Petroglyph etiquette.
Avoid Touching the Petroglyphs
Look and observe, BUT DO NOT TOUCH! Preserve petroglyphs by not touching them in any way. Even a small amount of the oils from our hands can darken petroglyphs making them impossible to see.
Stay on the Trails
For your own safety and the preservation of the petroglyphs, stay on designated trails at all times. Climbing on the boulders can dislodge loose stones causing damage to the petroglyph boulders. Falling rocks can hurt people, or may scratch the carved and pecked images causing unintentional damage. Do not re-arrange the rocks or move/remove artifacts from where you find them. The petroglyphs are important individually and in relation to each other. In order to try and understand a petroglyph or pictograph it needs to be viewed in relation to its environment including the adjacent image(s), the entire basalt escarpment, and the surrounding landscape. For someone to fully appreciate a site, the petroglyphs and their surroundings should be left undisturbed.
Photography and Sketching is Allowed
Do not introduce any foreign substance to enhance the carved and pecked images for photographic or drawing purposes. Altering, defacing, or damaging the petroglyphs is against the law — even if the damage is unintentional.
Re-pecking or re-painting does not restore a petroglyph or pictograph, it destroys the original. DO NOT add your own marks to the images. The introduction of graffiti destroys the petroglyphs and is disrespectful to contemporary Native Americans and their ancestors.
Artifacts
If you happen to come across sherds (broken pottery) or lithics (flakes of stone tools), leave them where you see them. Once they are moved or removed, a piece of the past is forever lost.
All archaeological and historical sites are protected by a number of laws and regulations including the Antiquities Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. These and other laws prohibit digging, removing artifacts, damaging and defacing archaeological resources in national parks, and provide felony and/or misdemeanor prosecution with imprisonment up to ten years and fines up to $100,000.
While visiting consider yourself a guest in someone’s home and behave appropriately. Native Americans today consider these site to be a sacred landscape. Like other places of worship throughout the world, the area demands respect and care. We encourage you to respect the beliefs of the descendants of those who carved the images on the rocks. The petroglyphs are sacred to many people living in the area today.