42EM65, the Temple Mountain Pictograph Panel
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Steven J. Manning 42EM65, The Temple Mountain Pictograph Panel The Temple Mountain rock art panel, as it is The location of the Temple Mountain panel has called locally, is a group of large and striking been discussed in several "guide books" darkred pictographs (Figure 1). They are locat- (Barnes 1982:136, Castleton 1984:160, Slifer ed on the north side of South Temple Mountain 2000:126). The content of the panel has also Wash, roughly one mile west of the turnoff to been discussed in the rock art literature on sev- Goblin Valley State Park, which is in the San eral occasions (Gunnerson 1957, Manning Rafael Reef area of central Utah. 1990, Schaafsma 1970, 1971 and Siegrist Because the site can easily be seen from the 1972). paved road it is well known and heavily visited. The Temple Mountain pictographs are excep- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rang- tional—more exceptional than is generally ap- er in an information trailer at the turnoff to preciated, especially considering the apparent Goblin Valley said that he personally had over poor condition of the panel. The cliff face is 10,000 visitor contacts the previous year marred by large areas of exfoliated sandstone (2001). These contacts are with people request- (Figure 1). It appears that most of the picto- ing information about the San Rafael Reef area graphs have been destroyed, and the ones that as they drive in from State highway 24. I no- remain are severely damaged. Despite this de- ticed, during the hour I spent visiting with the terioration, the panel contains a great deal of ranger one morning, that only about one out of extremely valuable information, and the re- every ten cars stopped as they passed the trailer; maining images are unique and obviously irre- so 10,000 people is certainly an underestimate placeable. of the number of people visiting the area. One reason that the site is exceptional is that it Perhaps a more accurate picture of visitation appears to contain both Barrier Canyon Style may be obtained from visitor statistics at Goblin and Fremont type images. Of particular signifi- Valley State Park. In 2001, 75,702 people vis- cance is the apparent superimposition1 of ited Goblin Valley (Utah Division of State Fremont over the Barrier Canyon Style Parks statistics). April had the highest visita- (Schaafsma 1971:49, 73, her Figures 71 and tion with 13,000 people. Many of the people 130). The definitiveness of this conclusion, who visit Goblin Valley, and stay overnight, however, and its resulting influence on the Bar- camp in and along the San Rafael Reef where rier Canyon Style and Fremont relationships has there are no camping fees. Additionally, there been previously questioned (Manning 1990:61) are people who come to the area specifically to and is further discussed below. visit the San Rafael Reef and the San Rafael The Temple Mountain panel provided one of Swell. The area is a popular off-road vehicle the principal evidences used by Schaafsma to recreation destination. The road that passes the place the Barrier Canyon Style in the Archaic panel provides vehicular access to the Swell, period, thus preceding the later Fremont Culture and it continues northwest to Interstate 70. (Schaafsma 1971:128-135). This superimposi- Given this information, visitation to the area tion, if it indeed exists, has the potential to de- surrounding the pictographs is probably more termine the relative placement of Fremont and like 100,000 people annually. Barrier Canyon Style images in this panel and 47 Utah Rock Art, Volume 21, 2001 consequently provide information on their rela- Park. Unfortunately, I have no photographs of tive age. The Fremont culture is believed to the panel on that date because of a malfunction- have existed in this area from about A.D. 650- ing camera (or more likely a malfunctioning 700 to about 1200-1250 (Madsen 1989). The camera operator). The oldest photographs I Barrier Canyon Style is generally believed to have were taken at a later visit in 1979 (Figure have been created by Archaic peoples between 1). Since that date, I have visited the panel on about 6,000 B.C. to A.D. 500 (Kelen and Sucec many occasions, and I have made some interest- 1996:13). Schaafsma, however, later suggested ing observations and discoveries, most of which that the date during which the Barrier Canyon have not been discussed previously. The pur- Style was being constructed is more likely lim- pose of this paper is to present this information. ited to a shorter period, i.e., 500 B.C. to A.D. Since that first visit, I have observed changes 500 (Schaafsma 1980:70). occurring to the images within the panel, as I believe that the Barrier Canyon Style contin- well as major changes occurring to the envi- ued to be created long past A.D. 500 and cite as ronment surrounding the panel. For example, supporting evidence the existence of panels that the State of Utah allowed an oil and gas explor- fit the current definition of the Barrier Canyon atory well to be drilled directly in front of the Style, but that contain characteristics and imag- panel, i.e., between the cliff face and the main es of objects associated with later periods, such road. This resulted in the destruction of the as, for example, the bow and arrow (Manning vegetation and natural environment surrounding 1990). Additionally, Barrier Canyon Style pet- the panel. The area was left looking much like roglyph panels exist with very little patination, a giant dusty parking lot. Down stream (east of indicating that they are of recent origin (Man- the panel) and on the opposite side of the paved ning, this volume). road a large area was filled with dirt, leveled, Undoubtedly, some of the incongruities and po- and then abandoned. No reclamation of either lemics on the age of the Barrier Canyon Style area was done. These appalling scars stand as exist because of problems intrinsic to the defini- monuments to the indifference and negligence tion and use of the concept of style in ordering of the State of Utah in managing our public prehistoric rock art (Manning 1993) and be- lands. cause no reliable dating techniques currently Also damaging the landscape are large numbers exist for Barrier Canyon Style images. of off-road vehicles using the area. Four The Temple Mountain pictograph panel is also wheelers, often with children and teenagers significant because it contains some of the larg- driving them, have driven over much of the area est prehistoric painted figures in Utah. Their creating a maze of trails. While I was recently large size (one anthropomorph2 is about six feet visiting the panel, two off-road motorcyclists tall) suggests that the creators of these paintings raced up the small drainage east of the site, wanted their images to be easily seen. Their drove directly beneath the panel and continued large size also seems to suggest that these im- up the canyon oblivious to the rock art, the veg- ages were of some exceptional significance to etation they had crushed and the deep furrows their creators. they left behind. Recently the site was on the television news and HISTORY OF OBSERVATIONS AND in the newspapers (Joe Bauman, Deseret News, PREVIOUS DESCRIPTIONS March 29-30, 2000). On or about March 16, 2000, the panel was vandalized. Charcoal was I first visited the panel in the spring of 1971 on used to place drawings beneath the main por- a trip to the Maze area of Canyonlands National tion of the panel and on part of the panel itself 48 Steven J, Manning, The Temple Mountain Pictograph Panel (Figure 2). The source of the charcoal was un- Kenneth Castleton first visited and photo- doubtedly from campfires at the site. This is graphed the site on August 6, 1970, and accord- one reason why camping should be prohibited ing to his notes, he visited it again in April of in the area around the panel. 1973 (Castleton 1978:160161). Castleton de- Becoming thus aware of changes to the panel scribed the panel as follows: and its environment, I became interested in how Unfortunately, part of the cliff face has the panel was surviving the ravages of time and chipped away, thus damaging the figures. the ravages of people, which are certainly the The upper parts of two large red anthropo- most destructive. I have tried, therefore, to lo- morphic figures have been damaged by this cate old photographs of the panel for further weathering. One is a Fremont style figure with very broad shoulders, a tapered trunk, evaluation of these changes. These photo- and no extremities. It largely obscures anoth- graphs, and the changes they illustrate, are dis- er slender figure with "bug eyes". The other, cussed below. a Barrier Canyon Style figure, has a short Obtaining old photographs of the panel has right arm and is holding a snake, much in the proven difficult. Certainly, there must be older same manner as figures in the Head of Sinbad photographs than those discussed here. Perhaps and Horseshoe Canyon. To the left are two animals, one with a rectangular body decorat- publication of this article will lead to the dis- ed by a single white horizontal stripe through covery of older photographs that will yield ad- it. The second larger animal has a small head ditional information about the panel. without horns, a curved tail, and a vertical The site was first recorded by James H. Gun- white stripe through the fore part of the body. nerson, an archaeologist from the University of It resembles a quadruped in Barrier Canyon.