The Canyon lands in and south of Arches were inhabited by cliff dwellers
centuries before the first visits of the Spaniards and fur trappers.
Projectile points and other artifacts found in the nearby La Sal and
Abajo Mountains indicate occupation by aborigines during the period from
about 3000-2000 B.C. to about A.D. 1 (Hunt, Alice, 1956). The Fremont
people occupied the area around A.D. 850 or 900, and the Pueblo or
Anasazi people from about A.D. 1075 to their departure in the late 12th
century (Jennings, 1970). Most of the evidence for these early
occupations has been found in and south of Canyonlands National Park
(Lohman, 1974), but some traces of these and possibly earlier cultures
have been found also within Arches National Park.
Ross A. Maxwell (National Park Service, written commun., 1941)
investigated two caves in the Entrada Sandstone in the upper reaches of
Salt Wash that contain Anasazi ruins. He mentioned that perhaps a dozen
or more other caves should be checked for evidence of former occupation
and, also, that he found several ancient campsites littered with flint
chips and broken tools.
One cave Maxwell explored some 5 miles north of Wolfe Ranch and north of
the park is about 300 feet long and 100 to 150 feet deep. It contains
the remains of one or more ruins of a structure he thought may have
covered much of the floor. The remaining parts of walls now are only two
to four tiers of stones in height, although originally they may have
been more than one story high. Maxwell explored a second cave on the
east side of Salt Wash, about 2 miles north of Wolfe Ranch, which
contains 16 storage cists of adobe.
The faces of many older sandstone cliffs or ledges are darkened by
desert varnish—a natural pigment of iron and manganese oxides. The
prehistoric inhabitants of the Plateau learned that effective and
enduring designs, called petroglyphs, could be created simply by
chiseling or pecking through the thin dark layer to reveal the buff or
tan sandstone beneath. Most petroglyphs were created by the Anasazi, but
those showing men mounted on horses were done by Ute tribesmen after the
Spaniards brought in horses in the 1500’s. The Fremont people and some
earlier people painted figures on rock faces, called pictographs, and
some of these had pecked outlines.
The so-called “Moab panel” was described by Beckwith (1934, p. 177) as a
petroglyph, but, as pointed out by Schaafsma (1971, p. 72, 73), it
comprises figures having pecked outlines and painted bodies, which
actually are combinations of petroglyphs and pictographs. This
beautifully preserved group of paintings is shown in the upper
photograph of figure 2. Mrs. Schaafsma goes on to say, concerning the
“Moab panel”:
The long tapered body, the antenna like headdresses, and the staring
eyes are characteristic features of Barrier Canyon style figures
elsewhere * * *. Of special interest here are the large shields held
by certain figures. A visit to this site indicated that the shields,
although apparently of some antiquity, have been superimposed over
some of the Barrier Canyon figures. Whether or not this was done by
the Barrier Canyon style artists themselves or later comers to the
site is impossible to tell.
Although definite proof seems lacking, she suggested (written commun.,
Nov. 3, 1973) that the “‘Barrier Canyon style’[3] * * * is earlier than
the work in the same region clearly attributable to the Fremont.” Note
the three bullet holes in and near the right-hand shield. A ledge above
the panel that contained petroglyphs during her earlier visit had fallen
to the base of the cliff by the time my wife and I inspected the panel
in September 1973.
[Illustration: ROCK ART IN ARCHES NATIONAL PARK. A (above), “Moab
panel,” on cliff of Wingate Sandstone above U.S. Highway 163 between
Courthouse Wash and Colorado River, believed to be the work of
“Barrier Canyon” style people. B (below), Petroglyphs on ledge of
sandstone in Morrison Formation on east side of Salt Wash just north
of Wolfe Ranch, believed to have been cut by Ute tribesmen. (Fig.
2)]
[Illustration: Fig. 2 B]
Mrs. Schaafsma believes the petroglyphs in the lower photograph of
figure 2 to be the work of Ute tribesmen, not only because of the
horses, but also because of the stiff-legged appearance of the mountain
sheep. Note the bullet hole above the panel.