Great Basin Glyph Notes The Newsletter of the Nevada Rock Art Foundation Member International Federation of Rock Art Organizations 3rd Quarter 2009 Volume 8-3 Black Canyon Project In April, nraf assisted Elsewhere, such symbolism Far Western Anthropo- often plays an important logical Research Group role in the construction in recording rock art and negotiation of cultural features at Black Canyon identities and social roles. on the Pahranagat National Th e archaeological Wildlife Refuge, Lincoln signifi cance of Black County. Th e rich natural Canyon was recognized in resources in this area appear the 1970s with its listing to have been intensively on the National Register used in prehistory, refl ected of Historic Places as an by the abundant rock art archaeological district. and other archaeological Th e US Fish and Wild- features. Black Canyon life Service contracted also probably served as a Far Western to complete transportation corridor for an intensive archaeologi- peoples moving between cal survey and record- the upper reaches of the Pahranagat Representational Style ing of Black Canyon to White River and the marshes anthropomorph variants provide data that would of Lower Pahranagat valley. serve as the basis for future Black Canyon is well-known for its areas, representing a localized cultural management, conservation, and inter- concentration of Pahranagat Representa- development. pretation of the district’s unique cultural tional Style petroglyphs. Th is distinctive Th e chronology and functions of resources. style is composed of varying treatments the Pahranagat Representational Style nraf supported Far Western’s survey of the human form; a headless rectangu- are not well understood and have fueled and documentation of Black Canyon’s lar form with internal decoration, often much speculation (for one interpretation, archaeological resources by recording bearing an atlatl-like design; and a solid- see Th e Dynamic Duo on page 8). Based rock art in the archaeological district. pecked oval or rectangular form, with on its formal properties and landscape A total of approximately 100 panels at a line protruding from the head and context, Black Canyon’s rock art may 7 sites, was recorded through photogra- with down-turned arms and extended have infl uenced the lived experience of phy, scaled line drawings, and detailed hands. Th is anthropomorph styleeconomic and social practices by provid- observations made of each panel’s style appears restricted in distribution to the ing a source of cultural symbolism that characteristics and physical condition. Pahranagat Valley drainage and adjacent was engaged with in domestic routines. Page 2 Volume 8-3 From the President Th is year’s Annual Meeting, held in Mesquite, Nevada, celebrated another success- ful year for nraf. New to this year’s meeting was the “Gap” Appeal launched by the Board of Directors. Always cognizant of how much time our volunteers devote, we nevertheless took a risk and asked members to help support us fi nancially by making a gift above and beyond their membership dues. We were gratifi ed by the generous response of our members, some of whom asked why we hadn’t done this before. Th e Gap Appeal raised approximately $5,000 and we thank those members for their stel- lar support. Inherent in a gap appeal is the diff erence between our income and what we want to accomplish. In that spirit, Gus and I outlined some directions for future growth for nraf, including the possibility of an offi ce in Las Vegas to build a state- wide presence. We would also like to expand staff to support more projects, partici- pate in more ‘unfunded’ projects, and purchase more fi eld equipment. For those of you who attended the Annual Meeting, you met Janice Barbour, our new Development Director (introduced in last quarter’s newsletter). Janice’s work is designed to help us achieve these goals. Her work is supported by a generous donation, thus saving valuable budget funds, and she has been working diligently to understand our membership base, train the Board in more eff ective fund-raising strategies, and increase nraf’s public profi le. A membership survey was distributed at the Annual Meeting, and the Board and Staff were gratifi ed by the positive responses received. Anyone who wants to fi ll out a survey or see the results is welcome to contact either Kim Hopkinson or Janice Barbour for that information. One message that came through in the Survey is that we need to do a better job of letting members know about our current fi nancial situation. Although we are solvent, the coming years will present challenges to the organization, and we want to not only survive, but to also prosper and grow, fulfi lling our mission of recording and preserving Nevada rock art. Highlights of the Annual Meeting are covered in this newsletter, and you will see a summary of our 2008 fi nancial status. Members also told us that they don’t want to be badgered incessantly by appeals for funds and that they don’t want to lose our close-knit community. We respect that and will endeavor to foster growth that has strictly limited appeals to members for funds and focuses on going outside of membership to solicit grants, gifts, and new members. Th e sense of community at nraf is a direct consequence of our sterling volunteers and staff , and I have no doubt that this friendship and fun will grow with us. Board of Directors Newsletter News Officers Th is quarter we’ve expanded the newsletter to 1612 pages to cover our Annual President, Pat Barker PhD Meeting. Note Year-in-Review information on pages 4- 5, photo spread from the Past President, Don Fowler PhD Annual Meeting on pages 6-7 and speaker highlights on pages 8-12.8-9. Secretary, Darla Garey-Sage PhD As part of our Education series, we also have included excerpts of Peter Goin’s Treasurer, Craig King MarchApril lecture lecture on on page pages 10. 14-15. Directors Members are encouraged to submit story ideas, pictures, or information to Mark Boatwright MA, MEM [email protected]. Praise is welcomed; criticism frowned upon. Th omas J. Hall ESQ Catherine Fowler PhD Catherine Fowler PhD Note that our website and email addresses have changed. Dianne Jennings Note that our website and email addresses have changed. Tina Wener We are now www.nvrockart.org and [email protected]. Executive Director Angus R. Quinlan PhD 1201 Terminal Way, Suite 215, Reno, NV 89502 775-323-6723 3rd Quarter 2009 Page 3 Field Notes Black Canyon Volunteers—Th is labor and worked enthusiastically and project would not have been possible eff ectively despite the, at times, diffi cult without the hard work of nraf volun- conditions, particularly snow and tough teers Susan Bailey, Carolyn Barnes, terrain. Ralph Bennett, Janice Hoke, Elaine Holmes, Bill James, Joan Johnson, Rose Lincoln County Rock Art Inven- Keough, Cornelia and Maury Kalle- tory Project—Th e literature search to rud, Ed Laine, Anne McConnell, Deb identify the sites to be worked on in and John Mitchell, Geno Oliver, Paula the fi rst fi eldwork season of this project Reynosa, Sue Roberts, Doug Rorer, has now been completed. Fieldwork is Volunteers on the Black Canyon, Margaret Westcamp, and Alison Youngs. Pahranagat Project take a lunch break planned to start in early September and Th ey contributed 416 hours of donated continue into October. Volunteer Profile: Anne Higgins Anne’s interest in rock art began as who, she says, “opened up a new world a child. Her father, who worked for the of volunteer opportunities.” National Park Service early in his career, A volunteer for nraf since 2005, took her to many National Parks, includ- Anne also volunteers for the Maturango ing Mesa Verde, fostering a life-long Museum in Ridgecrest, California as an appreciation of petroglyphs, although it escort for tours into Little Petroglyph would be some time before she returned Canyon on China Lake Naval Air Weap- to that early interest. In college and ons Station. She volunteers her comput- graduate school, Anne studied history, er and database skills to the Cloverdale art history, and French. After earning Historical Society, Th e Living Room (a her Master’s degree in history from U.C. shelter for women and children in Santa Berkeley, Anne worked as a teacher, artist Rosa, California), and with Annabel and then as an SQL Server programmer. Ford, archaeologist at U.C. Santa Barba- Her programming skills are now serving ra who works in Belize. Anne Higgins enjoying the snow at nraf well as she volunteers hundreds of Pushing her interest in history back Lagomarsino hours to building nraf’s database, in in time, Anne is now focused on prehis- addition to her time in the fi eld. tory and is particularly intrigued by Her youthful interest in rock art Mesoamerica. Last year, she attended a NRAF Contact Information was rekindled when she visited the workshop led by David Stuart (Professor Dr. Angus Quinlan, Southwest in the early 1990s; she then of Mesoamerican Art and Writing at the Executive Director went to Europe to view art and rock University of Texas, Austin, and MacAr- 775-323-6723, ext. 12 art, but returned home realizing rock thur Fellowship recipient) at Palenque, 702-804-6723 art was available in her own back yard. Mexico, that focused on the Mayan Kimberly Hopkinson, A Sierra Club excursion to Arizona for hieroglyphics. Assistant to the Executive Director archaeological study introduced her to Anne enjoys working with other 775-323-6723, ext. 11 documenting rock art rather than just nraf volunteers and her big regret is 702-804-6723 viewing it and when she learned about that she didn’t start this avocation earli- Fax No.