Rock as Canvas
Native American Rock Art in the Big Bend
by Tim Roberts
by Tim Roberts
Chihuahuan Polychrome Abstract style pictographs
While many people come to the Big Bend region of West Texas to enjoy the current art scene, the first painted or etched imagery in the area was created by Native Americans thousands of years ago. These figures, referred to as pictographs and petroglyphs, adorn many of the rockshelters, canyon walls, and other rock outcrops across the rugged landscape of the Big Bend. At first glance, it is difficult to look beyond this imagery as a form of art; the color and composition of these figures and the expertise with which they were
created makes them no less aesthetically pleasing than any contemporary piece of fine art.
While the precise meaning of much of this rock art remains to be determined, the creation of much of this imagery goes well beyond aesthetics. These figures were often created as part of a ritual, and reflect the spiritual beliefs of those that painted or etched them. Other images may represent events that were important to the group or that had a significant impact on the community, such as the arrival of the Spanish, and their horses, to the region in the 16th century. Rock art also functioned to help define the territory of those that created the figures.
Abstract and geometric figures, including vibrant multi-colored paintings belonging to the Chihuahuan Polychrome Abstract style, are thought to be the oldest rock art in the Big Bend. Some researchers believe that this imagery may be over 5,000 years old, dating to what archeologists refer to as the Early Archaic period. These abstract images, the colors of which were created using hematite, manganese, gypsum, and other mineral pigments, may represent simple forms that appeared to shamans, or spiritual leaders, in the early stages of trance. Shamans were, and still are, considered to be intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. They practice divination and healing by going into a trance state, and
entering supernatural or spiritual realms to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community.
Some abstract and geometric elements continued to be depicted well into the historic period, but representational imagery, much of which is painted in red, dominate rock art sites in the Big Bend and across most of West Texas by the Late Archaic period, between about 3,000 and 1,100 years ago. Animals, insects, human-like figures, and handprints are among some of the images that are depicted. Some panels appear to represent hunts or were perhaps created prior to hunts, foreshadowing success in this endeavor. Other imagery is not as easily deciphered, but may illustrate shamanic transformations into animal forms while in trance. Some figures may have been placed specifically in an effort to establish a group’s territory.
Big Bend Bold style pictographs, characterized by large bold-faced paintings of varaious human-like figures, animal forms, geometric designs, and abstract images, were probably first painted by early agriculturalists from the Rio Grande valley near Redford, Texas during the Late Prehistoric period, over 500 years ago. These images continued to be painted until after the arrival of the first Spanish to the area in 1535. One Big Bend Bold image on a site in Big Bend Ranch State Park includes what appears to be a helmeted figure on a horse with a Spanish saddle. Other historic pictographs were left behind by nomadic tribes, including the Comanche and Mescalero Apache, and possibly the Jumano. In the Big Bend, these historic rock art panels are most commonly identified by the presence of horse and rider figures that are differentiated from Big Bend Bold figures by their smaller scale and broader range of colors.
Some of the most recent pictographs in the Big Bend were probably created well into the 19th century, and were not actually painted onrocks. In 1849, while searching for a suitable wagon road west from San Antonio, Lieutenant W.H.C. Whiting and his party discovered cottonwood trees along Limpia Creek, in Jeff Davis County, that were adorned with red painted figures. Whiting’s party camped at the location, giving it the name "Painted Comanche Camp". Although the painted cottonwoods are long gone, the area is still known as Painted Comanche Camp.
created makes them no less aesthetically pleasing than any contemporary piece of fine art.
While the precise meaning of much of this rock art remains to be determined, the creation of much of this imagery goes well beyond aesthetics. These figures were often created as part of a ritual, and reflect the spiritual beliefs of those that painted or etched them. Other images may represent events that were important to the group or that had a significant impact on the community, such as the arrival of the Spanish, and their horses, to the region in the 16th century. Rock art also functioned to help define the territory of those that created the figures.
Abstract and geometric figures, including vibrant multi-colored paintings belonging to the Chihuahuan Polychrome Abstract style, are thought to be the oldest rock art in the Big Bend. Some researchers believe that this imagery may be over 5,000 years old, dating to what archeologists refer to as the Early Archaic period. These abstract images, the colors of which were created using hematite, manganese, gypsum, and other mineral pigments, may represent simple forms that appeared to shamans, or spiritual leaders, in the early stages of trance. Shamans were, and still are, considered to be intermediaries or messengers between the human world and the spirit worlds. They practice divination and healing by going into a trance state, and
entering supernatural or spiritual realms to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community.
Some abstract and geometric elements continued to be depicted well into the historic period, but representational imagery, much of which is painted in red, dominate rock art sites in the Big Bend and across most of West Texas by the Late Archaic period, between about 3,000 and 1,100 years ago. Animals, insects, human-like figures, and handprints are among some of the images that are depicted. Some panels appear to represent hunts or were perhaps created prior to hunts, foreshadowing success in this endeavor. Other imagery is not as easily deciphered, but may illustrate shamanic transformations into animal forms while in trance. Some figures may have been placed specifically in an effort to establish a group’s territory.
Big Bend Bold style pictographs, characterized by large bold-faced paintings of varaious human-like figures, animal forms, geometric designs, and abstract images, were probably first painted by early agriculturalists from the Rio Grande valley near Redford, Texas during the Late Prehistoric period, over 500 years ago. These images continued to be painted until after the arrival of the first Spanish to the area in 1535. One Big Bend Bold image on a site in Big Bend Ranch State Park includes what appears to be a helmeted figure on a horse with a Spanish saddle. Other historic pictographs were left behind by nomadic tribes, including the Comanche and Mescalero Apache, and possibly the Jumano. In the Big Bend, these historic rock art panels are most commonly identified by the presence of horse and rider figures that are differentiated from Big Bend Bold figures by their smaller scale and broader range of colors.
Some of the most recent pictographs in the Big Bend were probably created well into the 19th century, and were not actually painted onrocks. In 1849, while searching for a suitable wagon road west from San Antonio, Lieutenant W.H.C. Whiting and his party discovered cottonwood trees along Limpia Creek, in Jeff Davis County, that were adorned with red painted figures. Whiting’s party camped at the location, giving it the name "Painted Comanche Camp". Although the painted cottonwoods are long gone, the area is still known as Painted Comanche Camp.
Red monochromatic pictographs, possibly dating to the Late Archaic or Late Prehistoric periods.
Postitive and negative handprints of unknown age.
Horse and rider figure with an apparent Spanish saddle
Meyers Spring - Counting Coup Figure
- Photo by Reeda Peel