Step Back into Long Ago with Petroglyphs

Step Back into Long Ago with Petroglyphs
By Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, East Sierra Branch

 

Standing vigil as they have since time immemorial, the petroglyphs of California’s Coso Range represent the richest collection of Native American rock art in the Western Hemisphere. The Coso Mountains rise to an altitude of about 5,000 feet from a remote area between Death Valley and the Sierra Nevada, where the Mojave and Great Basin deserts converge. The largest concentration occupies two canyons, Black Canyon (or Big Petroglyph Canyon) and Renegade Canyon (or Little Petroglyph Canyon). Many thousands upon many thousands of these petroglyphs remain three hours northeast of Los Angeles in secluded canyons, gorges, and plateaus of the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS). These awe-inspiring examples of narrative and spiritual artistry sit safely within the confines of the base.

Perhaps as early as 16,000 years ago and as recently as the 1800s (and the rare instance, 1900s) – from Paleoindian times to essentially the present – hunter-gatherers carved, engraved, pecked, and abraded designs in the basalt boulders and cliff walls. These creators achieved the striking effect by using their tools to remove the dark outer layer of varnish, or patina, primarily manganese, that coats the rocks, exposing the lighter surface underneath. They left images of bighorn sheep, snakes, lizards, and the animals that populated their lives, anthropomorphic beings with bird heads and other features, shamans, weapons such as bows and arrows, atlatls (spear-throwers), spirals, circles, and various motifs. Opinions contrast as to the purposes intended for the art, perhaps as tokens of hunting magic, symbols commemorating vision quests, depictions of rituals and rites of passage, boundaries to set off territories and clans, efforts to improve the abundance of game and success of a hunting expedition, and stories to transmit traditions and lore. The occasional unexpected cowboy, vehicle, and even “E-MC square” clearly have their roots in the last century or so.

The Navy established residence in 1943, initially cutting off public access. The Navy has since eased restrictions. Later, the site became the Coso Rock Art National Historic Landmark. “NHL” is the federal government’s highest designation to identify and preserve significant historic and prehistoric places. National Historic Landmarks are controlled and regulated by federal law. The landmark was dedicated jointly by the Navy and the National Park Service in 2005.

Today, the public can visit Little Petroglyph Canyon by arrangement through Maturango Museum (www.maturango.org/petroglyph-tours/ ) on limited days, and must apply in advance. Tours, conducted exclusively by Navy-approved guides, fill up quickly.

You owe it to yourself to see the petroglyphs, but you won’t drive up and breeze in. Both because of their location on military property and also to safeguard these priceless treasures, visitors must give their full names and vital statistics; show photo IDs on arrival; and allow inspection of their vehicles and belongings if requested. Participants stay with the group, with their binoculars and cameras locked up until pulling into the canyon’s parking lot. Do you get the impression that everything is fully protected, from bits of artifacts to obsidian chips, to vegetation, critters scurrying about, and art?

Yet the prize more than justifies the pesky logistics. A sort of outdoor-in-the-raw gallery. Breathtaking. Overwhelming. Eye-popping. And very, very old.

 

Travel writer Donna McCrohan Rosenthal
has written regularly for AAA’s Car & Travel Monthly,
Ventura County Star, The Sunrunner, The Oakland Tribune,
and other magazines and newspapers.
This article is reprinted with permission.